| Your OpenCourseWare Newsletter | October 2024 |
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| Opening a Window to a World of Learning |
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| Image by Katherine Ouellette. |
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To celebrate and highlight MIT OpenCourseWare’s independent learners, we’ve launched a special season of Chalk Radio that highlights how anyone in the world can benefit from MIT’s open educational resources. The “Open Learners” podcast features inspiring stories of how open education has transformed the lives of learners around the world, beginning with co-hosts Emmanuel Kasigazi and Michael Jordan Pilgreen who discuss their own learning journeys here.
Learn more about the Open Learners podcast in this Medium article by MIT Open Learning, and listen to the first episode, Maria Barbosa’s story from Brazil. Then stay tuned for more episodes in the coming weeks, profiling learners from countries around the world including South Korea, Jordan, Afghanistan, Uganda, and Sudan. In the words of Maria, MIT OpenCourseWare “opens a window to a world.” Join her–and us–on MIT OpenCourseWare! |
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| International Languages on MIT OpenCourseWare |
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| The cover of a 1921 English translation of Cervantes’s Don Quixote. (Photo courtesy of arnoKATH on Flickr. License: CC BY-NC-SA.) |
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| In honor of International Translation Day, September 30th, MIT Open Learning recently published an article on Medium showcasing the broad assortment of language and literature courses on MIT OpenCourseWare that involve the study of classic and contemporary works of world literature and cinema. Some of these courses are taught completely in the original language and presuppose that the student has prior knowledge of that language; others are taught in English and rely on the work of dedicated translators. In addition to courses in Chinese, French, German, Japanese, and Spanish, the list also features courses on the Bible and on world poetry that specifically address the challenges inherent in the act of translation. |
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| New Courses and Resources |
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| Laser shadowgraphy image of a turbulent column of magnetized plasma, driven by pulsed power. (Image courtesy of Prof. Jack D. Hare) |
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| Science, Technology, Engineering, Math |
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22.01 Introduction to Nuclear Engineering and Ionizing Radiation
To laypeople, words like radiation and nuclear reaction often provoke powerful negative responses. But the applications of nuclear science are all around us, extending far beyond power generation or the creation of devastating weaponry. This newly updated undergraduate-level course covers the fundamentals and engineering applications of nuclear science. It describes basic nuclear models, radioactivity, nuclear reactions, and kinematics; covers the interaction of ionizing radiation with matter, with an emphasis on radiation detection, radiation shielding, and radiation effects on human health; and presents energy systems based on fission and fusion reactions, as well as industrial and medical applications of nuclear science. Bonus “Instructor Insights” material includes a Chalk Radio episode with Prof. Michael Short!
22.67J Principles of Plasma Diagnostics
While plasma is not a form of matter found readily on Earth, we all share a deep reliance upon it because the Sun is actually a mass of plasma. And lately, a lot of attention has been given to creating, controlling, and understanding Earth-bound plasma, which is essential to the reactors that may someday provide clean energy from nuclear fusion. This graduate-level course provides an introduction to the physical processes used to measure the properties of plasmas. It covers diagnostics suitable for a wide range of plasmas, including magnetically confined fusion plasmas and high-energy-density plasmas, and discusses such topics as the measurement of magnetic and electric fields, particle flux, refractive index, the emission and scattering of electromagnetic waves, and nuclear diagnostics. Don’t miss Prof. Jack Hare’s lecture videos, the first of which has received 19 thousand views! |
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| Humanities and Social Sciences |
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17.46 U.S. National Security Policy
Where does the foreign policy of the United States come from? What laws govern the process of policy-making? How do the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government work together (or, at times, against one another!) to shape how policy is developed and implemented? This undergraduate-level course offers a comprehensive introduction to the ways U.S. foreign and national security policy is made. Students in the course acquire practical experience through policy writing and a crisis simulation. If you’re interested in international relations, security, and public policy, check out the course’s reading list, prompts for written assignments, and role-playing crisis scenarios. |
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RES.SP-001 Defining Real-World Problems with the D.I.S. Method: Describe, Inquire, State
Real-world problems are often ill-structured: they lack a clear scope, there’s no single “correct” answer, and there’s no obvious best approach for coming up with a solution. To solve problems of this sort, it’s necessary to examine the problem’s context and causes in order to define and understand the problem itself. Nearly all professionals—developers, managers, educators, and others—work on these problems. This noncredit course introduces the D.I.S. (“describe, inquire, state") method, a domain-agnostic technique for structuring (or defining) ill-structured problems, starting with a short, undefined description of a problem and eventually arriving at a brief, well-structured problem statement. |
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| Image courtesy of Prof. Kerry Emmanuel / MIT Climate Portal. License: CC BY-NC-SA. |
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RES.ENV-005 Climate Science, Risk & Solutions: A Climate Primer
You may already be familiar with the MIT Climate Primer, an open online interactive space created in 2020 to encourage nonspecialists to explore the facts behind climate science and climate change. Through eleven short digital “chapters,” this Webby Award–winning website leads you through the story of how scientists came to realize that human actions are changing the Earth’s climate, as well as the open questions that scientists are still working to answer. Following a recent update to the Climate Primer with new knowledge in March 2024, a new introductory video has also been added to the site, providing a nutshell overview of what we know about climate change and how we know it. |
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| Make a Pledge to Share Knowledge |
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| Image by MIT Open Learning. |
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We couldn’t agree more with Bernardo. A lot has changed since MIT OpenCourseWare began sharing MIT’s curriculum with the world 23 years ago, but we remain steadfast in our mission to spread knowledge freely and openly.
As the ways that people access educational materials continue to evolve, we pledge to meet them where they are with the free resources they seek. Will you join us? With a monthly or annually recurring gift, you can be part of OCW’s knowledge-sharing efforts for years to come. |
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| Newsletter edited by Shira Segal with contributions from Peter Chipman, production assistance from Stephanie Hodges, and resource development by Duyen Nguyen and Yvonne Ng. |
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| We want to hear from you! How can MIT OpenCourseWare help you in your educational endeavors? Write to us at ocw@mit.edu with questions or suggestions. |
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| More free resources from MIT Open Learning are available at: |
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