I enjoyed the rich course material very much and Professor Martin gave highly interest-holding lectures. The technical references provided avenues for students to take deeper dives into the course material.

Two issues with the course: (a) The course is not monitored, making it difficult for students to ask questions for clarification or get technical help with the assignments and (b) Students must review each other's submitted final assignments even though we are certainly not qualified to do so - this should be done by the professor or a teaching assistant.

In hindsight after several months, I bumped the stars from 4 to 5.

An excellent course...one of the best I have taken on Coursera. Dr. Martin presents the information in a well organized, enjoyable manner. Even though the format is lecture style, Dr. Martin includes many images and even takes learners on "field trips." Assigned readings are interesting and fairly current. My only complaint was with the peer-graded assignment- some of us had difficulty navigating that process. That is a Coursera technical issue, I believe, and they are working to improve that aspect of the course.

I enjoyed this course a lot. The lecturer, Anthony, has a great upbeat delivery style that isn't dry at all, which makes a refreshing change - I wish there were a few more lecturers like him when I went to uni! I also learnt a lot - and understanding the past really put into context what is happening now in regards to extinctions and climate change.

Excellent overview of pre-human extinctions and their relationship to the current human-initiated 6th extinction.

This course has excellent content and is very well presented. The instructor is a talented teacher who adds wit and relevance to each lecture. I have taken other very good online classes in paleontology, earth science and related subjects. 'Extinctions' rates among the best for clarity and focus on the key thematic points. I gained a good working knowledge of the Big Five mass extinctions and how they may inform needed mitigation and adaptation in the future. The innovative integration of lectures and reading material is a feature of this course that makes it especially effective for distance learning. The articles and papers are sequenced with the lectures to provide very relevant insight and detail that supports each lecture. The combination enhanced my understanding and retention. I also appreciated the answering the short, four question, peer-graded, essay at the end of Week 5. It summarized some of the key teaching points and enhanced learning. Overall, this is a high quality and fun online learning experience. Highly recommended!

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The Professor has gathered fascinating information about past Earth extinctions and the direction in which we are heading as well as the rate at which we are heading toward the next extinction if we are not already enmeshed. His presentations are interesting and focused, much like an intense legal case leaving one with little room for doubt. I find myself telling everyone what we should be doing to slow down the forces that could bring about another extinction. Thank you for your wonderful insight into a very important current problem for mankind.

Course is very interesting. I was wondering if yopu had some sort of discount for a certificate for a senior citizen. I am 80 yrs old and am taking this course to try and keep my mind sharp. $49 is a lot for a certificate for someone on a fixed income. (especially nowdays). The certificate would not really do me any good since I am not looking for a job. Is there any way I can take the actual exams, to be graded, without receiving a certificate. I made a 90 on the 1st practice test. Thanks for your consideration.

An excellent course... The lecturer, Anthony, has a great upbeat delivery style that isn't dry at all, which makes a refreshing change. Excellent overview of pre-human extinctions and their relationship to the current human-initiated 6th extinction.

Great course for the non-professional student- keeps the subject matter discussions light and contemporary. Especially loved the idea of ecological proxy, which I had never heard before!

The professor, plus the course syllabus, and the way in which they were both presented exceeded all my hopes and expectations for learning as a beginning geology student major.

An absolutely amazing course with an enthusiastic, engaging professor. I would give more stars if I could! I learned so much and was constantly excited for the next lesson.

es un curso muy completo, me gustaría que estuviera en varios idiomas para que mas gente pudiera acceder de manera mas fácil

The course is fantastic! It's very fun, dynamic and interesting. The professor is very good at explaning each topic.

absolutely brilliant ! Well structured, clear and a subtle sense of humor... I loved it !

Dr. Martin made this highly informative class a joy to watch. :0)

Very Informative and entertaining. I enjoyed the teaching style

very interesting course and i enjoyed learning new topics

Totally amazing!!

Excellent course

I love it!!!!

Excellent

A very complete review of the past extinctions [ including the Big Five ]. Provides a clear world view argument for climate and habitat changes that imperil all of us. The on site visit to Atlanta Botanical Garden and Seed Bank was excellent.

n.b In Lecture notes on North and South American Extinctions, Macrauchenia is misspelled.

I would have preferred less camera focus on the lecturer and more use of illustrations, charts, etc. It was a little boring just watching the lecturer talk.

To complete this course I am repeatedly coerced into purchasing the $49 Certificate of Achievement. I don't want or need this certificate. Consequently, even though having completed 91% of this course, I have decided to unenroll from it.

However, I thought the instructor, lectures, and course content were very good. I learned a lot. As such, I would recommend this course to anyone interested, with the caveat that they should beware, If they want to finish the course at 100% they will need to pony up $49 for the certificate even if they don't want or need it.