I took ai-class and am currently taking saas-class.  In the forums, I feel like there as been an inordinate amount of complaining.  In ai-class, it was about the grading of homeworks/exams “not being fair.”  In saas-class, it is about being expected to learn Ruby and having deadlines.  And technical issue during the quiz.

Both classes are free and you don’t get university credit.  Which means any grade you get is just for you and has no impact.  So why all the discontent?  If you get something wrong without actually being wrong or mis a due date, your “grade” goes down, but not your knowledge.

In college, I liked taking my liberal arts classes “pass no credit.”  As a good student, I wasn’t worried about failing.  Knowing I’d get a “pass” let me enjoy learning and not having to think about the grade.  That’s the feeling I get in the classes online now.  Enjoyment learning.

I bought the book so none of these classes was free per se.  But it was the absence of a grade that counted that mattered.  In a way this is similar to why coding on your own is different than the coding you do at a job.

Thoughts?