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Quality Score

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Overall Score : 82 / 100

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Course Description

What makes WiFi faster at home than at a coffee shop? How does Google order its search results from the trillions of webpages on the Internet? Why does Verizon charge $15 for every GB of data we use? Is it really true that we are connected in six social steps or less?These are just a few of the many intriguing questions we can ask about the social and technical networks that form integral parts of our daily lives. This course is about exploring the answers, using a language that anyone can understand. We will focus on fundamental principles like "sharing is hard", "crowds are wise", and "network of networks" that have guided the design and sustainability of today's networks, and summarize the theories behind everything from the social connections we make on platforms like Facebook to the technology upon which these websites run.Unlike other networking courses, the mathematics included here are no more complicated than adding and multiplying numbers. While mathematical details are necessary to fully specify the algorithms and systems we investigate, they are not required to understand the main ideas. We use illustrations, analogies, and anecdotes about networks as pedagogical tools in lieu of detailed equations.All the features of this course are available for free. It does not offer a certificate upon completion.

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Instructor Details

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Christopher G. Brinton is a Lecturer in Electrical Engineering at Princeton University, and co-founder and Head of Advanced Research at the learning technology company Zoomi Inc. His research focus is data science for social networks, with a particular emphasis on student learning. Chris co-authored the book The Power of Networks: Six Principles that Connect our Lives, and has reached over 250,000 students through MOOCs based on his book. A recipient of the 2016 Bede Liu Best Dissertation Award in Electrical Engineering, Chris received his PhD from Princeton in 2016, his Masters from Princeton in 2013, and his BSEE from The College of New Jersey (valedictorian and summa cum laude) in 2011, all in Electrical Engineering.

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Reviews

4.1

9 total reviews

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By Ravindra R on 27-Aug-16

The topics are of interest however the course content could be presented better. In most instances it is hard to predict where the instructor is writing and is hard to read. Also writes over the slide material.

By Maura P on 14-May-17

Interesting course. Some errors in questions during the exam, and sometimes teaching is a little slow. Great material anyway, but I suggest to take notes while watching because slides are not complete (there are no formulas).

By guillenrique on 15-Feb-17

Very clear explanation.A simple approach that helps to understand most of the concepts reviewed.Thanks.

By Peter K on 3-Jul-16

Wrong subtitles, no communication...

By Fedor D on 30-Oct-16

Great course in general!Unfortunately some lectures are missing and on Quiz's some questions missing description and some pictures missing too and authors don't reply on remarks yet.Will be glad to rate "5 stars" when remarks are fixed.

By PC on 4-Jul-19

Using themes and analogies, this course successfully give a holistic view. You lose a bit on mathematical precision, but gain on a firmer understanding of the phenomena.

By Da C on 15-Sep-16

very great course!

By John M on 7-May-17

WARNING: NO CERTIFICATES GRANTED IN THIS COURSE DESPITE WHATEVER COURSERA, SEARCH RESULTS OR COURSE INFO TELLS YOU. IT IS PRINCETON POLICY, AND PRINCETON WILL NOT CHANGE FOR YOU. WHEN YOU SIGN UP THERE WILL NEVER BE ANY CHANCE TO PAY, AND IT WILL NOT APPEAR LATER.Taking the above into consideration, this is still a very good all around review of networking principles. Nothing terribly deep, but it can't be broad and deep while being doable in this timeframe. The math is easy, so long as you can keep track of iterations and the value changes from one to the next, the actual math is super easy (and there's never more than a handful of iterations). Jumps around a bit wildly from topic to topic, but they are all interesting and necessary to know about. Very little extraneous material, though some of the parts are dated (principles are still useful though). Wifi still uses wait and listen, just a lot differently. The class also argues heavily that pay per use plans are better than flat fee, and the math supported it, but the business model has swung away from that and back to flat. None of this matters though, it's the ideas and principles behind everything that are critical to understand in today's world. None of those are changing in any significant way until my quantum computer hits the market. One problem is that the teachers of the class are LONG gone, if you are looking for answers to questions and things of that nature forget it. There are also a couple of broken lecture links and messed up exam questions. These have been pointed out for several years, would be ridiculously easy to fix, and nothing has ever been done, so no instructor is listening to any of us, ever.5/5 stars given it is free, and so long as you go in knowing you can't get any certificate.

By Mohit k on 12-Mar-19

awsome contents