The Learn Tracker
...life-long learning: structured, organized, searchable...

My name is Edward Tanguay.
I have a Bachelors degree in Philosophy, a Masters in Education, and am currently working as a web developer in Berlin, Germany.

I watch over 200 college-level MOOC lectures per year in subjects such as history , psychology, science, religion, art, philosophy, and IT development in English, German, French, Spanish and Italian, and record my notes here.
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edward [at] tanguay.info

Learning Activity by Month:

The primary goal of this Learn Tracker project is to build a web site which serves as one place to record the notes of everything that I am learning from MOOC classes, to foreign languages, to useful code examples and technical how-to notes, so that I not only have an overview of what I have learned, but can search and recall these notes at any time.

The secondary goal of this Learn Tracker project is to work together with companies, universities, and MOOC providers to build software that allows employees, students, and learners to record what they are learning in an efficient way so that it serves not only as (1) a record of what they have learned, but also (2) a place for them to review and search what they have learned.

Since January 2013, I have watched and recorded notes on over 300 MOOC lectures from over 30 different courses in both English and French, and have watched and recorded notes and flashcards on over 50 foreign language videos in Italian, French and Spanish. (I am curently still adding notes I took from 2013 and plan to be caught up by the end of January 2014.

October 2014 Learn Certificate
Watched and took notes on 13 college lectures:
Learned about 13 people:
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Corrected 12 misspelling:
worshipping, almalgamations, mercantalism, forcasting, Appalacian, refering, desireable, commiting, enquiries, Admendment, busses, interacial
Recorded 117 Flashcards from MOOC lectures:
  • A brief outline (SPANISH)
                        
  • Although the latter two are (SPANISH)
                        
  • As can be seen (SPANISH)
                        
  • As we say then (SPANISH)
                        
  • But while (SPANISH)
                        
  • Conversely (SPANISH)
                        
  • Especially in the first half (SPANISH)
                        
  • Hence we speak of (SPANISH)
                        
  • Human populations settle (SPANISH)
                        
  • I must say that (SPANISH)
                        
  • I will say from the outset that (SPANISH)
                        
  • In the remainder of this video (SPANISH)
                        
  • In this third video (SPANISH)
                        
  • In this way, these engravings (SPANISH)
                        
  • Lake Chad was twenty times bigger (SPANISH)
                        
  • Let's consider this region in more detail (SPANISH)
                        
  • On the right you have (SPANISH)
                        
  • Similarly (SPANISH)
                        
  • The individual buried in this tomb (SPANISH)
                        
  • This is a weapon (SPANISH)
                        
  • This is due most probably to (SPANISH)
                        
  • This made economic production unnecessary (SPANISH)
                        
  • Thus creating (SPANISH)
                        
  • Until a few decades ago (SPANISH)
                        
  • We are not yet (SPANISH)
                        
  • We will return to (SPANISH)
                        
  • Where wine and oil were imported in large ceramic vessels (SPANISH)
                        
  • While we know that (SPANISH)
                        
  • a useful purpose (SPANISH)
                        
  • and make life possible (SPANISH)
                        
  • are located in the area (SPANISH)
                        
  • are profoundly different from each other (SPANISH)
                        
  • are such that (SPANISH)
                        
  • as we shall see (SPANISH)
                        
  • as we shall see (SPANISH)
                        
  • at the heart of (SPANISH)
                        
  • beer or bread (SPANISH)
                        
  • begins (SPANISH)
                        
  • best known (SPANISH)
                        
  • both from the architectural point of view (SPANISH)
                        
  • but are (SPANISH)
                        
  • can go back to populating (SPANISH)
                        
  • cattle (SPANISH)
                        
  • caught in a trap (SPANISH)
                        
  • copper (SPANISH)
                        
  • dark (SPANISH)
                        
  • deposited as an offering (SPANISH)
                        
  • dogs as pets (SPANISH)
                        
  • embarked on a process (SPANISH)
                        
  • encompassing as we say almost all of the fourth millennium (SPANISH)
                        
  • especially cattle (SPANISH)
                        
  • eventually becomes (SPANISH)
                        
  • first takes its course eastward (SPANISH)
                        
  • gradual (SPANISH)
                        
  • grind (SPANISH)
                        
  • has been recovered (SPANISH)
                        
  • i.e. graves (SPANISH)
                        
