Ever since a young age, Alex Sharpe has had a fascination with technology. Her sister was a programmer and this greatly influenced her as well. Sharpe’s first computer was a Commodore 64. She has always had a knack for technology and would be the go-to person for help in her family. She is currently in COP 2251, Java Programming II with Instructor Brad Yourth, of the College of Computer & Information Technology department at St. Petersburg College (SPC). Prior to that, she enrolled in CGS 1000, Introduction to Computers with Yourth. 

 Recently, she enrolled in a free non-credit, 7-week-long Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), offered through the University of Toronto via coursera.org, which is designed to heighten an individual’s understanding about computer applications. It introduces the fundamental concepts of programming languages by incorporating PYTHON.  This proved to be the springboard for her pursuing the Computer Web Programming & Analysis (CWPA) degree at SPC. In fact, if it wasn’t for Coursera, she probably would not have changed her major to programming.

Though Sharpe felt that MOOC was rigorous and challenging, she learned a lot. “I think Professor Yourth is a great mentor. I appreciate how he is always bringing something of interest to his class to help students know more,” she said. Sharpe feels that her digital media skills along with what she learned with MOOC will be a great asset to her in the real world. Out of 38,502 who enrolled in MOOC, Sharpe is one of 8,243 who successfully completed the course.

Commenting on her overall experience in the course, Sharpe said, “I think understanding how technology works is fascinating. Small tools become large tools that enable us to go as far as our imaginations. When you realize how brilliant the process is, you really begin to appreciate it.”