edX Science & Cooking: content discussion and support

[Smithy]

On 1/20/2017 at 3:55 AM, rustwood said:

 

This is the first edX course I have taken and the one thing that bothers me is that I haven't been able to find a detailed listing of the length of each video for the week/module.  I believe all of the Coursera courses I have taken have had those details readily available.  That info helps me gauge my progress and re-adjust the amount I need to complete the material for the week/module.  Has anyone else seen anything like that for this course?  Perhaps I am just missing it.

 

 

I'm quoting this part of your post to remind people of the question, in hopes someone has an answer.  I have not found such a listing of video length.  Last time around (and this time so far) I used the progress strip across the top of each page to track my progress, but that still begs the question of video length.

 

Has anyone else found a listing of the videos and their lengths? Is there a way to find such a listing on YouTube?

[MelissaH]

So I just worked through the first week's homework problems. I found them to basically be child's play—but remember, I'm a chemist and I went to graduate school to learn how to be a synthetic organic chemist (someone who makes molecules).

 

Gotta admit, I'm actually a bit disappointed. I'd hoped for more things like the lab assignments and less of the boring dry stuff that turns people off like the homework questions. I don't doubt that the homework assignments cover important concepts, but I want to see how they make them relevant to our kitchen lives, especially the super-quantitative stuff that even I don't recall actually using in lab. (Number of molecules? Really??)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I need help with how to enter text responses for the course.  There is a space on the webpage to enter text and when I click in it the box shows it is selected by a blue border, however there is no cursor and typing does not do anything.

 

When I first took the class summer before last I had the same problem.  I contacted edX support.  I received a useless response to accept cookies, enable javascript, clear the browser cache, or switch to a different browser.  Eventually I figured out the problem and was able to enter text.  But that was with an old computer running Windows 7 and I would like to use this computer running Windows 10 for the cooking course.  I went back and tested the old computer and I can still enter text.

 

But I can't remember what I did.  Has anyone run into the problem or have a solution?

 

 

Edit:  after reviewing my correspondence with edX, I remembered the workaround I discovered was to refresh the webpage.  Still a pain and not something I've seen with any other website.

 

Edited January 24, 2017 by JoNorvelleWalker (log)

[blue_dolphin]

On 1/22/2017 at 0:49 PM, MelissaH said:

So I just worked through the first week's homework problems. I found them to basically be child's play—but remember, I'm a chemist and I went to graduate school to learn how to be a synthetic organic chemist (someone who makes molecules).

 

Gotta admit, I'm actually a bit disappointed. I'd hoped for more things like the lab assignments and less of the boring dry stuff that turns people off like the homework questions. I don't doubt that the homework assignments cover important concepts, but I want to see how they make them relevant to our kitchen lives, especially the super-quantitative stuff that even I don't recall actually using in lab. (Number of molecules? Really??)

 

With respect to the problems being child's play - well, I suppose.  It was more like uncomfortable flashbacks to adolescence for me .  I remember doing those same sorts of problems in junior high but it's been a while.  I missed my trusty HP-15 calculator with RPN which made working with exponents absolutely brainless.  I got up more than once to look for it even though I'm sure the batteries are long dead even if I find it.  Instead, I had to use my iPhone calculator and my brain!

 

I agree with you on the ratio of interesting, kitchen-relevant material to the dry boring stuff but I hope that either the reality or my perception of it will improve as we go on and my brain gets more comfortable with retrieving information last used in the '70s and '80s.

 

On 1/20/2017 at 3:55 AM, rustwood said:

This is the first edX course I have taken and the one thing that bothers me is that I haven't been able to find a detailed listing of the length of each video for the week/module.  I believe all of the Coursera courses I have taken have had those details readily available.  That info helps me gauge my progress and re-adjust the amount I need to complete the material for the week/module.  Has anyone else seen anything like that for this course?  Perhaps I am just missing it.

 

After going through the first week, I don't think a listing of the video length would help me gauge progress.  I found the length of time I spend on the text pages, practice questions and homework questions to be highly variable.  Some I skimmed quickly and others took me a while.  Then there were the aforementioned and fruitless calculator searches, setting my iPad up next to me to use my cool Elements interactive periodic table and becoming mesmerized by the pretty rotating objects and interesting information and my own inability to properly read the questions - sheesh!  

