How Computers Work

Goldsmiths University of London and University of London via Coursera

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Details

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Provider

Coursera
Pricing

Free Online Course (Audit)
Languages

English
Certificate

Paid Certificate Available
Duration & workload

10 hours 33 minutes
Sessions

On-Demand
Level

Beginner
Subtitles

Arabic, French, Portuguese, Italian, German, Russian, English, Spanish, Thai, Indonesian, Turkish, Kazakh, Hindi, Swedish, Korean, Greek, Chinese, Ukrainian, Japanese, Polish, Dutch, Hungarian, Bengali, Pashto, Urdu, Azerbaijani, Farsi

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Overview

Computers are everywhere, they aren't just the desktops and laptops we use for work but the phones in our pockets and even the watches on our wrists are also computers. You probably use a computer every day and in fact you are reading this on a computer! Just because we use computers all the time, doesn't mean that we understand them, or find them easy to use. Computer Science is the science of computers, it is the field of knowledge that experts use to understand computer systems. Knowing a little computer science will help you understand the computers all around you. This isn't a how-to course for a particular piece of software, instead you will learn some fundamental concepts that you can apply to any software or computer system. You'll apply these concepts to the kind of computer systems we use every day, including word processing applications, e-commerce, the internet and web sites. You will learn how to apply computer science concepts to solve problems in daily computer use and generally be a better computer user. Taking this course could be the start of your career in computer science, and the course is an introduction to the Bachelors in Computer Science from University of London, but it is also for you if you just want to learn a little computer science to help you better understand the computers you use in your ordinary life.

Syllabus

Abstraction

This week starts your journey into understanding computer science. You will think about how computer science can help you understand the technology you use every day and you will also learn one of the most important concepts in computer science: abstraction.

State, modularity and applications

In this week you will learn about the computer science concepts of state and modularity and how they can help you understand the computer applications that you use every day.

Networks

This week you will learn about how computers communicate with each other over networks, including the internet. You will also learn about some of the security threats that the internet entails and how they can be avoided.

How the web works

In this week you will apply all of the computer science concepts you have learned in this course to understanding how modern websites work.

Taught by

Dr Marco Gillies

Reviews

3.7 rating, based on 3 Class Central reviews

4.6 rating at Coursera based on 553 ratings

Start your review of How Computers Work

Sulsoyy

This course is very easy and covers very basic of computer science. I was able to complete this within a week during the free-trial period. However, the major downfall of this course is that it lacks the depth of contents as it only teaches you very…

This course is very easy and covers very basic of computer science. I was able to complete this within a week during the free-trial period. However, the major downfall of this course is that it lacks the depth of contents as it only teaches you very foundational knowledge of how computers work in general. I have encountered several times where the explanation provided by the lecturer was insufficient and only made me more confusing. Some videos are not even synced properly with the English subtitle which bothered me.

In terms of assessments, you will have to complete few quizzes and peer-graded assignment which are absolutely horrible. It will take days or weeks to receive your grade for assignment because you have to wait until other students to grade your assignments.

I would recommend to people who does not have a strong foundation of computer - If you don't know what RAM or Memory is or If you are unfamiliar with concepts such as HTTP or network or abstraction, then this course will be a good place to start. Though, I don't think it's worth paying $39 per month for this as I would highly recommend to try to get it done during the free trial period.

Unless you want to experience the online bachelor of computer science that is offered by the university of London, it is better to undertake Google IT Support Professional Certificate from the Coursera where you might be eligible for college credits. Interestingly, you can get recognition of prior learning by completing the Google IT Support course from the University of London if you are enrolled in the computer science degree.
Will B

This is a great introductory computer science course. It covers at a high level: abstraction, state machines, debugging, networks, security and more. Highly recommended!
Vladislav Kulikov

It's a pretty good course. I took it with a Coursera Plus subscription. However, I wouldn't pay for it individually. This course is good about abstraction and the basic components of a computer. But don't expect anything in-depth. It's pretty superficial about the structure of a computer. Nevertheless, this course will help you learn how to think abstractly and work with complex machines in a simpler way. So, I generally recommend taking this course, but only if you have a Coursera Plus subscription. By the way, I completed the course quickly, in just 4 days.