HES Course-Specific Reviews and Discussions Discussions on Extension Student Forum http://extensionstudentforum.com/index.php?p=/ Tue, 07 Apr 2026 02:25:55 +0000 HES Course-Specific Reviews and Discussions Discussions on Extension Student Forum en Expository Writing (Expo E25) Academic Writing and Critical Reading http://extensionstudentforum.com/index.php?p=/discussion/33/expository-writing-expo-e25-academic-writing-and-critical-reading Tue, 22 Sep 2015 21:02:47 +0000 HES Course-Specific Reviews and Discussions Kleos 33@/index.php?p=/discussions
I took Expo E25 with Lindsay Silver Cohen. It was a great course. She covered the Industrial Era. The class would read books such as, "The Jungle" by Upton Sinclair and John Riis’ "How the Other Half Lives". What I liked most about this course, and this professor in particular, was the amount of feedback she gave for each paper and draft that was turned in. She really put forth a great deal of effort to ensure that her students had the proper tools to be an effective writer and critical reader. She is pretty no-nonsense though. Don't expect to coast in any EXPO E-25 course. 

Let us know who you are planning to or took EXPO E-25 with.
]]> Has anyone taken MGMT5012? http://extensionstudentforum.com/index.php?p=/discussion/277/has-anyone-taken-mgmt5012 Thu, 01 Aug 2019 04:17:00 +0000 HES Course-Specific Reviews and Discussions itgrinder 277@/index.php?p=/discussions DGMD E-17 Robotics, Autonomous Vehicles, Drones, and Artificial Intelligence http://extensionstudentforum.com/index.php?p=/discussion/276/dgmd-e-17-robotics-autonomous-vehicles-drones-and-artificial-intelligence Tue, 23 Jul 2019 14:29:31 +0000 HES Course-Specific Reviews and Discussions UofS92 276@/index.php?p=/discussions Has anyone taken MGMT4225? http://extensionstudentforum.com/index.php?p=/discussion/274/has-anyone-taken-mgmt4225 Sat, 06 Jul 2019 17:02:12 +0000 HES Course-Specific Reviews and Discussions itgrinder 274@/index.php?p=/discussions CSCI E-67 Oracle Database Administration http://extensionstudentforum.com/index.php?p=/discussion/271/csci-e-67-oracle-database-administration Thu, 17 Jan 2019 04:51:30 +0000 HES Course-Specific Reviews and Discussions itgrinder 271@/index.php?p=/discussions Cloud security? Anyone take this? http://extensionstudentforum.com/index.php?p=/discussion/101/cloud-security-anyone-take-this Tue, 17 Nov 2015 03:10:03 +0000 HES Course-Specific Reviews and Discussions nancymic 101@/index.php?p=/discussions It also covers a lot of territory so I'm curious. ]]> CSCI E-45a http://extensionstudentforum.com/index.php?p=/discussion/264/csci-e-45a Wed, 25 Jul 2018 16:01:18 +0000 HES Course-Specific Reviews and Discussions itgrinder 264@/index.php?p=/discussions Help! Any advice on ALM MGMT Econ course... http://extensionstudentforum.com/index.php?p=/discussion/234/help-any-advice-on-alm-mgmt-econ-course Thu, 13 Jul 2017 23:35:35 +0000 HES Course-Specific Reviews and Discussions ALMWho 234@/index.php?p=/discussions Micro Economic Theory with Robert Neugeboren, or Economics of Business with Robert E. Wayland.

Both topics are interesting to me, so I decided to look at the professors, hoping that a superior teacher could be the tie-breaker. Unfortunately, neither professor's reviews are very encouraging.

(I fulfilled the prereqs for either course as part of my BA many years ago).

I'd really appreciate any thoughts from those of you who have taken either course or instructor in the past.

