This seems really helpful, and I look forward to reviewing your comments when we next decide how to modify/update Animal Advocacy Careers’ online course, which may be in a week or so’s time.
(A shame we weren’t reviewed, as I would have loved to see your ranking + review! But I appreciate that our course is less explicitly/primarily focused on effective altruism.)
I’m glad to hear that! I would have liked to include a wider range of EA-related courses in the initial project, but I am still happy to provide feedback on more courses individually. We could try to find a time to talk sometime soon if you’re interested.
It seems like there are quite a few EA courses/programs following similar structures as the Virtual Programs by CEA, i.e. weekly reading lists + discussion meetings. I think most of these courses would end up with similar results using the evaluation framework in this project, this may also apply to AAC’s course from the looks of it.
I’ve also been in contact with a few other course designers lately, and I’m very keen on coordinating with more course projects to discuss ideas and avoid redundant work. I think many of these course projects will face similar challenges and decisions going forward, e.g. how to scale with increasing enrollment, and what software systems to use. Maybe we should set up a Slack workspace or another communication platform for course designers unless it already exists.
Thanks! I’m keen for staying in the loop with any coordination efforts.
Although I’ll note that AAC’s course structure is quite different from EAVP. Its content + questions/ activities, not a reading group with facilitated meetings. (The Slack and surrounding community engagement is essentially and optional, additional support group.) I would hazard a guess that the course would score more highly on your system than most or all of the other reviewed items here but I haven’t gone through the checklist carefully yet.
My apologies, thanks for clarifying! I like the concept of a course with interactive learning activities and optional supplementary discussions. Is the course currently openly accessible to have a look at without signing up and getting accepted? I have a sense that it might increase enrollment rates to let users explore the curriculum in more detail before signing up, either by allowing users to test the course itself or by adding a more detailed curriculum description to the sign-up page.
I also gravitate toward letting users complete the course without signing up, if that’s possible on your software system, but still reserving discussions and certificates for attendees who apply and get accepted. A five-minute form seems like quite a big barrier to entry, especially when users don’t know exactly what they are signing up for.
You might be right that we lose some people due to the form, but I expect the cost is worth it to us. The info we gather is helpful for other purposes and services we offer.
Regarding more info about the course on the sign up page: of course there’s plenty of info we could add to that page, but I worry about an intimidatingly large wall of text deterring people as well.
This seems really helpful, and I look forward to reviewing your comments when we next decide how to modify/update Animal Advocacy Careers’ online course, which may be in a week or so’s time.
(A shame we weren’t reviewed, as I would have loved to see your ranking + review! But I appreciate that our course is less explicitly/primarily focused on effective altruism.)
I’m glad to hear that! I would have liked to include a wider range of EA-related courses in the initial project, but I am still happy to provide feedback on more courses individually. We could try to find a time to talk sometime soon if you’re interested.
It seems like there are quite a few EA courses/programs following similar structures as the Virtual Programs by CEA, i.e. weekly reading lists + discussion meetings. I think most of these courses would end up with similar results using the evaluation framework in this project, this may also apply to AAC’s course from the looks of it.
I’ve also been in contact with a few other course designers lately, and I’m very keen on coordinating with more course projects to discuss ideas and avoid redundant work. I think many of these course projects will face similar challenges and decisions going forward, e.g. how to scale with increasing enrollment, and what software systems to use. Maybe we should set up a Slack workspace or another communication platform for course designers unless it already exists.
Thanks! I’m keen for staying in the loop with any coordination efforts.
Although I’ll note that AAC’s course structure is quite different from EAVP. Its content + questions/ activities, not a reading group with facilitated meetings. (The Slack and surrounding community engagement is essentially and optional, additional support group.) I would hazard a guess that the course would score more highly on your system than most or all of the other reviewed items here but I haven’t gone through the checklist carefully yet.
My apologies, thanks for clarifying! I like the concept of a course with interactive learning activities and optional supplementary discussions. Is the course currently openly accessible to have a look at without signing up and getting accepted? I have a sense that it might increase enrollment rates to let users explore the curriculum in more detail before signing up, either by allowing users to test the course itself or by adding a more detailed curriculum description to the sign-up page.
I also gravitate toward letting users complete the course without signing up, if that’s possible on your software system, but still reserving discussions and certificates for attendees who apply and get accepted. A five-minute form seems like quite a big barrier to entry, especially when users don’t know exactly what they are signing up for.
You might be right that we lose some people due to the form, but I expect the cost is worth it to us. The info we gather is helpful for other purposes and services we offer.
Regarding more info about the course on the sign up page: of course there’s plenty of info we could add to that page, but I worry about an intimidatingly large wall of text deterring people as well.