6/16/2013 MOOC Update

At the moment I am actively taking the following MOOCs:

• Coursera: Internet History, Technology, and Security - The course is very heavy with videos from the instructor, Dr. Charles Severance, containing interviews, lectures, and the occasional office hours. The quizzes are multiple choice, and are fairly easy once you watch the videos. There is a peer graded assignment that was just posted for extra credit. I was thinking of joining their Signature Track, but thought against it, since this isn't a core part of my career. 
• Udacity: How to Build a Startup - Fairly straightforward entrepreneur course (as 'straight' as it could possibly be) that seems to rely on products the instructor is familiar with, namely his own. While he says they're not necessary the two texts he recommends are The Startup Owner's Manual: The Step-By-Step Guide for Building a Great Company (his own), and Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers.

Thinking about the Udacity course, I actually like this model of having a free MOOC that you can take on its own, but suggesting students buy the instructor's/institution's text. It allows people to take these courses for free, provides some kind of income for the instructor and MOOC provider, and if students buy the book they get something 'physical' out of the course.