 

Over in the other thread, @Alex asked:

On 1/18/2017 at 3:09 PM, Alex said:

I would very much welcome thoughts and opinions about whether it'd be worthwhile to purchase the companion textbook; I already own McGee, which is the other recommended reading.

My take after 1 lesson:

The textbook contains the same information presented in the videos and course text.  The advantages, to me, are that it's a bit more coherent to go through without being broken up with practice problems, etc. and it's much easier to go back and review an equation or piece of information in the ebook than to rewind or fast forward a video looking for something. 

Cons are that it's 10 bucks and doesn't really add anything that you can't get from the online materials.  If the online stuff is doing the job for you, adding the ebook could feel redundant.  I think that if I read the ebook chapter before watching the videos, I would find the videos boringly repetitive but I haven't tried it that way yet. 

Edited January 25, 2017 by blue_dolphin (log)

[rustwood]

On 1/20/2017 at 11:45 AM, rob1234 said:

 

This is what I found when I did the course last time (finished about 3/4). I thought it was more a science course using cooking to explain things then a cooking course using science.

 

I agree.  I finished the first module and then withdrew/canceled.  There may be some interesting stuff in there, but not enough for me to put in the time right now.

[blue_dolphin]

One more comment on the homework problems.  I appreciate the challenge of using common recipes to illustrate these principles but the problems seem so contrived.  In what scientific realm would I ever measure out 1/3 teaspoon, convert that to milliliters and then use the density to convert to grams in order to calculate the final amount or concentration of a frigging powder (baking soda or baking powder)?  

Even including this sort of calculation in the materials rather implies that it's an appropriate means to an accurate value vs simply weighing the dang stuff.  

That is all.

[MelissaH]

30 minutes ago, blue_dolphin said:

One more comment on the homework problems.  I appreciate the challenge of using common recipes to illustrate these principles but the problems seem so contrived.  In what scientific realm would I ever measure out 1/3 teaspoon, convert that to milliliters and then use the density to convert to grams in order to calculate the final amount or concentration of a frigging powder (baking soda or baking powder)?  

Even including this sort of calculation in the materials rather implies that it's an appropriate means to an accurate value vs simply weighing the dang stuff.  

That is all.

And those amounts with the sig figs they give you to work with? Get real!

[MelissaH]

I hate to say it, but I bailed several weeks ago, when I realized I wasn't getting anything new out of the course. Even the videos weren't doing it for me, because I'd seen the concepts in them before. And the kitchen assignments were really not floating my boat either, because why would I want to make a molten chocolate cake several different ways when I really don't care for any molten chocolate cake and I'd really rather just have one of my mother's brownies with her special icing?

 

I suspect this means I'm not their target audience, more than anything.

 

Is anyone here still participating?

[Smithy]

I haven't made the time to keep up with the class.  I loved the class the first time through, had a wonderful time and learned a lot, but this time around I find myself less compelled to do the work.  Add me to the "I hate to say it, but..." group.

[Anna N]

I gave up after frustration with the math once again. I am not proud of myself. But there it is.

[MelissaH]

I'm starting to wonder about a bigger question: Who is their intended target audience? It obviously isn't me, because I'm not seeing anything new. It isn't @Anna N either, because she and others have given up in frustration (which means that the folks who put together the class aren't doing a great job of explaining either how to do the math (if they think this is really aimed at the normal smart adult without specialized STEM training), or why it's so important to get numerical answers out of their questions rather than just understanding concepts and trends. And it's not @Smithy, who for whatever reason doesn't find enough worthwhile in it to keep doing the exercises. (What's different this time around?) So who are they looking for? And what, exactly are they expecting that group to gain from it?

 

I'll be curious to see what kind of end-of-class evaluations they do.

[Okanagancook]

I agree with the above!  I am out.

[FrogPrincesse]

I am still in!

I find it pretty simple but I like it. To me it's a nice distraction. The lectures etc aren't perfect in any way, there are many things I would teach differently, but overall I enjoy it.

[Smithy]

5 hours ago, MelissaH said:

I'm starting to wonder about a bigger question: Who is their intended target audience?

...<snip>...

