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\nCourses and Educational Film<\/h2>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/alliwalk.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Screen-Shot-2020-06-03-at-10.59.12-AM-150x150.png\")
The Dynamics of Desegregation<\/h3>\n
The Dynamics of Desegregation<\/h3>\n
Over the past few months, I’ve been watching The Dynamics of Desegregation<\/a>\u00a0which is available via\u00a0my local PBS station. This series originally aired in 1962 and 1963 as a 15-part \u201cintensive study of race relations in the United States.\u201d It is hosted by\u00a0Thomas F. Pettigrew, PhD, who was then Harvard psychology professor. He is now at the University of California, Santa Cruz.<\/p>\n In the past few years, most of the online courses I’ve completed have been about tech, business, or design.\u00a0While\u00a0I find these courses valuable for work, I do sometimes wonder what I’m not learning. Serendipitously, due to the lockdowns, ClassCentral<\/a> sent an email about courses and I decided to\u00a0try\u00a0some new\u00a0topics. Here are three courses I’ve completed, or almost finished:<\/p>\n I’ve always been interested in Chinese history, but this is truly one of the most interesting courses I’ve even taken, anywhere. The 5-parts are:<\/p>\n I suppose I selected this course on modern China because I have been hearing about\u00a0the country so much in the news media and from government officials, who I assume are biased. I wanted to form my own opinions about the country. I also took it because I know the history of modern China had a communist period. Supposedly the country is still communist, but given the people I’ve met, the stories I’ve heard about the growing wealth in China, and how aggressive China is towards developing technology, I wasn’t so sure.<\/p>\n Anyway, it’s a fascinating course. I highly recommend it. This series is Part 2. Part 1 is about pre-history of China and the earlier dynasties.<\/p>\n This\u00a0course\u00a0is from\u00a0the University of Pennsylvania. It’s focused on the design of physical artifacts. I\u00a0really enjoyed the breakdown of solving design problems by breaking them down into separate issues and using charts to deciding which prototype to progress into the next stage. It’s much more professionally focused than the others.<\/p>\n Given the circumstances, where I’m not really going out and not able to talk with friends, I did not attempt to create an artifact. But I did appreciate the lectures and hopefully I can come back to this in the future.<\/p>\n “This short course discusses the sustainability of sheep grazing in Iceland and explores how history, socioeconomic factors and environmental conditions have shaped the management of grazing resources.”<\/em><\/p>\n I tell anyone who will listen about my dreams of farming sheep and\/or goats. When I saw this short course from the University of Iceland, on a topic related<\/em> to sheep, I figured I\u00a0 should try it.<\/p>\n What I learned is that because Iceland’s soil is volcanic, it is prone to erosion when the native plants that keep the soil together are destroyed by overgrazing or by too many sheep that simply crush the plants. There was more information about the history of Iceland, sheep farming, and geography. Needless to say, I will never be a sheep farmer on Iceland.<\/p>\n You can also learn more at sheepfireice.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n Last time I did a post like this, I mentioned finishing “Flights”,\u00a0by Olga Tokarczuk.\u00a0Since then, I’ve\u00a0finished:<\/p>\n Food-wise, it’s now summer which means I don’t use the oven much. Due to the lockdowns, I also haven’t been buying fresh milk too much. I’ve switched to non-fat dry milk and almond milk because they are more shelf stable, reducing my trips to the grocery. It turns out I really enjoy almond milk in my iced coffee.<\/p>\n3\u00a0MOOCS<\/h3>\n
1.\u00a0ChinaX: Creating Modern China<\/a>\u00a0on EdX<\/h4>\n
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2.\u00a0Design:\u00a0Creation of Artifacts in Society<\/a>\u00a0on Coursera<\/h4>\n
3. Sheep in the Land of Fire and Ice on EdX<\/h4>\n
\nPersonal<\/h2>\n
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