What do you think of EdX distance learning China course

[Leiya]

Is $90 reasonable enough when it comes to a verified certificate when finishing a course. It's quite expensive almost a thousand bucks when converted

[Flickserve]

$90 converted to $1000? How does that come about?

[Leiya]

Flickservce  What I mean is the conversion in our currency. (Dollars to Philippines Pesos). For example $1 = 45 pesos so $90 x 45 = P4,050.00

[Flickserve]

Quite a difficult question to answer.

 

How do you personally perceive the value of the certificate in the future for your career?

[Shelley]

I really like the edX course, I don't pay for a verified certificate because i have no need of it. As Flickserve said it depends if it is of value to you.

 

I got a certificate for the first level I did because I got over 80% but it is not certified it just confirms that you took the course and achieved a passing grade.

 

You even get an actual certificate you can print out, you can also upload it to your LinkedIn account as a new skill.

 

For me all this is good enough.

 

I am on course for passing level 2 and should have another certificate soon.

[abcdefg]

I took a China history course from EdX last year, but didn't pay for the certificate. I'm well past the stage where I care about building a good resumé.  Like others have said, what it is worth depends on your needs.

[Kamikaze]

Don't pay

 

It's better take the course and save the money for a HSK exam

[Leiya]

What is the difference between a verified certificate? I have checked their courses and I think its good.

Flickserve - Studying Chinese culture is important to me. Since I am a Chinese studies enthuasiast, and my love for the Chinese culture was even published in a local Fil-Chi magazine before. (3 yrs. ago). I really want to establish myself as certified and a knowledgeable person when it comes to the Chinese culture.

 

Its quite difficult at these times, especially as a Filipino and some people criticize me for loving the Chinese culture, have you heard of the West Philippine Sea dispute? I get bashed...  but I dont care... I love what Im doing..

[Shelley]

For a verified certificate you have to provide identification, you have to actually hold up documents to your web cam, drivers license and others and pay money, at least that's how Coursera wanted to do it.

 

I wasn't sure i wanted such documents flying around the internet and besides i didn't need it verified. There might be other ways of doing but i haven't bothered to find out.

[Flickserve]

Good practical points by Shelley and Kamikaze.

I think if you intend to take Chinese further, you will eventually gain certificates which are far more recognised than this one.

One thing is, will this certificate be useful for you to go on other courses as an entry requirement? Does it give you any exemptions in the future? If so, then it may be worth it. If not, then think again. If you definitely are not going for a higher degree in Chinese, then these certificates might help you as an alternative.

I did a Master's degree in a subject not totally related to my work. That cost a lot more! It was interesting. It all depends on the individual.

[Leiya]

Can I include the courses that I have taken in my CV even if I didn't pay?

[Flickserve]

You can put anything down on your CV that you think will benefit.

[Shelley]

I don't see why not, you took them and you can usually get a certificate to say you have completed the course. It all depends on the value the person reading your CV puts on this kind of course. This is because you can cheat, by this I mean things like you can have books and dictionaries to refer to so your final result may not reflect your true abilities. I am not saying I think you will cheat but people do.

 

Courses like this are worth taking for your own improvement, I don't think that most people take them for much more, but if they need the credentials its worth paying for.

 

I think though that you would be better taking the course for free and as suggested take the much more recognized and valued HSK exams, you can take these on line too.

[Leiya]

Thanks Flickserve and Shelley.

Shelley - Good point! Yup your comment made me think if I want my personal id on the net. 

 

Well on the point on cheating. Its like cheating one's self also, like if I plan to cheat, that would really be the loser since Im posing I learned something but not really. 

Besides it really feels best when you accomplish something that you know you really work hard for it. 

 

Ok... Im glad that theres something good online. Like free courses. As they say theres really no such thing as 'free' nowadays.

[Demonic_Duck]

The course certificates are basically proof that you can offer to show you've taken the course. If you haven't applied for the certificate you could put "completed" or maybe "passed" on your CV, but "certified" would be dishonest.

Disagree with people saying "don't certify"; you should certify iff you think it's worth the money and can afford it. Time, money, and expertise has gone into creating the course, and some people need to pay for content for it to be made freely available to others.

On the other hand, the freemium model allows you to take the course before even deciding whether to certify or not.

[Pokarface]

I team up with @Kamikaze. I'd save the money and take the HSK test since this the recognized test in China. Study however you feel comfortable.

American's can take the HSK test in the U.S. without ever going to China. Are there universities that offer this test in the Philippines?

[Leiya]

Helow Pokarface. Yup we can take the test here.. sponsored by the the Confucius Institute ( we have 3 schools that houses Confucius Institute Ateneo de Manila and Angeles University in Pampanga and Bulacan State University, becoming 4 in the future soon, University of the Philippines will have CI soon) from what I know it is not that expensive. http://www.ateneoconfucius.com/pages.php?language=en-US&folder=Services&page=ProficiencyTests&file=ProficiencyTests

 

Demonic_Duck - Thanks! 

[Pokarface]

@Leiya Sounds great!
By the way, I haven't taken the EDX course, but my thought process was that if you ever show the certificate to someone in Mainland China, they'll be like, "wth is this?" obviously, they'll talk to you and verify you are good at Chinese regardless of the certificate; whereas, the HSK is the cream of the crop in China since it's used by universities as entrance exams for foreigners and even Chinese from provinces where the use of 普通話 is not as common =-)

[Leiya]

Pokarface - I'm not interested with the language courses at EdX. I'm more into the Chinese studies (culture, history, arts) courses.   But I also doubt its recognized in the universities here or abroad.. or if I can teach if I have that certficate.Its more of just adding knowledge to what you know...

[Demonic_Duck]

HSK is the cream of the crop in China since it's used by universities as entrance exams for foreigners and even Chinese from provinces where the use of 普通話 is not as common =-)

 

Nope. HSK is exclusively aimed at foreigners. You're thinking of the 普通话水平测试.

 

Also, many Chinese 老百姓 haven't even heard of HSK (just as many English-speaking westerners haven't heard of TOEFL or IELTS).