Course Overview#
This course combines hands-on introduction to the basic concepts and technologies of computing with critical discussion of the historical, social, and cultural dimensions of computing, data, and digital technology.
Course Overview#
Week # |
Topical Content |
Technical Content |
|---|---|---|
1 |
Course Introduction; What is a computer? |
Binary number systems |
2 |
How do computers understand information? |
File formats & encoding schema |
3 |
How did we get computers and how do they “work”? (part 1) |
The computer as a data processing machine |
4 |
How did we get computers and how do they “work” (part 2) |
Operating systems & interfaces |
5 |
How do computers talk to each other? What “is” the internet? |
Computer networks |
6 |
How do we access information online? What is the World Wide Web? |
Web content & the World Wide Web |
7 |
What “is” code/coding? What is a programming “language”? |
Programming fundamentals in Python (variables, data types, operators) |
8 |
How did we “get” programming languages?; Understanding the landscape, history, and syntax of programming languages |
Data Structures in Python (secondary data structures; strings, lists, dictionaries, tuples, sets) |
9 |
What can programming languages “do”? |
Control Structures in Python (conditional statements, iteration, loops) |
10 |
How are programming languages used? Introduction to algorithms |
Code Reuse & Modularity in Python (functions, algorithms) |
11 |
But what about data? |
Structured Data in Python (file I/O, structured data, Pandas basics) |
12 |
But what about AI? |
AI & Applied Ethics |
Weeks #13-15 are spent working on final projects:
Brainstorming + launch
Work time
Presentations