#339 overall
3.091 Introduction to Solid State Chemistry
edX
2 recommenders · 2 threads · recommended in 2 years, 2013–2018 · score 1.5
An MIT course offered through edX (MITx 3.091) introducing the structure and properties of solid materials from the chemistry of their atoms and molecules, such as why diamond and graphite, both carbon, differ so much. It is archived, so content is accessible but no grade is available.
Commenters call it a good, non-dumbed-down introduction to solid state chemistry and a gateway to materials science, with the online version closely matching the on-campus course.
Science & Engineeringintermediatefreevideo lectures#solid state chemistry#materials science#mit#chemistry#edx
Recommendations by year
20062026
I recommend not just any chemistry course but specifically this one:
MITx 3.091 "Introduction to Solid State Chemistry"
https://www.edx.org/course/introduction-solid-state-chemistr...
It's "archived" - good enough, everything is accessible, you just won't be able to get a "grade".
It's the gateway to "materials science" too. It is more at the edge of chemistry, towards physics and engineering. Not to mention that the teaching in this course is pretty good. Also, it is not dumbed down, you can go to MIT, take the same course and feel right at home. It's about properties of materials as a consequence of the chemical/physical properties of the components (atoms/molecules) and how they are structured (example: diamond and graphite are both made of carbon, then why are they so different).
If you want to get up to speed on "just chemistry" try Khan Academy, their explanations are pretty good and you can easily select what interests you because it is broken down into many small pieces.
The last MOOC I took was MIT's introduction to solid state chemistry (great course, BTW). Before an actual MIT student can take that course on campus, the go through a pre-screening process that ensures:
1. The student has the necessary background knowledge that the course assumes,
2. The student has the necessary skill required for the course,
3. The student has the necessary motivation to do the work,
4. The student has the time to devote to the course.
There's also a pre-screening process for people who wish to take the online course through edx.org. This pre-screen process ensures:
1. The student can successfully create an edx.org account and click a sign up button for the course.
Given this huge difference in screening of students, and the fact that the online course is for the most part not "dumbed down" compared to the on campus course[1] , I would absolutely gobsmacked if the MOOC version of the course came within an order of magnitude of the completion rate of the on campus course.
[1] Online students were given 72 hours on the exams, to allow for computer and network outages, and to give more flexibility in accommodating their lives outside of the course. On campus students were given 3 hours for the exams. I think they said the content of the exams was the same.