There's one here...

http://www.jcu.edu.au/school/mathphy...my/paged.shtml

I think someone from here took a cource there Toseek? I can't remember...

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If this writing is blue you're going too fast!

Yes, that is one of the two Australian programs. I did check on it once and the cost was over $3000 US per year or semester, IIRC. I do not know of any US univ. offering anything similar.

I would rather come here and pay $100 or so for a quality textbook and work with a class, or even help develop our own course program. A beautiful BAUT certificate would be nice. The benefits I see here on BAUT are:

1) A community atmosphere - like exercising (studying) near a play ground but being able to play whenever we want (go to threads).
2) A large group - BAUT is big enough to draw several classes once people find out about it. There is a lot of great teaching prowess here, too.
3) An active group - Every non-Geocentrist is glad to be here.
4) Fresh news with Sizzle - All the really cool stuff will make its way here fast, if not first.
5) "State of the Art" - [I miss hearing this phrase, so I thought I'd say it.]
6) Oh yeah, Humor - Half the fun around here is all the skyscraper levels of quips.
7) Time - We don't have to rush and probably can't if we wanted to.
8) Resources - BAUT threads and Google and more Google, almost a googol amount.
9) A structured program would be a welcome addition to the normal, but great, open thread approach in this forum. The two compliment each other.
10) Quality - It is unlikely, if properly done, the information will be erroneous.
11) User Friendly - [I would not miss hearing this phrase but it still works] We are all a bit incognito; thus, we can all be extraverts, if we stay unbanned.
12) Cheap, real cheap - Keep the money you don't already have. If you do, buy more telescope gear.

[Shoot, if we play our cards right, we'll grow and then get advertisers to pay us to come to class. ]

Any other benefits and features that might pump the players???

[Added: It doesn't hurt to think long term toward advance placement in astronomy courses should some university decide to allow such a thing.]

[I deleted a duplicate item.]

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Lighten up! This is a stellar board! Author: duh.

"The Sun, with all the planets revolving around it, and depending on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as though it had nothing else in the universe to do..." Author: Galileo supposedly.

Yeah

I for one am really looking forward to it...

If it happens?

We might need a bit more proactivity though, don't want it too die..

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If this writing is blue you're going too fast!

Now, how do they keggers and binge drinking work on an online class? I thought that's what school was for, past the highschool level? ...or perhaps that's why I've been going to college on and off for the past 6 years and am still working towards an associate's degree...hmm....

anyway, has anyone looked into what it takes to have an accredited course? from what i understand, it's not easy. and if it's not accredited, colleges won't accept it as a credit. least not here in the states. ...at least, that's what they tell me at my current school, inbetween jumping up and down shouting "cha-ching! cha-ching! your other classed dont count! cha-ching!"

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I'm like one of those idiot savants...well, except for the savant part.

"A long time ago, yet somehow in the future"

That would be quite a leap and expensive for all, no doubt.

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Lighten up! This is a stellar board! Author: duh.

"The Sun, with all the planets revolving around it, and depending on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as though it had nothing else in the universe to do..." Author: Galileo supposedly.

would it be call later as a "online learn astronomy" course, and what about certifcate granting procedure? and its cost? duration of the course? basic qualification require for this course?

George, this is a very nice idea you have undertaken.

The credit goes to the BAUT founders and supporters for they are responsible for creating such an enjoyable learning environment. A more formal course is simply another facet we can now enjoy, soon I hope.

A qualilty astronomy course here will be a delicious treat that requires effort to create; finding enough to eat a pie will be easy, it is finding those who have the time, and are willing, to bake one that is the task at hand. My OP is about me eating this pie, not baking one. Since we are talking about cooking from scratch - writing a complete textbook for a given course level - to be incorporated into Wiki Books, it will take some special organizing and planning to produce a quality course. Unfortunately, there is not much discussion about how we can get there without burdening those willing to teach it.

Perhaps we could develop a full-blown chapter by getting everyone involved just to see how well it takes shape, as well as, tell us how much effort was required. I would be happy to list the section and sub-section titles, then we will wait and see who will sign-up to write these sections. Someone with teaching skills could assign the tasks accordingly and then get it compiled into a coherent chapter. If it looks great and it is clear we could do a dozen more without worrying about losing our text writers, then, perhaps, the course could begin. Or, we could do most, or even all, the chapters here and then start the class.