And it's not @Smithy, who for whatever reason doesn't find enough worthwhile in it to keep doing the exercises. (What's different this time around?)

 

FWIW I thought I was a member of the target audience when I enrolled and began the course.  I've been asking myself the same question about what's different this time around.  I think, in my case, it's a combination of factors, including but not limited to: 

• Perhaps there isn't enough new material this time around, and I find myself reluctant to repeat work I already did;
• In my current circumstances, electricity is very limited and I'm unwilling to devote the necessary battery power to doing the coursework and videos;
• For a variety of reasons, undivided attention is also at a premium.  

2 hours ago, FrogPrincesse said:

I am still in!

I find it pretty simple but I like it. To me it's a nice distraction. The lectures etc aren't perfect in any way, there are many things I would teach differently, but overall I enjoy it.

 

I'm very glad to read this!

[JoNorvelleWalker]

I have not been keeping up.  I just cannot force myself to do it...when the alternatives are cooking and World of Warcraft.  That, however, does not stop the awful guilt.

 

If there were real professors to interact with I might feel differently.

 

[FrogPrincesse]

I am determined to complete it. I want my Harvard certificate!

 

[nickrey]

8 hours ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

I have not been keeping up.  I just cannot force myself to do it...when the alternatives are cooking and World of Warcraft.  That, however, does not stop the awful guilt.

 

If there were real professors to interact with I might feel differently.

 

https://www.amazon.com/World-Warcraft-Official-Chelsea-Monroe-Cassel/dp/160887804X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487857035&sr=8-1&keywords=world+of+warcraft+cookbook    ?

 

Edited February 23, 2017 by nickrey (log)

[JoNorvelleWalker]

4 hours ago, nickrey said:

https://www.amazon.com/World-Warcraft-Official-Chelsea-Monroe-Cassel/dp/160887804X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487857035&sr=8-1&keywords=world+of+warcraft+cookbook    ?

 

 

 

Oh my, I don't know what to say.  How could I have missed this?

 

Sounds like a present for my son...after I look through it first.  And to think, no one mentioned this in the cookbooks of fall thread.

 

[paulraphael]

Re: the intended audience ... it's unclear, but it seems that they're putting in enough pure chemistry content to make the course worthy of chemistry credits. I've just crept along to week 3 so far, but it seems more like they're using cooking as a framework for explaining chemistry ideas rather than emphasizing application. Which unfortunately makes poor use the many impressive chefs they've lined up for the demonstrations. 

 

I'm happy for the reminders on how to balance equations. But doubt I'll ever do so for culinary purposes, just as I never did so in the darkroom.

 

FWIW, I think the main guy giving the lectures is an excellent teacher.

[nickrey]

On 26/02/2017 at 6:48 AM, paulraphael said:

Re: the intended audience ... it's unclear, but it seems that they're putting in enough pure chemistry content to make the course worthy of chemistry credits. I've just crept along to week 3 so far, but it seems more like they're using cooking as a framework for explaining chemistry ideas rather than emphasizing application. Which unfortunately makes poor use the many impressive chefs they've lined up for the demonstrations. 

 

I'm happy for the reminders on how to balance equations. But doubt I'll ever do so for culinary purposes, just as I never did so in the darkroom.

 

FWIW, I think the main guy giving the lectures is an excellent teacher.

As I remember it, the original intention of the course was a way of allowing non-science students at Harvard to get their mandatory science subject in a fun way. Naturally there will have to be science content, and not at a basic level.

[FrogPrincesse]

Who else has completed the course? I am all excited, I am finally finishing up my final project.

 

[JoNorvelleWalker]

Not I.

 

[Anna N]

1 hour ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:

Not I.

 

Me neither. Was defeated by the math. 

 

Edited to add:

But CONGRATULATIONS @FrogPrincesse!

Edited June 30, 2017 by Anna N (log)

[FrogPrincesse]

Thank you @Anna N! 

 

There is a part 2 but I am not sure I can devote the time right now. I am thinking about it though!

[Smithy]

@FrogPrincesse, congratulations from me also on finishing the course.  Although I didn't stay with it this time around, I want to assure you that the second half of the class was also quite engrossing my first time through.  I encourage you to make the time, if possible!