Stanford seeks to change the way courses are taught, with three free computer science classes to be taught this fall.

Introduction to databases

Databases are incredibly prevalent — they underlie technology used by most people every day if not every hour. The course covers database design and the use of database management systems for applications.

Website: http://www.db-class.com/

Duration: The class will start October 10 and end on December 12.

About the Professor:

Professor Jennifer Widom  is the Fletcher Jones Professor and Chair of the Computer Science Department at Stanford University. She received her Bachelors degree from the Indiana University School of Music in 1982 and her Computer Science Ph.D. from Cornell University in 1987. She was a Research Staff Member at the IBM Almaden Research Center before joining the Stanford faculty in 1993.

Introduction to AI

Artificial Intelligence is the science of making computer software that reasons about the world around it. To be taught by 2 leading experts from Silicon Valley. Currently more than 100,000 students have registered for the online course.

Website: http://www.ai-class.com/

Duration: Class begins October 10 and ends December 16.

About the Professors:

Sebastian Thrun is a Research Professor of Computer Science at Stanford University, a Google Fellow, a member of the National Academy of Engineering and the German Academy of Sciences. Thrun is best known for his research in robotics and machine learning.

Peter Norvig is Director of Research at Google Inc. He is also a Fellow of the American Association for Artificial Intelligence and the Association for Computing Machinery.

Machine learning

Machine learning is the science of getting computers to act without being explicitly programmed.

Website: http://ml-class.org/

Duration: The class will start October 10, and end on December 16

About the Professor:

Professor Andrew Ng  is Director of the Stanford Artificial Intelligence Lab, the main AI research organization at Stanford, with 20 professors and about 150 students/post docs.

These courses are being offered experimentally by the Stanford computer science department to extend technology knowledge beyond their campus.

The online students will receive a statement of accomplishment from their instructor, which will include information on how well you did and how your performance compared to other online students.