Another good idea offered was to do a mini-course.

Any recommendations at this point on these ideas?

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Lighten up! This is a stellar board! Author: duh.

"The Sun, with all the planets revolving around it, and depending on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as though it had nothing else in the universe to do..." Author: Galileo supposedly.

Wikibooks is a very good idea. BAUT's own textbook... Nice.

Only thing, we need to start this soon, before the enthusiasm dies down. So, who're the teachers and volunteers?

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Limericks, written by me: http://limericker.blogspot.com

Since no set plan exists and nothing in regards to work load is obvious for potential instructors and helpers, we are still in the warm-up phase, IMO. I feel sure there is enough interest here to accomplish the task, but it is still somewhat of a Catch 22 as it is hard to set a high goal (ie WikiBooks) to attract instructors when there are not enough instructors stepping forward to set the high goal. That is why we might want to take this in steps to reach that level.

To test the textbook writing waters and to generate interest, perhaps if someone writes a subesection of a chapter, any topic, and introduce it in the Astronomy Forum, with an explanation of its purpose, it will generate some positive response to the point others will want to join in the fun.

We need to engage in something that enlist those so capable of doing excellent work, even though many come here to get away from work.

We are not getting direct answers as to why this idea is floundering. I'd try importunity if I thought that my work.

Anyone else have some ideas on what to do next?

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Lighten up! This is a stellar board! Author: duh.

"The Sun, with all the planets revolving around it, and depending on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as though it had nothing else in the universe to do..." Author: Galileo supposedly.

We start a thread in the astronomy section, have it sticky'd, and present this topic:

BAUT Astronomy 101 - Instructors needed

Attention all BAUT astronomers and physicists. We are opening a "school" here on the BAUT forums to teach, in a structured, online classroom type format, Astronomy 101. Here's how it's going to work:

With the diversity, both linguistically and geologically, of our members here on the BAUT forums we don't think the purchasing of an existing, usually expensive, textbook is the way to go. What we have come up with is even better. We're going to write the text ourselves, and post it to Wikibooks. Not only will we be educating our fellow forum members, we'll be educating anybody with an interest and an internet connection. But here's the rub. We can't achieve our goals without some qualified instructors and editors. We need your help!

As this is an untried experiment, we're going to start off easy. Let's write chapter 1, lesson 1 together!

Here's what we need from you. We need to select a "primary instructor" that will take charge of lesson 1. You will be responsible for writing a small "lecture" that covers the topic, then the students will take to their keyboards and pound out the official Wiki entry. As the instructor you will also be relied upon for answering questions and ensuring the Wiki entry is as accurate and thorough as possible.

We know that many of you have time constraints and regular jobs to attend to, but we're hoping you can help us out.

That being said, who would like to take charge of Lesson 1: Astronomy as a Science (lesson objectives: the vocabulary of astronomy, the basic structures and scales of the universe)

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I was just sitting here contemplating the immortal words of Socrates who said, "I drank what?"

"Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot." --Carl Sagan "Pale Blue Dot"

Once we have lesson 1 written, we can move on. We can ask Phil or Fraser to create a new forum that would contain the lessons separate from the rest of the forums with some rules in place that govern the type of posting allowed (eg: nothing off topic, zero tolerance for ATM stuff, etc..) As the lessons grow people will be more interested in contributing and the whole thing will steamroll. By keeping each lesson available in its final form on the forum, people that join next month will be able to go back, read those topics, and possibly join in with the next lesson.

Just my thoughts Sorry if this is a bit rambling, I've been up for too many hours lol.

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I was just sitting here contemplating the immortal words of Socrates who said, "I drank what?"

"Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot." --Carl Sagan "Pale Blue Dot"

I think a thread in every forae would be a good idea, with a link to a thread here as there are a lot of knowlagable people who only vist one or two forae...

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If this writing is blue you're going too fast!

Thanks George, for the great idea.

Preface of the course.

The course can be bifurcate in a, b, c like sections

A: basics of astronomy
b. Star and planet study
c. Photos and links related with the subjects, viewing tools information 'of telescopes' worldwide, (in which all links can be bring together).

This first course may be starts with the "foundation course in astronomy and space".

