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Code Issues Projects Releases Wiki Activity

Rearrange order of FAQ questions

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Waciuma Wanjohi 2020-07-25 14:24:41 -05:00
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@ -9,16 +9,16 @@ Alternatively, you could [contribute](#CONTRIBUTING.md) an answer yourself.
## Contents
- [Are Coursera courses free to access?](#are-coursera-courses-free-to-access)
- [Does every resource in the main curriculum have to be free?](#does-every-resource-in-the-main-curriculum-have-to-be-free)
- [How can I review the math prerequisites?](#how-can-i-review-the-math-prerequisites)
- [What is a good course to learn a language (C++, Rust, Java, etc)?](#what-is-a-good-course-to-learn-a-particular-language)
- [Why is the Firebase OSSU app different/broken?](#why-is-the-firebase-ossu-app-different-or-broken)
- [In what order should I take the courses?](#in-what-order-should-i-take-the-courses)
- [Does every resource in the main curriculum have to be free?](#does-every-resource-in-the-main-curriculum-have-to-be-free)
- [Is it necessary to purchase the Verified Upgrade for edX courses?](#is-it-necessary-to-purchase-the-verified-upgrade-for-edx-courses)
- [Why do you recommend skipping the second half of CS50?](#why-do-you-recommend-skipping-the-second-half-of-cs50)
- [Why doesn't the curriculum cover/ignore topic X?](#why-doesnt-the-curriculum-coverignore-topic-x)
- [Why is the curriculum missing some pre-requisites?](#why-is-the-curriculum-missing-some-pre-requisites)
- [Why is the Firebase OSSU app different/broken?](#why-is-the-firebase-ossu-app-different-or-broken)
- [What is a good course to learn the language XXXX?](#what-is-a-good-course-to-learn-a-particular-language)
- [Why require experience with a sizable project before the Software Engineering courses?](#why-require-experience-with-a-sizable-project-before-the-Software-Engineering-courses)
- [How can I review the math prerequisites?](#how-can-i-review-the-math-prerequisites)
## Questions
@ -45,15 +45,33 @@ When attempting to enroll in such a course:
![Audit this course](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/3349406/27321369-95ca12e6-55cc-11e7-9b5c-f8fedd8fd643.png)
### Does every resource in the main curriculum have to be free?
### How can I review the math prerequisites?
Many OSSU students choose to review math topics that they have not studied recently.
OSSU recommends students use Khan Academy for such a review.
Below are links to topic assessments.
After taking an assessment, you should have a clear idea what topics to study, and resources on Khan Academy to use.
Yes, that is a core goal of OSSU.
- [Arithmetics](https://www.khanacademy.org/math/arithmetic#arithmetic-subject-challenge)
- [Basic Geometry](https://www.khanacademy.org/math/basic-geo#basic-geo-subject-challenge)
- [Pre-algebra](https://www.khanacademy.org/math/pre-algebra#pre-algebra-subject-challenge)
- [High School Math 1](https://www.khanacademy.org/math/math1#math1-subject-challenge)
- [High School Math 2](https://www.khanacademy.org/math/math2#math2-subject-challenge)
- [High School Math 3](https://www.khanacademy.org/math/math3#math3-subject-challenge)
At the same time, we recognize that education is a resource that requires payment to instructors to make it sustainable in the long term.
Therefore, we respect the business model of websites like edX, which make their materials free but with some paid add-ons, like official certificates or extra interaction with course instructors.
(Math 1, 2, 3 covers all of algebra, pre-calculus, high school geometry, trig, stats. It interleaves the order of these topics.)
So we only require that the *learning materials* of a resource be free to access, not that every possible add-on be free.
It would be ideal if graded assignments were always free but if we had this requirement, we would have to exclude any resource that doesn't have graded assignments at all.
### What is a good course to learn a particular language?
OSSU focuses on finding the best courses to learn computer science topics, and isn’t focused on finding language specific courses. If you are looking to learn a particular language or framework there are two great resources to check.
1. [Hackr.io](https://hackr.io/) allows users to submit and upvote learning resources for topics such as Python or the Java Spring Framework.
2. Most languages have a community on reddit. When you find the community’s page, check to see if there is a wiki or sidebar with resources. For example, see [/r/python](https://old.reddit.com/r/Python). Note that the sidebar content can be different depending on whether you use www.reddit.com or old.reddit.com.
