This is a friendly reminder that the final exam for Nanotechnology: The Basics has an upcoming deadline: December 24 at 11:00am. Please don't forget to complete the final before this deadline, so that you can have a worry-free holiday!
Best,
Dan and Vicki

Sun 22 Dec 2013 5:53 PM CET

Hello, we have pushed the deadline for the peer assessment to this Friday night. If you do submit a peer grading assignment, which we hope you will, you will need to grade the assignments of your peers over the weekend. We have to have a narrow window for peer grading to make everything synchronize. Reading real nanotechnology literature we think is an excellent way for students to consolidate their learning, so we are trying to do everything we can to encourage you to try it out. Also, note that to get a certificate of accomplishment in this class you need only take the basic quiz every week plus the final, and get 40 points total. The peer assessment is provided for students working towards the certificate with distinction (80 points total) and is not required for the accomplishment certificate. But there is no downside to trying it out even if you are only interested in a basic certificate.

If for some reason this schedule cannot work for you, please read the publications and take the optional quiz posted in week 3 (due 12/23). You may do both the peer assessment and the optional quiz on the publications, no worries, you'll just get a whole bunch of points. We actually think the quiz is a good way to study for the peer assessment. Have a great weekend and think small.

Vicki and Dan

Thu 12 Dec 2013 12:09 AM CET

The Final Exam is now posted and available. You can find it by clicking on the "Final exam and other stuff" link on the left hand side of the page. You might find some of the other stuff to be useful and interesting too.

Best wishes for a safe and happy holiday season.
-Dan and Vicki

Tue 10 Dec 2013 6:21 AM CET

We understand that some of you have been having problems with the audio portion of some of the videos for weeks 3 and 4. We are very sorry about this issue, and have been working with Coursera technical staff to correct the problem. We understand the frustration, and we hope that you'll be patient as this technical bug is worked out. We've heard that it should be fixed by the end of this weekend.

Because of this problem, we've decided to extend the deadlines for the Week 3 and Week 4 quizzes. Please note that this deadline extension does NOT apply to the peer assessment assignment, because of the complexities with scheduling peer review.

Thanks again for your patience.

Best,
Dan and Vicki

Sat 7 Dec 2013 5:05 PM CET

Hello! This email is a reminder that the materials for Week 4 of Nanotechnology: The Basics will be available in about 24 hours from now.

The topic for Week 4 is nanophotonics. We will talk about the intersection of the science of light with the science of the nano-world. We'll see a few examples of where this is important, and some of the exciting possibilities for the future. We will also have our final Small Talk episode, with Professor Stephan Link, an expert in plasmonics. Please note that the two quizzes for Week 4 will be available on Monday evening, about a day later than the rest of the week's material.

If you find the material for weeks 3 and 4 to be a bit more challenging than in the first two weeks of the class, do not be shy about asking for help! Post questions on the forum, and we'll try to get back to you as soon as possible.

One other reminder: the deadline for completion of the Week 2 quizzes is Monday at 11:00pm (Houston time). Don't forget to complete those quizzes before the deadline!

Thanks and regards,

Dan and Vicki

Sun 1 Dec 2013 6:12 AM CET

The peer assessment assignment has been posted, thank you for your patience. To do this in-depth assignment, you have to read three nanotechnology publications which can be found on the in-depth resources page under week 3 as pdf documents. In designing what we hope will be a great learning experience, we decided to include publications that have both week 3 and week 4 material in them, and for that reason have bumped the assignment due date accordingly. However, it is the nature of peer assessment that we must have everyone turn in their assignments by a certain date (no late assignments) and there is only a brief few day window for peer grading.

Peer assessments are not for everyone. If you don't want to do peer assessment or can't fit the commitment to peer grade into your schedule, we are offering an alternative extra credit quiz on the reading material which is also posted under week 3. The questions are not as integrative of course since multiple choice is limited, but it gives you options. Of course, you can do both and earn even more points, and we suspect that working the quiz may help you better understand these papers.

This is a challenging assignment that we anticipate will take substantial effort as much of the language in the publications may be unfamiliar -- hence its classification as an in-depth activity. Focus most on those parts of the papers that seem relevant to the class and use the forums to help sharpen your understanding and start early with your reading. Have fun reading this selection of current nanotechnology literature!

Vicki and Dan

Sat 30 Nov 2013 8:53 AM CET

Hi guys!

Y'all have already completed the first half of the class. What do you think so far? We have been having a lot of fun! It has been really pleasant to read all the great discussions we have had in the forums! Seems that the following weeks will be more challenging, so don't hesitate to ask questions.

