Don’t get me wrong, I have never been to Harvard University. As a matter of fact, I have never even been to the U.S. (assuming that is where Harvard is situated). But thanks to my new found fondness for online courses, I could virtually experience the academic excellence of the world’s best university (I know, it’s arguable). I am talking about a 5-week rigorous course on the ‘fundamentals of neuroscience’ provided by the online learning initiative of Harvard University — Harvardx on the Edx platform.
For a student in India with a very average intellectual capability and financial status, Harvard is a dream that most probably would remain a dream for the rest of life. However, Edx has been providing this service- of inviting these premier institutes to your doorstep, for quite some time now. The platform also has other top universities like MIT, Queensland, Columbia, San Diego, Toronto, and so on. And most of the courses being provided are of an excellent standard and they have a very vast collection from philosophy to robotics. So whatever subject you are in love with, there is a good chance you will find your perfect mate here.
An online course may not be the exact representation of the campus experience. But it was still worth it. And it was more like a digital classroom than a boring online lecture. The entire course followed a kind of interactive approach that aided the learning process throughout. The topic I opted for was, as mentioned before, ‘neuroscience’ and it was- opposed to my expectations, more rooted in electrochemistry than Psychology. Quite frankly, it was a difficult syllabus to cover. And if it wasn’t for the approach that the course followed, I wouldn’t have.
The host was a professor at Harvard- Dr. David Cox, whom I’ve known beforehand. He is a neuroscientist at the Brain lab at Harvard. He is the star of the course appearing in almost all video lectures and directing the participants throughout the course. The course started off with things that I am familiar with, but then it went from basic neurology to full-fledged electrochemistry. It was kind of an exhilarating experience. Even though the subject was new to me, nowhere did I feel lost or uninterested. The analogies and visual representations discussed in the course further enhanced the learning experience.
But what made it more than an online lecture was the structure of the whole course. The entire course consisted of 4 modules and a final exam. Each modules are further divided into 5 or 6 chapters. And after each module, there would be a field trip related to the module and a practical lab. After the first module, we visited the Boston Museum of Science with Dr. David Cox (that is virtually, of course) and witnessed the infamous lightning show by the gigantic Van de Graff generator, followed by a post-mortem of a human brain. As the second module was finished, we visited the Warren anatomical museum, where the skull of Phineas Gage was preserved and by the end of the course, we were imparted the knowledge to dissect a sheep brain (if anyone is kind enough to provide one, I am ready to give it a try). And then there was the DIY lab, where we were introduced to Greg, someone I’ve been admiring for so long, and his company- the backyard brains. We did experiments with cockroaches and ourselves. I know, I constantly use the word ‘we’ instead of ‘I’. It is not a mistake but intentional as the students in the class were more than independent observers of an online lecture. Through the discussion tabs and assignments, the students enrolled in the course gradually came to be a tight-knit family. And I even got to meet two Indians among the cluster.
The course was such a great experience that I completed the 5-week course in a matter of 2 weeks and passed the final exam with a score of 90%. I don’t know how to put it in words, but it won’t be an exaggeration if I say that this was the most amazing academic experience of my life so far.
If you are willing to spend a couple of weeks to truly understand the fundamentals of neuroscience, look no further- this is it. It is a 3-course programme covering all the fundamental details of neuroscience. Before, enrolling, make sure you are refreshed with the basics of math and science (higher secondary level)and assign a particular time to attend the lectures. The course is free of cost but you have to pay up a small amount for a verified certificate (you can use the financial aid support to cut short the fee), but it is truly worth it. And even without the certificate, completing the course is a reward in itself.
To know more: https://courses.edx.org/courses/course-v1:HarvardX+MCB80.1x+3T2019