Thank you!]]> Systems Programming E-28 vs E-61 http://extensionstudentforum.com/index.php?p=/discussion/260/systems-programming-e-28-vs-e-61 Fri, 27 Apr 2018 17:36:32 +0000 HES Course-Specific Reviews and Discussions vpopil 260@/index.php?p=/discussions CSCI E-33a http://extensionstudentforum.com/index.php?p=/discussion/249/csci-e-33a Thu, 11 Jan 2018 03:39:32 +0000 HES Course-Specific Reviews and Discussions UofS92 249@/index.php?p=/discussions What to people use to find course ratings http://extensionstudentforum.com/index.php?p=/discussion/247/what-to-people-use-to-find-course-ratings Mon, 13 Nov 2017 20:27:21 +0000 HES Course-Specific Reviews and Discussions UofS92 247@/index.php?p=/discussions CS265 Big Data Systems http://extensionstudentforum.com/index.php?p=/discussion/204/cs265-big-data-systems Tue, 08 Nov 2016 22:54:07 +0000 HES Course-Specific Reviews and Discussions MichaelZ 204@/index.php?p=/discussions Has anyone here taken 265 without first taking 165? Is it do-able?
(I am going to prepare the 165 material before starting and I have already contacted the professor)]]> CSCI E-65G: Mobile Application Development with iOS http://extensionstudentforum.com/index.php?p=/discussion/233/csci-e-65g-mobile-application-development-with-ios Wed, 12 Jul 2017 19:06:02 +0000 HES Course-Specific Reviews and Discussions MCM223 233@/index.php?p=/discussions Are there really less than 700 HES Master's grads? http://extensionstudentforum.com/index.php?p=/discussion/235/are-there-really-less-than-700-hes-masters-grads Thu, 13 Jul 2017 23:43:43 +0000 HES Course-Specific Reviews and Discussions ALMWho 235@/index.php?p=/discussions listed in HOLLIS for HES graduates.

I was surprised to find that there were less than 700, and that they started appearing in the system in 2007. Is it accurate that the program has only existed for a decade, and that there are this few Master's grads?

If so, that seems like a real badge of distinction worth calling out for those of you who have graduated.]]> GOVT E-1362 Political Communication w/ Matthew Baum http://extensionstudentforum.com/index.php?p=/discussion/196/govt-e-1362-political-communication-w-matthew-baum Thu, 08 Sep 2016 22:37:06 +0000 HES Course-Specific Reviews and Discussions Mayberg 196@/index.php?p=/discussions Has anybody had him before or heard of his course? ]]> CSCI E-91 An Introduction to Cloud and DevOps Concepts http://extensionstudentforum.com/index.php?p=/discussion/186/csci-e-91-an-introduction-to-cloud-and-devops-concepts Mon, 18 Jul 2016 14:14:26 +0000 HES Course-Specific Reviews and Discussions GoSteelers 186@/index.php?p=/discussions Intro to Quantitative Methods with Dr. Parzen http://extensionstudentforum.com/index.php?p=/discussion/159/intro-to-quantitative-methods-with-dr-parzen Tue, 10 May 2016 16:33:15 +0000 HES Course-Specific Reviews and Discussions tokomon 159@/index.php?p=/discussions Introduction to Quantitative Methods" class this summer. I met someone last summer who said he was really challenging but didn't say why. RMP says he's great but only from a handful of reviews.

Also I'll be taking it via distance because I have an internship so I'll be balancing his courseload with a job. Given his amount of work, is this recommended?
]]> cscie-93 http://extensionstudentforum.com/index.php?p=/discussion/134/cscie-93 Sun, 17 Jan 2016 05:13:36 +0000 HES Course-Specific Reviews and Discussions pkp 134@/index.php?p=/discussions
Thank you]]> CSCI E-97 with very little Java knowledge http://extensionstudentforum.com/index.php?p=/discussion/109/csci-e-97-with-very-little-java-knowledge Tue, 08 Dec 2015 06:52:15 +0000 HES Course-Specific Reviews and Discussions student04 109@/index.php?p=/discussions
I have a year to prepare for the class. What are some good resources that will help me get a passing grade?]]> Active Learning Weekend Classes http://extensionstudentforum.com/index.php?p=/discussion/100/active-learning-weekend-classes Tue, 17 Nov 2015 01:35:13 +0000 HES Course-Specific Reviews and Discussions Ann 100@/index.php?p=/discussions MGMT 5425 Design Thinking.

The ALW is a fairly new format to this school year (correct me if I'm wrong) where most of them seem to be offered in the Spring. As a handful of the ALW classes were scheduled for and have already occurred this Fall, I'd like to know, from those who have taken it how it worked out? Any comments? Suggestions?

I imagine it would operate similarly to the on-campus weekend for the hybrid classes (I miss that name by the way), but would to hear about your experiences. ]]> How to prepare for CS124 http://extensionstudentforum.com/index.php?p=/discussion/85/how-to-prepare-for-cs124 Fri, 23 Oct 2015 21:42:58 +0000 HES Course-Specific Reviews and Discussions isinyagin 85@/index.php?p=/discussions CS124 is one of the most notorious courses offered at Harvard which is skipped by many Extension School students for its difficulty. I'll try to explain how to properly prepare for it - it doesn't mean that you'll get an A after doing everything in this post, but you're much more likely to understand over 99% of the class and learn much more.

