UNIQUE ENRICHMENT FOR HIGH SCHOOLERS: ONLINE EDITION

TAKEAWAY: Like it or not, student transcripts tend to look very alike. The pathways are all very similar, with perhaps just one or two differences, even (or especially) at the higher levels of APs. Seek out really unique courses that can be done flexibly online to truly enrich your student’s learning experience. Meaningful, exciting opportunities that stretch their minds and widen their intellectual horizons will genuinely provide them with interesting memories to write about and help them preview how college study will be.

This week, I found a really unique educational experience for a student of mine who is an avid drummer and also wants to major in biophysics. (My son is also a drummer, and I always marvel at how music is literally just physics, pure vibration!) In my generation, people tended to separate the arts from science, but this generation is different. There’s not just STEM, there’s STEAM—an intentional combining of the arts with science, technology, engineering, and math. And I absolutely love that education sees the interconnectedness of all these disciplines.

The class I came across is Physics-Based Sound Synthesis for Games and Interactive Systems (SOHS-MUSIC0002) offered FREE and online via Stanford | Online and the Stanford University School of Humanities and Sciences. It’s taught by two professors—one from Stanford, one from Princeton.

The course “introduces the basics of Digital Signal Processing and computational acoustics, motivated by the vibrational physics of real-world objects and systems,” and for hands-on learners, this class offers the added bonus of building assignments, starting with “a simple mass-spring and pendulum to demonstrate oscillation.” This is exactly the kind of course that makes college fascinating (and unfortunately what is missing from the usual, basic high school curriculum that has to prioritize breadth and fundamentals over depth and interdisciplinary approaches).

My student had already finished four years of math by junior year by doing summer study, so he has room in his schedule for something more exciting. He and his mother had no idea that classes like Stanford Online offered courses for high schoolers—and that many of them are free. They are also flexible, so a student can do them over a time frame that works for them. In this case, the class schedule is 9 sessions, each requiring 8-10 hours of work. We calculated that he could spread it out over about 20 weeks, if he was able to do 3-4 hours per week. As long as he is doing the class during senior year, he can include it in his Activities and also write about it for his essays. Seeking out non-classroom experiences shows ambition and commitment to your subject area(s). The fact that the class is so perfectly suited to his two passions makes it a meaningful, interesting experience, which is not only the best type to write about, but also the whole point of learning.

My daughter also took a really interesting class called PredictionX: Omens, Oracles, & Prophecies through Harvard Online and edX the summer between her junior and senior year. She is interested in gaming and wanted to have an experience that would further her storytelling skills. She thoroughly enjoyed the “one-week, immersive learning experience as we explore ‘pre-scientific’ prediction systems ranging from ancient Chinese bone burning to the Oracle of Delphi to modern astrology and tarot, with practitioners and Harvard faculty leading the journey,” and was totally self-sufficient in completing it in the three-five hours as advertised.

Finding out about the existence of these online courses also exposes students to the wide world of interdisciplinary study, as well as the fascinating professors out there who lean into their passions, such as the instructor for the PredictionX class:

Alyssa Goodman is a physicist by training (Sc.B, MIT 1984, PhD, Harvard 1989), but an artist at heart. She combines her passions for science and art with interests in computing, archaeology, the history of science, and new technologies in her work, which spans astrophysics, data visualization, and new approaches to STEM education. She was named “Scientist of the Year” by the Harvard Foundation in 2015.

It’s mind-blowing that for free, or for $99 for a certificate, students anywhere in the world can take class with such interesting professors! The world is truly our oyster, so start looking at all the pearls out there!

Read my related article on in-person summer programs.

Ask Alice about her help in finding excellent enrichment opportunities that are a perfect fit for your student’s interests, goals, and budget.