M. Shaheer Niazi – Lahore, Pakistan

I am a 9th grade student; I am 14 years old since September 25th 2014. Learning science subjects like astronomy/physics has been my interest for a long time. I even love history and geography and I am an avid collector of coins, stamps and minerals. I always knew science and mathematics are necessary for each other, so I always wanted to learn the mathematics behind all the theories, and I wanted to know how to calculate the constants, so that I could recreate them on my own. Make my own theories and test them with the formulas. I had a beautiful book on the mathematics of the universe. It was difficult for me, I had no idea how to do some of the problems. I tried miserably to do those difficult problems, but I couldn’t. This failure is what motivated me to learn more, so that I could finally solve those questions. So I found a perfect way to do it all, the MOOCs way.

MOOCs not only helped me in learning they also sparked my new passion which was to do practical experiments. Experimenting is the most productive way of learning about the physical world and how it works. I use many common household objects and experiment around with them. One of my most productive experiments was the Quantum interferometer experiment, in which I used the interference pattern of a laser due to my hair, to find its width. I got interested in this experiment due to a wonderful MOOC of Quantum physics.

MOOCs have impacted my life, like no other thing has. Learning in a typical school environment has not helped me the way I look at my learning world now. My experience with MOOCs has introduced me to a world which has no boundaries, no restriction of age and I can freely experience the different realms of knowledge on my own. There are so many diverse possibilities suddenly opened up in front of me thanks to MOOCs which I would later choose from.

After taking my Astronomy MOOC, I was finally able to solve those hard questions from my book. MOOCs even helped me make my own blog, in which I solve interesting questions of astronomy and many other subjects. During that I found out that this adventure was just beginning. I found out what real astronomy was. There was more to this. Real astronomical and astrophysical problems cannot be solved with normal Mathematics. They need Calculus. So the Ohio State MOOCs of Calculus helped me pass that hurdle. Just to bring me face to face with another, which was Quantum Physics. Quantum physics just baffled me. I had never seen something like this before and I wanted to learn it badly. I am still learning Quantum Physics, and there are not one but many MOOCs which helped me reach the point at which I start learning Quantum physics. So I can’t credit one particular course as being most important, because all the course I have ever taken have been staircase for me to reach this point. I don’t know how long this staircase of learning is, but I want to work hard until I reach the highest point which I can achieve. Until today I have completed almost 20 courses which have all been intertwined with each other all helping me in a sequence to reach my goal.

The world is transforming day by day. And the pedagogy of teaching and learning is also changing. I consider myself very lucky to have access to these MOOCs at such a young age, which will, in the end, shape the future of many who have limited resources. I hope in the future, that when I need to publish any scientific paper, I will have open access just like I have open access to MOOCs. We need a world where education is facilitated and encouraged without the boundaries of money. So we need one more step further in this direction. My mother always used to tell me to think 100 steps ahead of others. This quote is what has kept me going, which has kept me ahead of others and I believe it is high time for the world to revolutionize education by thinking 100 steps ahead. Only then we can have a better future for our coming generation.