Natalia, Gabriela and Daniel

Tue 26 Nov 2013 8:13 PM CET

Thank you for alerting us to the smaller video viewing size. We hope to have the issue resolved soon.

Tue 26 Nov 2013 1:49 AM CET

Hello! Welcome to week 3 of nanotechnology. The topic for this week is 'nanomagnetism'; size really matters for magnetic properties as you will learn. You will also see alot of diversity in how nanomagnetic materials are used as we explore three applications in data storage, water treatment and MRI contrast agents. The lectures are posted on the course site, but note that subtitles for the lectures will not be available until Wednesday. Also, we will generally post quizzes a day or two after the lectures post so look for those sometime tommorow well after week 1 quizzes close. The Small Talk this week is also available - its a bit different since we interview a graduate student researcher, Gary Stinnet, who does a great job giving perspectives on MRI imaging and contrast agents as well as the life of a graduate student.
A reminder that week 1 quizzes will be due later today - and no worries if you need more time, since every student has eight late days to apply to assignments as needed. We will post the optional peer assessment activity later this week and will circulate a special announcement when it does open to the class.
Keep posting on the forums, and as always - think small. (And happy thanksgiving to those US students - less than 50% of the class!)
Dan and Vicki

Mon 25 Nov 2013 1:45 PM CET

Just a friendly reminder: Please use polite, respectful behavior in this course. We want this course to be an environment that fosters community learning. We will not tolerate rude, inappropriate, or disruptive behavior. Be mindful of others when posting to the forum.

Mon 18 Nov 2013 9:14 PM CET

Greetings. We hope you are enjoying Nanotechnology: The Basics. The lectures, quizzes, and other materials for Week 2 will be posted shortly (to be precise, at 11:00pm Central time). The topic of discussion in Week 2 is nanoelectronics - the intersection of the ideas of nanoscience with the world of electronics. We trust that these new lectures will be stimulating and informative.

As with Week 1, there is a basic track and also more advanced materials for those who are interested in delving deeper. Please continue to post questions and comments on the forum, it is a great way to meet your fellow students!

Regards,
Daniel Mittleman and Vicki Colvin

Mon 18 Nov 2013 4:59 AM CET

He visto en los forums que hay gente de España, Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, etc. A pesar de que este es un curso en Ingles me gustaria darles la bienvenida oficial en español. Espero que disfruten el curso!
Natalia

Tue 12 Nov 2013 11:51 PM CET

This is Natalia, the head of TAs in this course. Together with Gabriela Escalera, Daniel Garcia and Sarah Nyquist will try to keep up with your posts in the Forums, but please be patient - you are more than sixty thousand students! We hope be able to answer all your questions within 24h.
We are looking forward to interact with you these four weeks.
Natalia, Gabriela, Daniel and Sarah

Tue 12 Nov 2013 11:34 PM CET

A few of you have noticed that the surveys display an "Effective Score". The surveys are built on the Coursera Quiz architecture and thus retain some characteristics of quizzes, like displaying "Effective Score." Unfortunately, given the way the platform is currently built, it is not possible to remove this line from the survey display. The effective score does not factor into any grade.

Mon 11 Nov 2013 10:48 PM CET

Hello! We are very excited to announce that Nanotechnology: The Basics is now open! This four week class covers nanotechnology for students who have some familiarity with basic science. We provide a mix of video lectures, some cool demos, and a weekly interview with nanotechnology researchers - and to stay with the class we anticipate about 2 to 3 hours a week are required to view materials and take the weekly quiz. If you want to go deeper, we are offering an 'in-depth' track that requires additional quizzes and one special project. You have a two week window to complete every assignment, plus a handful of late days to use as you need.

Take a moment to check in on the class, perhaps introduce yourself, and take one of our two surveys. We are looking forward to meeting you on the forums soon and sharing our enthusiasm for this fascinating subject.

Dan Mittleman and Vicki Colvin

Mon 11 Nov 2013 7:51 PM CET

Dear Students,
We are extremely excited that you have enrolled in Nanotechnology: The Basics. We are writing to inform you that the start date has been changed to Monday, November 11th, 2013. We genuinely want to provide the best possible experience and a later start date ensures a better course.

We look forward to seeing you on November 11th.

Sincerely,
Vicki and Dan

Mon 21 Oct 2013 12:55 AM CEST

Hello and welcome to Nanotechnology: The Basics!

We are almost ready to lanuch the preview site for you all to look over. If you are new to the page, make sure to watch some of the video lectures or try to take the assessment quiz or survey. Finally - always good if you post on the site so don't be shy.

Professors Colvin and Mittleman

Sat 30 Jun 2012 7:47 PM CEST