[BossingAround]

> I worry that were lessons available, students will just skim though the whole lot "in one go".

I think this is a common pitfall of a number of beginner courses. Personally, I view it as kind of an arrogance of "I know better what you need than you do".

As a user, I think you have no say in how I consume any content.

> The initial paid version reported such things back to their employer!

The employer has no right to know anything about me other than what I do during my 8h of paid time. I can share whatever I want of course, but a feature like this seems like it supports an unhealthy work relationship.

[snori74]

Well in a sense, I do "know better". There is a real benefit to setting up a VPS "fully exposed to the Internet (another thing that some struggle with); A real benefit to taking a day to investigate each day's lesson; A real benefit to getting into the habit of ssh-ing daily.

But hey, having run this for a long while, I'm well aware people are coming from all sorts of backgrounds, having all sorts of crazy things going on in their lives etc - so however they do it is fine by me.

So, those that simply read it through - OK. Those that run it in a VM on their laptop - OK.

Peace,

[BossingAround]

I disagree that you know better. Research shows doing something daily and habitually is beneficial, but you shouldn't dictate that I need to do your content daily.

For example, in the past, I have often gone through coursera courses that were supposed to run for months within weeks, because I had a lot of time to dedicate to the courses.

I made going finishing courses a habitual activity, but I personally have designed it to suit my needs. In other words, I have tweaked the pace greatly.

You're consciously crippling your content with the idea that someone will benefit from slow pace. If a user wants to refresh some things, fill some knowledge gaps, or just take a look what the subject matter is about without the need for deep learning, you're adding friction to the process (and they'll likely not return the next day).

Now, don't get me wrong. If you get something out of it, e.g. Netflix releasing an episode a week for whatever gains they get, that's fine. But, if someone told me "read this book, you get 10 pages a day," I'd consider it a waste of my time.

My 2c.

[Cogito]

I get your point, but this sounds like you didn't read the post you're replying to.

At least the way I read their post, snori74 isn't presenting some absolute position of authority, but rather is describing their experience from running the course (and I assume working as a sysadmin) as to what is effective for the students.

Putting forward what works best for most students doesn't exclude other ways of consuming the content. A student motivated to consume the content more quickly can easily discover the github themselves, or ask the question on reddit.

Your preference for consuming the content all-at-once is a valid one, however it's right for the content creator to set up the course in a way that maximises the outcomes for student - especially when there is an easy fallback to the all-at-once model.

I'll also add that having a 'class' of students doing the course with you is something that a lot of people would appreciate, as they can discuss the challenges and successes they see with people experiencing the same things at the same time.

[unreal37]

Ironic user name, BossingAround.

[BossingAround]

Care to enlighten me why?