  • if we consider that (SPANISH)
                        
  • in a relatively small section (SPANISH)
                        
  • in addition to this original core area (SPANISH)
                        
  • in the two photographs above (SPANISH)
                        
  • in turn (SPANISH)
                        
  • is defined by the practice of agriculture (SPANISH)
                        
  • is found in (SPANISH)
                        
  • just one hundred kilometers (SPANISH)
                        
  • large wild animals (SPANISH)
                        
  • likewise (SPANISH)
                        
  • livestock (SPANISH)
                        
  • living from hunting, fishing, gathering (SPANISH)
                        
  • located (SPANISH)
                        
  • located in the desert (SPANISH)
                        
  • looking west (SPANISH)
                        
  • made it impossible for any form of (SPANISH)
                        
  • mild (SPANISH)
                        
  • of the gods (SPANISH)
                        
  • pigs (SPANISH)
                        
  • placed in position (SPANISH)
                        
  • running east to west (SPANISH)
                        
  • sheep (SPANISH)
                        
  • sheep and goats (SPANISH)
                        
  • sheep and goats (SPANISH)
                        
  • slow (SPANISH)
                        
  • social hierarchy (SPANISH)
                        
  • soon (SPANISH)
                        
  • still not clarified (SPANISH)
                        
  • temperatures rise (SPANISH)
                        
  • that eventually led (SPANISH)
                        
  • that leads to (SPANISH)
                        
  • that starts (SPANISH)
                        
  • the Nile makes a bend (SPANISH)
                        
  • the bodies are buried in circular pits (SPANISH)
                        
  • the cities that have been their capitals (SPANISH)
                        
  • the first early stages (SPANISH)
                        
  • the first early stages (SPANISH)
                        
  • the first two phases (SPANISH)
                        
  • the flooding of the Nile (SPANISH)
                        
  • the limit between (SPANISH)
                        
  • the ninth century (SPANISH)
                        
  • the process that leads seemlessly (SPANISH)
                        
  • the realm of the dead (SPANISH)
                        
  • the surrounding deserts (SPANISH)
                        
  • the western bank (SPANISH)
                        
  • these populations were in need of (SPANISH)
                        
  • this owes its wealth primarily to three factors (SPANISH)
                        
  • thus (SPANISH)
                        
  • to obtain raw materials from (SPANISH)
                        
  • understood (SPANISH)
                        
  • vegetables (SPANISH)
                        
  • was somewhat different (SPANISH)
                        
  • what is now the Sahara desert (SPANISH)
                        
  • wheat (SPANISH)
                        
  • which becomes (SPANISH)
                        
  • which does not happen with (SPANISH)
                        
  • which drove as far south as (SPANISH)
                        
  • which have been conducted (SPANISH)
                        
  • which led to (SPANISH)
                        
  • with structures much more sizeable (SPANISH)
                        
