Understanding Computers and the Internet from Harvard University
Understanding Computers and the Internet is a course
offered each fall at Harvard
University's Extension
School. This course teaches and explains how and why
computers and the
Internet work, and their jargon. You will learn technical details about
computer hardware, software, the Internet, multimedia, security,
website development, programming, and dotcoms. It is designed
both for those with little, if any, computer experience and for those who use a
computer every day.
Each course
lecture is recorded (in audio and video formats), digitized, and posted on the
course's website, where they are freely available
for on-demand viewing
until term's end. Additional lecture content will be posted until the
last one on Jan. 10, 2007. Also available for free are the
course's videos
of the week, along with some sections
and workshops.
You can also find
these course lectures on Google
Video and YouTube.
Here
are some of the things you'll learn from this Harvard University
computer science course, Understanding Computers and the Internet:
- understanding what's going on inside your computer when you flip on the switch,
- why tech support has you constantly rebooting your computer,
- how everything you do on the Internet can be watched by others, and
- how your computer can become infected with a worm just by turning it on.
Harvard
University's Computer Science Class: Understanding Computers and the
Internet
Course
Lectures
Lecture
1: Hardware
| |
Audio:
MP3
| |
Lecture
2: Hardware, Continued
| |
Audio:
MP3
| |
Lecture
3: Software
| |
'iWoz'
-- Apple co-founder tells his story: HTML
| |
Lecture
4: The Internet
| |
About
Exam 1: PDF
| |
Lecture
5: The Internet, Continued
| |
Audio:
MP3
| |
Lecture
6: Surprise
| |
Audio:
MP3
| |
Lecture
7: Multimedia
| |
Jargon:
PDF
| |
Videos
of the Week
Each Wednesday,
with some exceptions, the course releases a new volume of "videos of the
week," bite-sized segments produced by the staff on topics relevant to
that Wednesday's lecture.
Not only are these
videos of the week available below and in the course's podcast,
you can also find them on Google
Video and YouTube.
Vol.
1: Hardware | |
|
Changing PC BIOS Settings: Flash
| QuickTime | |
Vol.
2: Software | |
|
Browser Wars: Flash
| QuickTime | |
| Vol.
3: The Internet | |
|
Hosting Options: Flash
| QuickTime | |
Vol.
4: The Internet | |
|
HTTP: Flash
| QuickTime | |
Vol.
5: Personal Tech | |
|
"Alien" Technology: Flash
| QuickTime | |
Vol.
6: Multimedia | |
|
Buying a Digital Camera: Flash
| QuickTime | |
Textbook
Materials
Companion
Website for Computers Are Your Future 2006.
This
site contains powerpoint slides that supports and augments the
course material.
Website Development
CSS
Tutorial.
Save a lot of
work with CSS! In [this] CSS tutorial you will learn how to use CSS to
control the style and layout of multiple Web pages all at once.
XHTML
Tutorial.
XHTML is
the next generation of HTML! In [this] XHTML tutorial you will learn
the difference between HTML and XHTML, and how to use XHTML in your
future applications.
XHTML
Validator.
A free service that checks documents
like HTML and XHTML for conformance to W3C Recommendations and other
standards.
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