If this first course one has already done after the online examination, then he/she will choose the "intermediate course in astronomy and space".

Data/maps/links/search engines/information of different explorations already done in the space, such information also can be added there. And in every month there will be a online paper to solve it by marking the brackets which results also can be show immediately, and one can also update his or her score by practicing number of attempts solving the question paper.

besides the books recommendations/gist of the books/online books reading referrals/ etc can be add there.

Sunil

Kelfazin, although I agree we need to recruit, I don't believe we have the magic formula to win instructors to us yet. After over 100 posts, none have jumped in to take the reins. antoniseb has been the only one that has come close, but his willingness was before Fraser introduced the idea of, essentially, writing our own for our use as well as for Wiki Books. A quality textbooks could easily be over 300 pages along with extenisve drawings, images, and, hopefully, animations. Ask any one individual to take the responsibility would be unfair and unreasonable. I have PM'd a couple of potential professors for us and have come to the conclusion they like the idea but are not able to dedicate time for this project.

IMO, for instructors to assist, they have to be interested and attracted enough to contribute in a manner that will not be too obigatory on their time. They come here for other reasons than to extend their formal teaching and become more accountable to others. We must make it a win - win for everyone, and fun, too. The truth is we know they love to teach; just look at some of their post counts; they love this stuff, and so do we. How do we make it fun for them?

The only thing I can think of is to keep all obligations to a minimum and go where they are the most attracted, or at least we see them the most active, - individual topics. So, what if we establish the outline for one chapter, then make each section, or subsection, a specific topic that we introduce as a thread title. They would know, or be informed in the OP, that their efforts would be special since they would be contributing to a project they already, IMO, deem as very worthy.

Kelfazin, I like your idea of a dedicated forum and would Fraser would not object.

I think organization like this is just what we need. If we can break it down to an outline form - where chapter subsections could become threads of their own - then we will start seeing some real pro particpation, I think.

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Lighten up! This is a stellar board! Author: duh.

"The Sun, with all the planets revolving around it, and depending on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as though it had nothing else in the universe to do..." Author: Galileo supposedly.

Here is an alternative idea for a text book, but in that vein. It's less than perfect, but it doesn't require an inordinately huge investment of effort by the course instructors.

The instructors come up with the topics to be covered in the course. For instance, chapter 1 could be basic physical principles. The sub-topics would be, perhaps, classical kinematics, dynamics, gravity, and orbital mechanics. (Maybe that's too broad for a single chapter, but you get the idea.) Then, each student is assigned a small paper on one of these topics -- do some research, describe what the topic is, and present the ideas. Once those are in, the instructors take the best of the assignments, fix any errors, and incorporate those into the text. Give time for people to learn all of the material, have a quiz, and move on to the next chapter.

So after the first class goes through, there exists a text book. The text can be refined as more and more sets of students go through the course. A large portion of the work is done by the students themselves, leaving the experts time to actually teach stuff.

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"It's turtles all the way down."

Ok so let's test the procedures. Let's pick a topic and those of us here write up the wiki entry, then we post to the astronomy section to be "graded." Since it doesn't appear this thread is attracting the needed attention, let's be proactive, complete lesson 1, and see if we can get people hooked.

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I was just sitting here contemplating the immortal words of Socrates who said, "I drank what?"

"Think of the rivers of blood spilled by all those generals and emperors so that, in glory and triumph, they could become the momentary masters of a fraction of a dot." --Carl Sagan "Pale Blue Dot"

Yes, I think this will work. It might be best to spend time in this thread building a concatenation of topics. Why don't we start working on a Chapter 1 outline until it looks like one that is worthy of being the first chapter of the Wiki Book's astronomy course. If it hits all the right topics and they look comprehensive and coherent, we might get more quality efforts from those who can make this thing really fly.

I'll have only a little time tomorrow, but I should be able to help. Once we think we have it, let's see if antoniseb thinks it will be attractive enough to get some quality input.

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Lighten up! This is a stellar board! Author: duh.

"The Sun, with all the planets revolving around it, and depending on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as though it had nothing else in the universe to do..." Author: Galileo supposedly.

I am dull in writing, but I can paint pictures of some space items well, see, but your ideas are very great george, I am too much influenced with your views about the book/astronomy training ideas.