By Patrick Fitz

Many students find that they are not sufficiently stimulated intellectually by their high school’s academic offerings. This may be a result of limited options for students in their particular field of interest, or it could be that students are so far advanced in an academic area that they require additional classes to further their education.

Besides participating in extracurriculars and prepping for the SAT or ACT, some students elect to complete online coursework above and beyond their ordinary academic classes. Whether it’s in paid credit-bearing courses from world-class universities or shorter exploratory offerings in obscure or niche subjects, students can take advantage of the digital revolution in education by supplementing their routine schoolwork with a wide variety of options online.

Online University Courses

Online platforms such as Coursera and edX have been around for a while now and were at the vanguard of the original digital revolution around MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses). While these platforms have not proven to be nearly as disruptive as some had initially speculated, such platforms offer a wide variety of subjects from top universities around the world, including the Ivy League. Course offerings include popular introductory-level and survey-course classes in relevant fields, including Computer Science, Mathematics, and Engineering.

There are often both free and paid options, with the latter offering actual course credit in addition to graded exams, authoritative feedback, and certificates of completion. The free option is good for exploratory purposes or to gain perspective on the rigor and scope of actual university scholarship. The courses are often asynchronous (move at your own pace) and last an entire semester.

Online Exploratory Courses

For lighter subject-matter and lower commitments, platforms such as Future Learn offer shorter, shallow dives into a great deal of topics across disciplines. Developed and presented by top universities in America and the UK - as well as some offerings from Continental Europe - these short courses are typically highly specialized. Additionally, offerings are very well sourced and usually provide extensive reading lists and bibliographies of subject matter.

These courses last anywhere from a few weeks to nearly a semester in length, with average weekly commitments of several hours. Paid subscriptions result in certificates of completion, but most offerings are also available for free. A mix of text, video, and audio formats enlivens the learning process.

Subscription Platforms

There are some great subscription-based, skills-building platforms out there, including IDtech for kids and Skillshare and Skillsoft for teens and adults. Each offers private, group, and self-paced activities and courses in technology and programming. Multiple programming languages are offered, as well as classes on topics across computer science, computer engineering, data science, and adjacent fields.

For a monthly or annual subscription, members gain access to each platform’s resources, which often includes material above and beyond typical coursework and skills-building exercises. Streams include certificate programs and skills-based tracks, which offer members a curriculum in a particular skill or programming language necessary for professional work. These platforms are designed and managed by industry professionals and skilled consultants and consequently are oriented toward the job market afterward - though they can also benefit younger students who are just starting out but would like more significant engagement with the material.

Precollege and Extension Courses

Schools including Cornell, UC Berkeley, and the University of Texas Austin offer year-round academic courses in a wide variety of subjects - often taught by university instructors - that can supplement what students are already learning in school. These courses are credit-bearing and are either accepted by just the host institution or are transferable to all colleges and universities in the US.

Such courses are taught by resident faculty and require active participation, written papers and exams, and are billed as real university courses. A transcript is generated for this type of coursework; it’s almost exactly the same as undergraduate study, but accomplished remotely. This is a great option for students with advanced domain knowledge who attend secondary schools with limited offerings.

Conclusion

A great variety of material exists for students eager to supplement their high school academic classes. Here in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, private and international schools offer students a wide range of courses, but many are still limited by the confines of individual curricula or institutional resources.

Whether they’re free or paid, credit-bearing or purely exploratory, just a few weeks or an entire semester in length, online courses can help high-achieving students discover new passions, develop their academic profile, and determine their future undergraduate major through real-world educational experience.

- Hale Education Group