As Thammasat University students grow accustomed to online learning and distance education, some may wish to explore overseas opportunities after they have done their required coursework. Taking an extra class may be informative and help complement main areas of study, giving students new ideas and perspectives and help them to practice their English language usage.
One opportunity to consider may be free massive open online courses (MOOCs) at the University of Colorado (CU Boulder), the flagship university of the University of Colorado system.
In 2015, the university comprised nine colleges and schools and offered over 150 academic programs, with almost 17,000 students enrolled.
The Thammasat University Library owns copies of a number of theses produced at the University of Colorado.
These include Estimates of an acreage response model of five major annual crops in Thailand, 1967-1981 by Teera Ashakul, Ph.D., a doctoral dissertation published by the University of Colorado in 1983. Another example is Income distribution in Thailand: an analysis with policy implications by Associate Professor Charuma Ashakul, Ph.D., a doctoral dissertation published by the Faculty of the Graduate School, University of Colorado in 1983. Today, Ajarn Charuma is Associate Professor at the Faculty of Economics, Chulalongkorn University.
As the University of Colorado website explains,
MOOCs, or massive open online courses, are open-access, are non-credit classes offered through Coursera available at no cost to participants. Coursera’s comprehensive education platform combines mastery-based learning principles with video lectures, interactive content and an expanded community of peers, enabling universities to develop and deliver content with the potential to boost completion, quality and access to higher education for students in classrooms and across the globe.
Among choices available for TU students is Cybersecurity for Business Specialization:
About This Specialization
It seems anymore that you can’t listen to the news without hearing of a data breach. You may have heard it said before that there are 2 types of companies out there, the ones who have been breached and those who will be breached. Defending against attackers who want to compromise assets can seem like an arduous task, but learning how attacks work and more importantly how to defend against those attacks can be very fulfilling. This specialization is designed to introduce you to practical computer security by teaching you the fundamentals of how you use security in the business world. This course is for those who want to understand how to defend computer systems and assets from attackers and other threats. It is also for those who want to understand how threats and attacks are carried out to help better defend their systems. This specialization is designed for senior business leaders to middle management and system administrators, so they can all speak the same language and get a better handle on their organization’s security. Additionally, the course material may help you in passing some industry leading computer security examinations such as Security+ and CISSP.
Projects Overview
Learners will identify risks and learn how to protect systems given real world system architectures. Learners will also use their knowledge to assess real world data breaches to determine what threats and exploits caused the data breaches and also what defense mechanisms would have prevented the breaches. Finally, learners will use the proactive security knowledge they gained to exploit a live system to show the risks of insecure web applications.
The course will be taught by Mr. Greg Williams, Lecturer in the Department of Computer Science, University of Colorado System, who has taught the past five years in the Department of Computer Science at the University of Colorado Colorado Springs focusing primarily on cyber security. His full time position is within the Office of Information Technology as the Director of Operations, overseeing all network, infrastructure, and telecommunication functions for the university. He has previously been the Information Security Officer and HIPAA Security Officer for university.
Other MOOCs available include Coexistence in Medieval Spain: Jews, Christians, and Muslims:
About This Course
This course explores Jewish, Christian, and Muslim intercultural relations in Iberia from the Visigothic era (6th century CE) until the creation of Queen Isabel I and King Ferdinand II Catholic Spain (late 15th century). We evaluate the many identities of the peninsula known as Christian Hispania, Jewish Sefarad, and Islamic al-Andalus. We trace the origins and trajectory of conflict between these communities (the Muslim conquest of Spain, Christian Reconquista, prohibitions blocking intermixing of peoples, and expulsions). We aim to understand conflicts within communities as well, such as the tensions between Christian Arian Visigoths and native Catholic Iberians or the fundamentalist North African Almohad Dynasty that rejected the Spanish Umayyad Caliphate’s preference for religious tolerance. We delve into an appreciation of collaboration and coexistence among these communities. We explore the unique role of the Jewish community who Muslims and Christians depended upon as political and cultural intermediaries as well as their intellectual collaborators. We find the history of how peoples attempted to create and manage viable diverse communities. As we study this history, the Honors Track will employ an investigative process (“The Historian’s Craft”) that involves viewing, reading, analyzing, and reflecting on events, peoples, places, and artifacts.
Still another possibility is Toledo: Deciphering Secrets of Medieval Spain:
About This Course
This course evaluates the medieval history of Toledo from the era of the Visigoth Kingdom (6th-8th centuries) through its Islamic period (8th to 11th centuries) and into its reintegration into Christian Spain (after 1085 c.e.) In particular, we take note of the cultural and religious transformations that characterized the city with a special effort to understand how many peoples and religions came to settle and live amongst one another. We will virtually-tour the Islamic and Christian structures of the Museo de Santa Cruz, Iglesia de San Román, Sinagoga del Tránsito, Mezquita de Bab al-Mardum, Archivo Municipal de Toledo, and the Archivo Historico de la Nobleza. We examine the Visigoths transition from Christian Arianism to Catholicism and the harsh treatment of the Jewish population.
We explore Islamic governance and development of the medieval city of three faiths, with a special interest in its cultural achievements. We will study King Alfonso “The Wise” (1252-1284)’s efforts to characterize himself as the “king of three religions” via his legal codices, the creation of the Cantigas de Santa María, and his intellectual endeavor known as the Toledo School of Translators. We evaluate the robust Jewish and converso noble families of the city and appreciate their intellectual, religious, and economic contributions to Castilian life. We will bear witness to the rise of anti-Jewish blood purity statutes, the creation of the Inquisition, and the expulsion of the Jews. We also briefly introduce and study Spanish manuscripts from the municipal and cathedral archives to make new scholarly breakthroughs relating to the Jewish, Christian, and Muslim interrelations.
No knowledge of Spanish is needed to participate in the course or in our transcription efforts.
The instructor for the above two classes is Dr. Roger Louis Martínez-Dávila, a European Commission Marie Curie Fellow at the Universidad de Carlos III de Madrid (Spain) and an Associate Professor of History at University of Colorado-Colorado Springs (USA). A dedicated website for the Deciphering Secrets MOOC may be found at this link.
(All images courtesy of Wikimedia Commons)