Completed Courses:
Cryptography I: Dan Boneh, Stanford University
Machine Learning: Andrew Ng, Stanford University
Computing for Data Analysis: Roger Peng, Johns Hopkins
Algorithms, Part I: Robert Sedgewick and Kevin Wayne, Princeton University
Current Courses:
Game Theory: Matthew O. Jackson, Kevin Leyton-Brown and Yoav Shoham, Stanford University and the University of British Columbia
Introduction to Computer Networks: Arvind Krishnamurthy, David Wetherall and John Zahorjan, the University of Washington
My Experience:
Over
the past few months, I have had the amazing opportunity of taking
online college courses at Coursera.org. This site offers education
for the sake of education alone. Actual professors post videos of
lectures along with automatically graded homework assignments that
anyone can access. I particularly enjoy it because it allows me to
study subjects that simply are not available at my high school. Some
courses are intended for college freshmen. Others are graduate level.
I've tried several so far, and enjoyed every second. In some ways,
even though the material is harder, I find it easier to learn when I
don't have to worry about credits, prerequisites, or grades. I'm not
ashamed to admit that I failed miserably in some classes that were
too advanced for my experience, but I rose to the challenge in
others.
Cryptography
has fascinated me for years, and Coursera made it possible for me to
taste the field, with a Stanford class taught by Professor Dan Boneh.
For six weeks, I watched in-depth lectures and completed challenging
problem sets. It was difficult to find the time on top of my typical
high school coursework, but I finished successfully. I gained a new
understanding of the subject matter and an incomparable sense of
accomplishment. I'm incredibly grateful to Coursera and all the
professors and universities involved for providing the courses I've
completed so far and the ones I have yet to take. My curiosity is
piqued and I'm ready to study such subjects for real as an
undergraduate.
Statements of Accomplishment:
Algorithms, Part I did not issue a certificate.
