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Online Course

Computer Science 101

Stanford University via Stanford OpenEdx

(17)
2.2k
Found in Computer Science
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Overview

CS101 teaches the essential ideas of Computer Science for a zero-prior-experience audience. Computers can appear very complicated, but in reality, computers work within just a few, simple patterns. CS101 demystifies and brings those patterns to life, which is useful for anyone using computers today.

In CS101, students play and experiment with short bits of "computer code" to bring to life to the power and limitations of computers. Everything works within the browser, so there is no extra software to download or install. CS101 also provides a general background on computers today: what is a computer, what is hardware, what is software, what is the internet. No previous experience is required other than the ability to use a web browser.

Syllabus

  • The nature of computers and code, what they can and cannot do
  • How computer hardware works: chips, cpu, memory, disk
  • Necessary jargon: bits, bytes, megabytes, gigabytes
  • How software works: what is a program, what is "running"
  • How digital images work
  • Computer code: loops and logic
  • Big ideas: abstraction, logic, bugs
  • How structured data works
  • How the internet works: ip address, routing, ethernet, wi-fi
  • Computer security: viruses, trojans, and passwords, oh my!
  • Analog vs. digital
  • Digital media, images, sounds, video, compression

Taught by

Nick Parlante

Tags

usa

Reviews for Stanford OpenEdx's Computer Science 101 Based on 17 reviews

  • 5 stars 47%
  • 4 stars 18%
  • 3 stars 29%
  • 2 star 0%
  • 1 star 6%

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  • 1
Lien B
Lien completed this course.
0 person found
this review helpful
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S. J
S. completed this course, spending 2 hours a week on it and found the course difficulty to be medium.
Even if I can be considered as an advanced computer user (I can install an OS, create web pages...), I realize that I have learned much more than I expected with this course. It brought me answers to questions I could not even imagine, especially for the pictures manipulation topic. I strongly recommend it, especially if you are an autodidact.
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Keith O
Keith completed this course, spending 3 hours a week on it and found the course difficulty to be medium.
This was an excellent course. It covered hardware, software, programming, networking and security. The instructor taught the course in a manner that was not too geeky. Although the lecture using the Ocilloscope was pushing it.
13 people found
this review helpful
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Rafael C
Rafael completed this course, spending 1 hours a week on it and found the course difficulty to be very easy.
Level is too low. Basically, if you've been using a computer and know anything about coding *at all* you won't benefit from this course. It would be the kind of course you would recommend to your grandmother (yes, really). Unless you know literally nothing about computers, you should not do it.
9 people found
this review helpful
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CC
Cd C
by Cd completed this course, spending 2 hours a week on it and found the course difficulty to be easy.
If you're looking for an intro to CS then this is the class for you. However, if you know anything about computers, programming, or the internet, this class will be a breeze for you.
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Emmanuel A
Emmanuel completed this course, spending 20 hours a week on it and found the course difficulty to be easy.
I thought this was a great introduction to Computer Science. It covered topics from basic code to how computer hardware works. I found the instructor did a great job of breaking down the principles into digestible and useful bits.
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Blu B
Blu is taking this course right now, spending 1 hours a week on it and found the course difficulty to be very easy.
The course is really easy for someone who had played around with a computer for a bit and knows just the programming basics. I would reccomend it at a 14 yo student.
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AT
Anderson T
by Anderson completed this course.
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John W
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Olivia A
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