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Watched and took notes on MOOC lecture:
EGIPTOLOGÍA, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
•
nos situamos cronológicamente en el paso del Pleistoceno al Holoceno
•
hacia el diez mil antes de Cristo
•
Pleistoceno
•
comienza hace 2,59 millones de años y finaliza aproximadamente 10.000 años
•
Holoceno... view all notes
Saturday, October 4, 2014
Watched and took notes on MOOC lecture:
THE BIBLE'S PREHISTORY, PURPOSE, AND POLITICAL FUTURE, Emory University
•
Biblical authors
•
wrote from a southern Judahite perspective
•
had little to say about the northern kingdom's cultural, military and political achievements
•
although they give glimpses of it
•
in contrast to the single, Davidic dynasty of Judah, Israel witnesses a succession of dynasties... view all notes
People:
Ahab (930-874 BC)
The seventh king of Israel, the son of Omri according to the Hebrew Bible
  • reigned for 22 years
  • most probably fought in the Battle of Qarqar is mentioned in extra-biblical records
  • in the Biblical text, Ahab has five important encounters with prophets
Jehoram (920-842 BC)
King of the northern Kingdom of Israel, son of Ahab and Jezebel, and brother to King Ahaziah, and grandson of Omri
  • Jehoram worshiped Baal
  • author of Kings speaks of both Jehoram of Israel and Jehoram of Judah in the same passage, which can be confusing
Athaliah (900-836 BC)
Daughter of Omride King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, became queen consort of Judah as the wife of King Jehoram, a descendant of King David, and later queen regnant for six years.
  • worshiped Baal, tolerated by Jehoram who worshipped YHWH
  • after Jehoram's death, Ahaziah became king of Judah, and Athaliah was queen mother
  • she and her family were exterminated by Jehu which ended Omride rule
Jehu (875-815 BC)
Tenth king of Israel, noted for exterminating the house of Ahab at the instruction of Yahweh
  • ruled from 842–815 BC
  • principal source for the events of his reign comes from 2 Kings 9-10
Sunday, October 5, 2014
Watched and took notes on MOOC lecture:
THE FRENCH REVOLUTION, The University of Melbourne
•
the Third Estate
•
King Louis XVI required the members of the three estates to formulate lists of grievances
•
also lifted constraints on freedom of press
•
so that debates would be freer, more open and more fertile
•
Abbé Sieyès (SEE-yez) takes advantage of this... view all notes
People:
Abbé Sieyès (1748-1836)
French Roman Catholic abbé whose 1789 pamphlet "What is the Third Estate?" became the de facto manifesto of the French Revolution
  • first name Emmanuel
  • was among the instigators of the coup d'état of 18 Brumaire (9 November), which brought Napoleon Bonaparte to power
  • coined the term "sociologie"
Monday, October 6, 2014
Watched and took notes on MOOC lecture:
KEY CONSTITUTIONAL CONCEPTS AND SUPREME COURT CASES, University of Pennsylvania
•
the Revolution succeeded by the Articles of Confederation failed
•
there is a tension between these first two lessons of American history
•
the delegates represent states with many different views
•
the Revolution teaches that a general government can become tyrannical and the states can stand up to defend the liberty of their citizens
•
the failure of the Articles of Confederation teaches that states can't be relied on to cooperate effectively, so some higher institution has to keep them in line... view all notes
Saturday, October 11, 2014
Watched and took notes on MOOC lecture:
EGIPTOLOGÍA, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
•
yacimiento predinástico de Hieracómpolis y su cementerio
•
un área arqueólogica muy extensa
•
donde el Nilo hace un meandro
•
donde lleva su curso primero hacia el este
•
es la zona de la actual cuidad de Luxor, antigua Tebas... view all notes
Monday, October 13, 2014
Watched and took notes on MOOC lecture:
DESIGNING CITIES, University of Pennsylvania
•
while every city before the Industrial Revolution had a different location and culture, pre-industrial cities also had a lot in common
•
if a resident of 5th century BC Athens were transported to London in 1750, the difference would have been amazing but still understandable
•
sailing boats
•
horse drawn carts
•
buildings only a few stories high... view all notes
People:
Augustus Pugin (1812-1852)
English architect remembered for his pioneering role in the Gothic Revival style, responsible for the interior design of the Palace of Westminster
  • after his death, his ideas were carried on by two young architects who admired him and had attended his funeral, W. E. Nesfield and Norman Shaw
  • the art critic John Ruskin "outlived and out-talked him by half a century, if Ruskin had never lived, Pugin would never have been forgotten"
Gustave Doré (1832-1883)
French artist, printmaker, illustrator and sculptor who depicted scenes from books by Rabelais, Balzac, Milton, Don Quixote, Dante, Lord Byron, for Edgar Allan Poe's "The Raven" and for an illustrated English Bible
  • at age five he had been a prodigy troublemaker, playing pranks that were mature beyond his years
  • at age twelve he began engraving in cement, but eventually worked primarily with wood engraving
Wednesday, October 15, 2014
Watched and took notes on MOOC lecture:
DINOSAUR PALEOBIOLOGY, University of Alberta
•
most of what we know about dinosaurs comes from their skeletons
•
in order to understand dinosaurs, we need to understand how skeletons are put together
•
luckily we have a great learning resource: our own skeletons
•
dinosaurs and humans have basically the same skeletons
•
they have the same bones in the same places... view all notes
