How Computers Work

This specialisation covers topics ranging from basic computing principles to the mathematical foundations required for computer science. You will learn fundamental concepts of how computers work, which can be applied to any software or computer system. You will also gain the practical skillset needed to write interactive, graphical programs at an introductory level. The numerical mathematics component will provide you with numerical and computational tools that are essential for the problem solving and modelling stages of computer science.

Created by: Dr Marco Gillies

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Overall Score : 90 / 100

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Course Description

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.

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Instructor Details

Dr Marco Gillies

Dr Marco Gillies is a Senior Lecturer in Computing at Goldsmiths, University of London. He is an expert on computer graphics, animation and new forms of interaction. He teaches on the BSc Computer Science and MA/MSc Virtual And Augmented Reality

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Reviews

4.5

60 total reviews

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By Sebastijan P on 8-Mar-19

Terrible video content. Changing background all the time and distracting the viewer, a person mostly saying "what all we have learned" in every video instead of talking about the subject. No diagrams, no flows of data shown etc., just a person speaking and bragging; slides are very purely and unprofessionally prepared. The level of prepared content is for primary school and not for UNI. I could write about it for hours so I will stop. I just hope and believe this is just a sample and not a real content in a real study for which we will be paying 600 pounds. If you compare the content to for example 30 pounds Machine learning from Stanford University, where you get pdfs of slides, complete written notes, detailed prepared pdf with a very rich content for assignments and where professor actually talks about the content, it all becomes a bit strange.

By Keith C on 25-Jan-19

Excellent overview, with lots of quizzes and assignments designed to help evolve learning into understanding.

By yousuf k on 21-Feb-19

The course is very informative and helped to build notional machine and abstraction concepts.

By Jonathan M on 20-May-19

Great introduction to thinking about systems in terms of notional machines

By Deleted A on 26-Oct-18

Nice taster for the degree - can't wait to get started with the full BSc hopefully in April !

By DONGPIN H on 10-Jan-19

I enjoy the MOOC and would introduce it to my friends. I think the course has revolutionize my previous understanding of Computer and Internet. Thumb Up!

By Hrushikesh T on 7-Mar-19

Best Computer science course for beginner.

By Jose U d S J on 8-Mar-19

Very Nice, I really enjoyed and learned a lot!

By Nadine G on 8-Jan-19

Excellent professor!

By EZABO B on 18-Oct-18

Exciting lecture

By Preda on 28-Oct-18

Excellent course. I felt that I learnt a lot of computer science concepts that were new to me but helped me to appreciate how computers work. Dr Marco Gillies was an excellent lecturer. You could tell that a lot of careful planning went into structuring the course. Because the course was so well designed, I do not have recommendations for improvements.

By Kapa A K on 1-May-19

excellent,but late grades