Learner Reviews & Feedback for Astro 101: Black Holes by University of Alberta

Good Job!

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Very interesting course. Between the colourful backgrounds of the speakers, simple imagery and the food analogies, they made astronomical theories and evidence much easier to understand for those who do not come from a physics background. Perhaps minor issues here and there with sound and when the speaker was not looking directly at the screen it could be a little off-putting, but other than that, it was an amazing course. I come from a biological sciences background (specifically health sciences) and I found this quite easy to understand. Tests were also fair as they were based on theories and confirmed evidence rather than equations, and weren't too difficult if you paid attention to the videos. Even if you didn't 100% understand a concept, the images presented to you stick quite well in your mind to the point you are able to answer the test questions easier. Coming out of this, I now have a greater understanding of some of the greatest physics concepts from Newton, Einstein, and so on. I have also expanded my knowledge of astronomy and the universe, as I have been studying it since I was a little girl, but was unfortunately able to pursue it due to my strong dislike for physics (you know, boring plain Earth physics). This helped me to continue on my passion for astronomy while also avoiding those icky physics courses. Thanks to the UofA and their group of astronomers for putting this together for anyone needing their astronomy fix.

I enjoyed this course a lot, so far i have finished 2 courses from alberta and have another on going. The quality of the content and enthusiasm of the lecturers makes a difference. I know it is not an ivy league or elite uni but they are definitely making great courseware on the mooc market. I hope there will be some follow up courses to this and the mountains course i took, whether more quantitative in approach or expanding the range i dont mind but now i have had my appetite whetted i want more! excellent work from the whole team, and many thanks!

The instructors made the concepts very clear and understandable. I've just started year 13 and I ended up learning about Newton's Law of gravitation on this course at the same time as I was learning it in class so I would really recommend this course to GCSE or A-level students who want to deepen their enthusiasm for the subject. Also can't believe how much I didn't know about black holes until I completed this course.

A lot of fascinating information which shaped my perspective on stars, binaries, creation of heavy elements as well as, of course, the anatomy of black holes. In terms of instruction, I hesitate to critique with the UCP doing its best to kill of the U of A, but I muted Dr. Morsink and Dr Gladstone and read through their lectures because as speakers they tended to put me to sleep.

With professors who can shrink astronomical distances and explain concepts in time, space and cosmology with such lucidity and more importantly joy, this course was bound to be one ,which in literal sense, has transformed the black hole into a living vibrant entity. The team has rekindled the joy of learning in me and am sure in all students. Heartfelt thanks .

I took this course mainly as a refresher course for myself. I learned some new things that I enjoyed! I know this was a beginner course but I would have preferred the instructors showing how to calculate the few equations that they talked about at least. I feel a lot of information was spoken about briefly and not depthfully enough to fully grasp.

This course is pretty good. It helps in developing intrest about black holes. One drawback about this course is that If you want to understand all the mathematics including black holes and general relativity then this course is not for you. Otherwise this course is fantastic as they teaches using computer graphics and images.

Ross is the best trainer among the four of them (even without comparison). The 4 rating is for the knowledge in the course and of the trainers. Some points and some mathematics could have stressed more. For someone like me who is allergic to mathematics, those principles escape before being understood.

:-)

It's interesting but the lack of (elemental) formulas and graphics to illustrate some simple concepts make the course a little "boring". Too much (interesting) speeches. The professors make a great effort to transmit the subject. Good for them!.

This course gives a thorough analysis of Black holes which includes examining other phenomena such as the Big Bang, neutron stars, pulsars, space time and the effect of gravitation on light. A comprehensive look at the universe.

Great pace and great teachers! Would have loved more math-based problems to practice the formulas and calculations, but that's just me. A must-take course if you're starting out on your quest to understand the Universe.

An excellent introductory course into the physics of black holes. I only gave it four stars since I felt it could have had more mathematics content for students that want to dig a little deeper into the material.

This is a pretty good course give you a really good insight into the Black holes. The only problem I had was that most of the queries are unanswered, which is a little problematic in cementing the foundation.

Super course...there are many informations about black holes are presented. and their communication language was easily understand to all..thank you so much for offer the course

Pretty decent course for an introductory level. However, the teaching assistants aren't that responsive so you got to wait a little longer. Overall a satisfactory course.

Lots of interesting information about black holes and ongoing research about them. Only very rudimentary math needed for the course.

This is an incredible course through all the different aspects of black holes. I recommend it to anyone interested in astrophysics