09-27-2024, 07:02 PM
Provider: Sophia
Course: Anatomy II + Lab
Course content: The content of the main course is pretty much an adaptation of the OpenStax anatomy textbook with a few short clips from youtube video sprinkled here and there. The labs are interactive simulations on Labster.
Final exam format: 75 multiple choice questions in two hours (maybe a little less time? I don't remember and I can't see the length on the dashboard anymore)
Final exam content vs course content/practice exams: Final exam was a mix of familiar material and curveballs. They seemed to like to throw a lot of curveballs in this course since everything was open book -- I guess they figure it's a way that students will familiarize themselves with the material before tests, because if you get too many curveballs you don't know how to handle, or at least know where to look up the answer, there's no way you're going to pass the tests in the time limit. To be fair, though, I did not fastidiously read through the text because it was mind numbingly boring and sometimes confusing. More about that below.
Time taken on course: >2 weeks
Familiarity with subject before course: Somewhat to fairly familiar, though it's been a few years since I actively studied most of these topics, especially in detail.
Pitfalls, high points, things others should know: Wow, this was a slog. And I *like* anatomy. But the way the material was presented, you just had to memorize or half-memorize a lot of stuff without really understanding why things work the way they do. I tried making things easier for myself by watching Khan Academy videos and stuff from interactive biology. They did help, but they weren't detailed enough. About halfway through the course I discovered Ninja Nerd on YouTube and that was a lifesaver. He was 100X better than the text. I would watch the relevant Ninja Nerd videos and then skim over the text. Also, I highly recommend taking this with the lab. For most units, doing the lab before the unit or concurrently is extremely helpful in learning the material. If you are planning to take the anatomy courses and do not want to have a multi month sofia subscription, I recommend doing Khan Academy and ninja nerd before you sign up for Sophia. I had no access to other Sophia courses while I was doing this.
1-10 Difficulty level: 7 or 8
Course: Anatomy II + Lab
Course content: The content of the main course is pretty much an adaptation of the OpenStax anatomy textbook with a few short clips from youtube video sprinkled here and there. The labs are interactive simulations on Labster.
Final exam format: 75 multiple choice questions in two hours (maybe a little less time? I don't remember and I can't see the length on the dashboard anymore)
Final exam content vs course content/practice exams: Final exam was a mix of familiar material and curveballs. They seemed to like to throw a lot of curveballs in this course since everything was open book -- I guess they figure it's a way that students will familiarize themselves with the material before tests, because if you get too many curveballs you don't know how to handle, or at least know where to look up the answer, there's no way you're going to pass the tests in the time limit. To be fair, though, I did not fastidiously read through the text because it was mind numbingly boring and sometimes confusing. More about that below.
Time taken on course: >2 weeks
Familiarity with subject before course: Somewhat to fairly familiar, though it's been a few years since I actively studied most of these topics, especially in detail.
Pitfalls, high points, things others should know: Wow, this was a slog. And I *like* anatomy. But the way the material was presented, you just had to memorize or half-memorize a lot of stuff without really understanding why things work the way they do. I tried making things easier for myself by watching Khan Academy videos and stuff from interactive biology. They did help, but they weren't detailed enough. About halfway through the course I discovered Ninja Nerd on YouTube and that was a lifesaver. He was 100X better than the text. I would watch the relevant Ninja Nerd videos and then skim over the text. Also, I highly recommend taking this with the lab. For most units, doing the lab before the unit or concurrently is extremely helpful in learning the material. If you are planning to take the anatomy courses and do not want to have a multi month sofia subscription, I recommend doing Khan Academy and ninja nerd before you sign up for Sophia. I had no access to other Sophia courses while I was doing this.
1-10 Difficulty level: 7 or 8