Even though it's official name is "Data Structures and Algorithms", it should really be called "Design and Analysis of Algorithms". The class is extremely math-y (even people from math department occasionally complain) and doesn't involve a lot of programming (depends on the instructor, though). The official prerequisites for CS124 are CS51 and CS20, which is typically enough to pass though CS124, but not always to succeed unless you're one of the smart and bright students from College.

CS20 (or any class/MOOC covering the same topics) is definitely a hard prerequisite for three reasons: first, you must be comfortable with proofs when you come to CS124. Don't try to learn proving things at the same time - a very bad idea. If you had some proof experience before from abstract algebra or other math classes, you'll probably struggle for the first 2-3 weeks and then be fine; yet, I recommend practicing problems from discreet math domain because they're more useful in Algorithms and the transition will be much easier. The second reason is actually discreet math. This one is not as essential as proofs because you can pick it up along the way, but again, if you want to concentrate on learning algorithms and not re-watch every lecture multiple times, know discrete math in advance. The third reason is the knowledge of discreet probability which is used in CS124 relatively often (again depends on the instructor). CS20 covers that enough for you to understand everything in CS124. It's possible to learn probability on your own if you've taken into statistics class before (read Stat-100), but again a bad idea to start from scratch while taking CS124. 

CS51, which often is not that popular among HES students, covers functional programming and persistent data structures (lists, trees, heaps, streams) which you must know before CS124 because it will discuss a bunch of optimizations and theory behind them. You do not really need to know functional programming, but solid understanding of recursion which you'll have after CS51 is invaluable in CS124. 

Now, there's a problem with both CS20 and CS51. CS20 is taught using live blackboard conference and isn't suitable for everyone for different reasons: time zone difference, difficulty to convey a good proof using blackboard drawing tools, desire to watch the real 1,5 hour lecture with blackboard and chalk explanations rather than 10min shorts by Harry Lewis with slides. I faced all of those issues and dropped CS20 after week 1. If you're in a similar situation, check Berkeley's CS70 recorded lectures on YouTube which I personally have found recently and have been filling the gaps in my discreet math knowledge. They cover everything from CS20 and even more. Next, CS51 is a wonderful class, but it's focused on functional programming and it skips how you build similar structures in procedural languages or mutable data structures for solving problems. There's another recorded Berkeley course that I recommend studying - CS61b, data structures, which first introduces java given that you know some programming language and then covers data structures from basic sequences to graphs (CS51 doesn't cover graphs at all). Along the way CS61b also covers good OO design practices for java. The class is similar to CSCIE-22, but involves twice as many cool programming assignments (especially look at archived projects), which I personally think is great to practice data structures and algorithms while solving some interesting problems. The unfortunate things about CS70 and CS61b is that nether of them are MOOCs, so you have to watch lectures on YouTube, check official course web sites for homework/projects and will not get any feedback/solutions. 

Optional: If you enjoy solving problems for fun and want to code more advanced algorithms which you'll cover in CS124, take a look at Princeton's Coursera MOOC Algorithms part2. The course covers first part of CS124 but focuses on programming part rather than math concepts. I guess CS124 will become more digestible after you've coded something even without understanding deep math behind that. Once again, part2 of Algorithms has a huge overlap with first part of CS124, so it's totally optional.

TL;DR: to be ready for CS124, take CS20 and CS51; it's your bare minimum to be prepared for one of the most challenging CS classes at Harvard; both are offered in spring. In case you want a better preparation, self study CS70 while taking CS20 or after it and during summer study CS61b which you're very likely to enjoy and learn Java (I assume you've taken CS50 and not CS10ab/CS22).
]]> Anyone taking CSCI E-50 aka CS50 at Harvard or HES this semester? http://extensionstudentforum.com/index.php?p=/discussion/7/anyone-taking-csci-e-50-aka-cs50-at-harvard-or-hes-this-semester Sat, 12 Sep 2015 02:46:38 +0000 HES Course-Specific Reviews and Discussions Grat 7@/index.php?p=/discussions CS50 was recently named one of the top 5 computer science courses in the country, according to this article on Bloomberg.com:


I've really enjoyed the Harvard Extension School computer science and digital media courses, and feel they are top-notch for the vast majority of the time.


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