MOOC Review: MongoDB for Java Developers

* This review is my personal review on the course and is not sponsored by MongoDB, Inc. 

Course Name:
M101J: MongoDB for Java Developers
Link:
https://education.mongodb.com/courses/10gen/M101J/2014_March/about
Institution:
MongoDB
Instructors:
Andrew Erlichson, Jeff Yemin

The most difficult part of the course, in my opinion, was the first week, in which I had to install things on Windows, which was not too easy. This was partially because the videos were mainly for... (I forgot the OS used in the demo, but it should be the like of Linux.) Still, with the discussion forum and other online resources, I was still able to install and use things on Windows.

Although something later in the course still varied from OS to OS, the cases were handled easily and well by some text explanations. This is why I did not encounter many issues after the first week.

I usually learn better by reading than by watching videos, so it scared me in the first week that the course was mainly composed of videos. However, the instructors' voice was clear, and subtitles were available. Therefore, I got used to the mode as the course progressed.

The videos introduced MongoDB and its Java driver. The non-driver part is almost the same as that for two other courses offered by MongoDB University - M101JS: MongoDB for Node.js Developers and M101P: MongoDB for Developers as far as what I completed (I did not complete the other two). The Java driver part can be learned more easily with the API documentation.

Most videos were short, and it was not difficult for me to pay attention for the duration of a video.

Sometimes comparisons between MongoDB and relational database were introduced. It might be interesting to those who know relational database as I do.

Most videos were followed by quizzes, which helped understand what was covered by the videos and did not count toward the certificate. They were helpful in my opinion. The types included multiple choice and scripting, and the problems were similar to some of the weekly assignment problems.

The assignments included multiple choice, scripting, and programming problems. The scripting ones were done either on the browser or on MongoDB Shell, depending on the problem. These helped me get familiar with commands on MongoDB Shell. The programming ones typically involved using the Java driver and building a blog (the user interface design was provided, so one did not have to make one).

The blog project was interesting to me in that it increased experience working on something complicated.

The final exam was like the assignments, but the problems required more thinking to deal with the data.

The last week of the course contained the final exam and case studies. The case studies were interviews with Jon Hoffman from Foursquare and Ryan Bubinksi from Codecademy. It was interesting to learn more about these two websites.

In general, the course was organized, and the quality of the materials was good. The difficulty was okay (except for the first week for Windows users who are not familiar with IT stuff). There was also help on the discussion forum from the staff and other participants. The course should serve as a good introduction to MongoDB.