We all know the desks, the boards and the teacher at the front of the room. This is the typical educational system that was created back in the 1800s to produce workers for the Industrial Revolution. This system created, for the first time, a uniform way of thinking and approaching problems. It was designed essentially to create assembly line workers (RSA, 2010). 

Everything has changed since then, the economy, living standards, government, way of thinking, transportation, infrastructure, people, basically everything became more developed, except for our education system. But with the dawn of the internet, education hasn't been more accessible and I'm here to talk about one such technology that helped develop my knowledge on an academic and on a personal level.

Coursera is that one such particular technology that played a pivotal role in shaping my academic journey and boosting my professional goals in the field of software engineering.

Coursera is a massive online open course platform (MOOC) where different universities and other organizations offer online courses, certifications, and even degrees in a variety of subjects.

My educational goals and professional path have been profoundly impacted by a sequence of interrelated events that were sparked by this online learning platform. 

But one stands out oddly significant. It was me enrolling in the Free course 'Learn to Program: The Fundamentals' offered by the University of Toronto.

This was during the global pandemic period when my regular school was closed. I was not particularly a bright student at the time, and I absolutely hated going to school. I also really didn't know what kind of subjects interested me or what my future prospects were. So, I decided to search the internet for a more interactive and enjoyable way to learn. That is when I stumbled upon Coursera. I was absolutely mind-blown by the fact that you can actually learn courses offered by big universities for free. I decided to check whether Software Engineering was my thing. So, I took this course, and from the very first week onwards I was hooked, I started learning things enjoyably. I made programs and games later on, that made me feel occupied during the pandemic. I started learning more and more things about computers. It really helped me academically too. 

Recent studies have found that the completion rate of massive online open course platforms (MOOCs) was consistently around 4% of those who started (Inside Higher Ed, 2019). But for me, I completed this course and I enrolled in many more (some even paid).

 According to the World Economic Forum. (2020). Over a billion students worldwide were unable to go to school or university during the pandemic and the pandemic is expected to have a huge impact on global education.

But in my opinion this could've been minimized to a certain extent if there were more MOOCs and if MOOCs were made accessible for everyone, like how Harvard and MIT Courses are even reaching as far as developing countries like Mongolia, where high school students are taking courses from (Online PhD programs, 2023).

This online platform completely changed how I approach learning and made me a more motivated and enthusiastic student.

                                                        References 

RSA. (2010, oct 14).RSA ANIMATE: Changing Education Paradigms [video file]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U

World Economic Forum. (2020). COVID-19's staggering impact on global education. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/03/infographic-covid19-coronavirus-impact-global-education-health-schools/

Inside Higher Ed. (2019). Why MOOCs Didn't Work, in 3 Data Points. https://www.insidehighered.com/digital-learning/article/2019/01/16/study-offers-data-show-moocs-didnt-achieve-their-goals

Online PhD Programs. (2023). Is Bigger Better? A Look at MOOC. https://www.online-phd-programs.org/mooc/

Min AN. (2017). man in black shirt sitting and writing. https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-in-black-shirt-sitting-and-writing-771317/

Wikimedia Commons. (2020). Coursera Logo. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coursera-Logo_600x600.svg

Pixabay. (2014). man in black and white polo shirt beside writing board. https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-in-black-and-white-polo-shirt-beside-writing-board-159844/

Pavel Danilyuk. (2021). Woman Standing Beside a Student Sitting on his Chair. https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-standing-beside-a-student-sitting-on-his-chair-8423121/