Comparing CS50x and 6.00x

I am comparing the two free edx courses - 6.00x from MIT and CS50x from Harvard. I think this comparison may be unfair - since I did not complete 6.00x. The more apt title would probably be - why I stuck to CS50x and not to 6.00x.

I should make it clear - I think the 6.00x course is great - the course syllabus, lectures, the problems and the quizzes too.  May be I will look it up in the future.

A.  MIT - 6.00x

1. Time commitment is on the higher side. Needs a lot more time.

2. Tougher - more scientific bent.

3. Lectures cannot be easily downloaded. The HTTP downloads for about 400 MB files do not work out well when uninterrupted net connections cannot be taken for granted. Torrents would have helped.

4. Stricter deadlines for the problems / quizzes. Was difficult to handle this along with other commitments. I do not consider this something bad / good ; just something that did not allow me to complete the course.

B.   Harvard - CS50x  - If I had to use a single line for this course's USP I would say it was their making the classes at CS50 alive for the masses. It was like stepping into a live classroom at Harvard.

1. Vicarious pleasure ! :-) - This probably is the closest I will ever get to the hallowed halls of an Ivy League Institution. Doesn't that sound sycophantic ? :) But .... it is true ! Unlike 6.00x - this one made me feel like I had actually stepped into a live class! Fantastic!

2. Fun !!! Cannot underestimate this part. It was like being back in college .. made it easier to stick to it. Nostalgia pangs anyone ? :)

3. Truly aimed at beginners. I thought their introduction of Scratch to learn the basics of programming was a genius move !

4.  Self paced and doable. Can be managed with other commitments because the only true deadline is the last date of the course. All problem sets, quizzes and the project can be submitted any time at all. Plus they have a simple schedule which based on the date you have logged in suggests various dates for all the items that you need to submit.

5. The walkthroughs ! These introduced the problem sets and gave direction.  A fantastic idea especially when one does not know where to start; which is almost always ! The Psets are imaginative and more importantly - the pointer to real life scenarios was appreciated.

For e.g - we had to code a program to recover lost jpeg files from a RAW image. This was the 'forensics' Pset.  Another to zip and unzip files based on an algorithm - the Huff 'n' Puff Pset. Very much enjoyable.

6. The introductions to W3C validator, gdb, valgrind and usage of js/css scripts from other websites, standing on other developers' shoulders. Real life software development is not always completely self-contained.  These were great inclusions I thought.

7.  They had short intros to various items - like the different types of sorts, SQL, jQuery, HTTP, gdb, valgrind etc. These were short videos that explained something in slightly more detail that in the main lecture. These were very helpful and they had these funny bits at the end ! :)

8. Sections - There were 2 types of sections - one called hacker edition type for those more comfortable with programming and the simpler one for beginners. These were in addition to the lectures, here problems were worked on and doubts clarified. Helpful again.

9. The vibrant student community !! This simply amazed me. So many people - always willing to answer queries. When stuck for a few hours on a problem, all I needed to do was go to the discussion forum. Mostly the Q would already be answered but I got replies for all the queries I put up online. Fabulous support !

10.  The lecture videos that I could download easily via torrents. I watched most of the lectures/shorts/sections/walkthroughs on my phone while waiting for my daughter's classes to finish. While I did not use captions whenever I watched the lecture online I liked the inclusion of the same. Very thoughtful I would say.

11. CS50 appliance - All my work for the course was done via their Virtual Machine. The code was backed up in Dropbox - and all this is a part of the setup for CS50x. Including dropbox - is another brilliant move. Who thinks they can lose their work ? :) And beginners ? No way .... !!!  More importantly - a seamless backup apart from being helpful is a pointer towards professional development.  Version control was the only thing missing and perhaps not really applicable to these Psets.

I had no problems with the appliance itself and I went through 2 laptops and a Windows upgrade :) Easy to set up and work with. And no no-availability problems.

Areas of improvement

1.  The sections should also have torrent downloads.

2.  I would like a T-shirt with "I took CS50x"  -  similar to the one Zamyla wore in one of the walkthoughs. now how do I get that ? :)   I wish they would make this possible.

To summarize I found CS50x - Fun .... and eminently doable !!! :)