### Why is the Firebase OSSU app different or broken?
The OSSU curriculum and ecosystem have been collaboratively built by many individuals. The Firebase app was one such contribution. When it was written, it was with the intention of helping future OSSU students.
Unfortunately, the app has not been updated in many years. It does not reflect updates to the curriculum, it contains links to courses that no longer exist, and it has known bugs that prevent students from logging in.
It is our hope that the creators of the Firebase app can bring the app up to date. Until that time, the firebase app should be considered a deprecated product that is no longer supported.
### In what order should I take the courses?
@ -64,6 +82,16 @@ You have a few different options:
We have designed the curriculum to work for any of the above three styles.
### Does every resource in the main curriculum have to be free?
Yes, that is a core goal of OSSU.
At the same time, we recognize that education is a resource that requires payment to instructors to make it sustainable in the long term.
Therefore, we respect the business model of websites like edX, which make their materials free but with some paid add-ons, like official certificates or extra interaction with course instructors.
So we only require that the *learning materials* of a resource be free to access, not that every possible add-on be free.
It would be ideal if graded assignments were always free but if we had this requirement, we would have to exclude any resource that doesn't have graded assignments at all.
### Is it necessary to purchase the Verified Upgrade for edX courses?
If you just want to watch the videos, it is never necessary for any edX course on our curriculum.
@ -101,33 +129,5 @@ For those who want to study math pre-requisites, read more [here](#how-can-i-rev
Of course, if you find that the curriculum is missing a pre-requisite for a course that isn't part of a normal high school curriculum, please let us know!
### Why is the Firebase OSSU app different or broken?
The OSSU curriculum and ecosystem have been collaboratively built by many individuals. The Firebase app was one such contribution. When it was written, it was with the intention of helping future OSSU students.
Unfortunately, the app has not been updated in many years. It does not reflect updates to the curriculum, it contains links to courses that no longer exist, and it has known bugs that prevent students from logging in.
It is our hope that the creators of the Firebase app can bring the app up to date. Until that time, the firebase app should be considered a deprecated product that is no longer supported.
### What is a good course to learn a particular language?
OSSU focuses on finding the best courses to learn computer science topics, and isn’t focused on finding language specific courses. If you are looking to learn a particular language or framework there are two great resources to check.
1. [Hackr.io](https://hackr.io/) allows users to submit and upvote learning resources for topics such as Python or the Java Spring Framework.
2. Most languages have a community on reddit. When you find the community’s page, check to see if there is a wiki or sidebar with resources. For example, see [/r/python](https://old.reddit.com/r/Python). Note that the sidebar content can be different depending on whether you use www.reddit.com or old.reddit.com.
### Why require experience with a sizable project before the Software Engineering courses?
Software engineering tries to solve the problem of dealing with large programs. Building a sizable program before taking the SE courses will help you understand what SE is trying to solve. We recommend the Jack-to-VM-code compiler project from the nand2tetris course because it's the first project in the curriculum that is complex enough to see value in a SE course. That said, any sizable project will do and can come from outside of the OSSU curriculum. The idea is that you've done some large enough project where the pieces started to feel unmanageable. This experience will expose pain points and lead to a better understanding of SE.
### How can I review the math prerequisites?
Many OSSU students choose to review math topics that they have not studied recently.
OSSU recommends students use Khan Academy for such a review.
Below are links to topic assessments.
After taking an assessment, you should have a clear idea what topics to study, and resources on Khan Academy to use.
- [Arithmetics](https://www.khanacademy.org/math/arithmetic#arithmetic-subject-challenge)
- [Basic Geometry](https://www.khanacademy.org/math/basic-geo#basic-geo-subject-challenge)
- [Pre-algebra](https://www.khanacademy.org/math/pre-algebra#pre-algebra-subject-challenge)
- [High School Math 1](https://www.khanacademy.org/math/math1#math1-subject-challenge)
- [High School Math 2](https://www.khanacademy.org/math/math2#math2-subject-challenge)
- [High School Math 3](https://www.khanacademy.org/math/math3#math3-subject-challenge)
(Math 1, 2, 3 covers all of algebra, pre-calculus, high school geometry, trig, stats. It interleaves the order of these topics.)