Friday, October 17, 2014
Watched and took notes on MOOC lecture:
A HISTORY OF THE WORLD SINCE 1300, Princeton University
•
science of the 18th century
•
new laws of
•
economics
•
social sciences
•
it occurred to people that these sciences could be used to make societies more efficient than they had been... view all notes
People:
Edmund Burke (1729-1797)
Irish statesman who served in the British House of Commons remembered for his support of the American Revolutionaries and opposition to French Revolution
  • his opposition to the French Revolution led him to become the leading figure within conservative faction of the Whig party
  • attempted to impeach Warren Hastings of the East India Company for personal corruption
  • praised by both conservatives and liberals of the 19th century, today he is viewed as the philosophical founder of modern conservatism
  • "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."
Warren Hastings (1732-1818)
The first Governor-General of Bengal, from 1772 to 1785, was accused of corruption and impeached in 1787, but after a long trial he was acquitted in 1795
  • the letters and journals of Jane Austen and her family, who knew Hastings, show that they followed the trial closely
Marquis de Pombal (1699-1782)
18th-century Portuguese statesman and de facto head of government, notable for his swift and competent leadership in the aftermath of the 1755 Lisbon earthquake, he implemented sweeping economic policies in Portugal to regulate commercial activity and standardize quality throughout the country
  • was instrumental in weakening the grip of the Inquisition
  • introduced many fundamental administrative, educational, economic, and ecclesiastical reforms justified in the name of the Enlightenment and instrumental in advancing secularization
Sunday, October 19, 2014
Watched and took notes on MOOC lecture:
BUDDHISM AND MODERN PSYCHOLOGY , Princeton University
•
much recent research has been about the brain and meditation
•
increases gamma wave activity
•
increases white matter in the brain
•
it's difficult to know what findings are significant for you or to even understand what these mean
•
one finding is more meaning:... view all notes
Monday, October 20, 2014
Watched and took notes on MOOC lecture:
THE AMERICAN SOUTH: ITS STORIES, MUSIC, AND ART, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
•
we can think of the South at one time both as the most American and most un-American part of our nation
•
American
•
it was here that Thomas Jefferson shaped the nation-state by writing the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution
•
it's in the South we see deep roots of family, religion, and patriotism
•
un-American... view all notes
People:
Richard Wright (1908-1960)
African-American author of sometimes controversial novels, short stories, poems, and non-fiction
  • his literature concerns racial themes, especially those involving the plight of African Americans during the late 19th to mid-20th centuries
  • in 1946, Wright moved to Paris where he became friends with Jean-Paul Sartre and Albert Camus
  • after becoming a French citizen in 1947, he continued to travel through Europe, Asia, and Africa
Tuesday, October 21, 2014
Watched and took notes on MOOC lecture:
CHINESE THOUGHT: ANCIENT WISDOM MEETS MODERN SCIENCE, University of British Columbia
•
what does it mean to study thought?
•
it is easier to study thought than practice, especially in ancient cultures
•
thought travels better
•
it's easier to learn from thought rather than particular practices of other cultures
•
studying ancient Chinese thought... view all notes
Wednesday, October 29, 2014
Watched and took notes on MOOC lecture:
PHILOSOPHY AND THE SCIENCES, University of Edinburgh
•
two contrasts set scientific inquiries apart from other inquiries
•
1. science and pseudo science
•
astronomy vs. astrology
•
similar
•
same subject matter: what is in the sky... view all notes
People:
Karl Popper (1902-1994)
Austrian-British philosopher and professor at the London School of Economics, Popper is known for his rejection of the classical inductivist views on the scientific method, in favor of empirical falsification
  • he taught that a theory in the empirical sciences can never be proven, but it can be falsified, meaning that it can and should be scrutinized by decisive experiments
  • his political philosophy embraces ideas from all major democratic political ideologies and attempts to reconcile social democracy, classical liberalism and conservatism
  • "We are social creatures to the inmost center of our being. The notion that one can begin anything at all from scratch, free from the past, or unindebted to others, could not conceivably be more wrong."
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Watched and took notes on MOOC lecture:
KEY CONSTITUTIONAL CONCEPTS AND SUPREME COURT CASES, University of Pennsylvania
•
how do we know what the Constitution means?
•
the people who wrote it believed many things that we don't believe now
•
that white men could own black slaves
•
that the government could deny the vote to free blacks and women
•
that men should not be allowed to marry other men... view all notes
People:
John Bingham (1815-1900)
American congressman who was principal framer of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution which provides that no state shall deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws
  • Republican congressman from the U.S. state of Ohio
  • judge advocate in the trial of the Abraham Lincoln assassination
  • a prosecutor in the impeachment trials of Andrew Johnson
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