This year—my sixth on campus, and my last—I decided it was finally time to take CS50, Harvard’s introductory computer science course. CS50 lectures happen twice a week in Sanders Theatre, a ridiculously majestic setting. Yet for all intents and purposes (and completely by choice), I’m taking the course online.
I’ve tried taking courses online before—I’ve even tried taking computer science courses specifically. But they’ve never quite worked for me. I’ve learned all kinds of things in my time by plundering Wikipedia and following links with abandon, but I’d all but given up on the traditional course format transposed online. CS50 is changing my mind. It’s extraordinary.