edX Reviews

After having used edX for a few weeks, I am fully convinced that the dictionary definition of "waste of money" should be "spending money on the edX website". I am so angry and frustrated that I fell for this scam that I cannot express it! I thought it was going to show me some useful videos and texts, then I would test what I have learned and by the end, I would get something out of it for my money. Instead, it shows me 2-5 minutes long videos that teach me next to nothing, and then I will need to test my knowledge by selecting from different options the correct answer(s). Based on the videos, I have no clue which options are correct and which ones are wrong and to be honest, even if I did, this is not how one learns anything in real life anyway.

I decided to spend $1000 on the Machine Learning Micro Masters course delivered by San Diego University. 4 components:
Python for Data Science - OK, somewhat superficial but a decent introduction
Probability and Statistics - pointless, far better courses on the Khan Academy. Content was poorly explained, slides had numerous mistakes and the lectures were dry and confusing.
Machine Learning Fundamentals - this was good, the presenter took care to explain and was clear. The only course of the 4 that was actually worth the money.
Big Data Anlaytics using Spark - truly dreadful. Exercises didn't work at all, the delivery was mind numbing. I gave up before the end in exasperation.
The one thing I should point out is that there is very little support from the course officials during the courses. It's as if they've set it up, automated the exercises and examinations and then fogotten about it.
Overall, a waste of money. Better to just do the Machine Course for $250 - buy a book for the rest (you don't need the stats course for machine learning anyway).

Took my money and then archived the course.

I finished 4 courses, mostly on blockchain and fintech. I can recommend this organisation!

I've got a tip, a compleet handout or a list with sources would help improve the courses.

I have ADHD. I am currently unemployed. A family member bought me this course as a gift & I was ecstatic. Since I’m unemployed, I’m swamped with job searching/preliminary & final interviews, building my portfolio and earning part time cash. I’ve also had several speedbumps in my personal life and couldn’t progress in the course at the rate I was expecting.

Firstly: navigating the course is a b*tch. The layout is incredibly confusing. There are parts of the course that are marked incomplete that I submitted several times. The syllabus is not accurate and very often the modules have more material than what’s listed. If you’re trying to work around a course deadline: tough. You have to plow through unexpected small assignments and readings.
I'm pretty sure other students are responsible for grading: not a professional. Many small assignments and reflections require interacting with your peers on the discussion board, which basically doesn't happen. I saw maybe 3 or 4 posts ranging back to last year that had any peer engagement.
One assignment required me to submit a rough outline/draft. I decided to wait until someone got back to me with notes and suggestions for my final draft. Because that’s what rough drafts are for. I haven't heard back. There's no coherent page that shows your submissions/feedback.

All of that is annoying: but fine. I figured it’ll just take a little longer to get feedback before I decide to move onto final assignments. I figured that since you can join a course at any given time, you can also finish it at you leisure. There are proclamations all over the place about how you “learn at your own pace” and there are “flexible deadlines”. I had to focus on interviews, assessments, appointments, and my personal life so I decided to wait until I received graded feedback. Since you can enroll in a course that’s already begun (so basically at any time) I assumed completing the course was just as flexible. I assumed any existing work would be rolled over to the next scheduled course in some capacity. Nope! If I don’t finish this course in the next 3 days (even though many of my completed sections are still marked as unfinished) I lose the opportunity to get a certificate.
Its incredibly stressful and rigid. There’s also a recommended course on HOW TO COMPLETE A COURSE and navigate the website. Its incredible dense, takes forever (I wish I was recommended that BEFORE purchasing the course) and again, the layout and site design is overwhelming and faulty. For 140 bucks I’d expect some timely responses and well programmed site mechanics. Just do the free courses and spend your money elsewhere

Just finished edX UMGC Micromasters in ID. Legitimately worst experience ever! The last course (the 400 course), imparticular, was taught by a woman named Cathy whose email and message tone to students was horrendous! I'd be fired of I address students like she did!
The peer review process was at best, slow and uneven, but at worst, downright horrible!
These folks, in this courses, literally have no idea what they're doing!
From the 100-400 courses there was no consistency & directions changed all the time.
Being rated by non-native speakers of English was another great (not) experience!
I'd NEVER take another course from this organization ever again! And I PAID GOOD $ to be a "verified" learner too!

Terrible platform, Never Buy Anything from EDx,

My girlfriend bought me a few EdX courses which I happen to realise that she paid months after.

I never even get to use them, did not study, did not submit assessment. I basically opened it to check what it is, watched one lesson and never looked at it again.

Now I realised that she actually paid a lot, around 250$ or so. See now when I try to apply for a refund, they fine tuned their policy in such a way that it would never give you the refund, except if you are actively looking at it, and drop it in the first few weeks after you realise that it is a complete online scam.

I've contacted with support, they are very annoying. Obviously as you guess all of them are outsourced from undeveloped countries working for pennies per hr. Their entire job is to block rich world customers refund applications.

Simply Unbelievable.

Note: what I am going to review is a course called Embedded Systems Essentials with Arm: Getting Started.

OVERVIEW:
This course was supposed to give me an introduction to start with the world of embedded systems but instead I got 3 to 4 minutes videos that even a YouTube video can give more facts about the topic than these videos.

THE EXAMINATION METHOD
Most of the questions where select one correct answer, select all the correct answers for this question and rarely you got a programming question. The exam questions especially the selection of one or all the correct answers where far cry from what I have learned. And this will deprive you from the curiosity that you had before enrolling on this course.

I signed up for Basic Spanish certificate course. When I started the course I read somewhere that the course was 7 weeks long but the course information said the course would be ending in 3 weeks. I emailed for clarity and Becca responded and told me that the course would end in 3 weeks and offered to switch me to another class. I emailed back to get clarity about why the class was ending in 3 weeks when the websites says the course ins 7 weeks. Her response to me was basically, " I offered to switch you to a new class. Do you want to switch or not?" not in that language but that was what she meant. She never explained the timing of the class.
I responded again and asked, "how do I cancel the class and get a refund?" Ten minutes later she emailed me back a cancellation receipt with no other response.
Customer Service agents apparently not be so customer friendly at edX- beware.

I've done 3 online courses through edX and the platform makes it easier to navigate through modules.