Computer Science 101

CS101 now self paced!

The active course run for CS101 has ended, but the course is now available in a self paced mode. You are welcome to join the course and work through the material and exercises at your own pace. When you have completed the exercises with a score of 80% or higher, you can generate your Statement of Accomplishment from within the course.

The course will remain available for an extended period of time. We anticipate the content will be available until at least Sept 1, 2016. You will be notified by email of any changes to content availability beforehand.

About CS101

CS101 teaches the essential ideas of Computer Science for a zero-prior-experience audience. Computers can appear very complicated, but in reality, computers work within just a few, simple patterns. CS101 demystifies and brings those patterns to life, which is useful for anyone using computers today.

In CS101, participants play and experiment with short bits of "computer code" to bring to life to the power and limitations of computers. Everything works within the browser, so there is no extra software to download or install. CS101 also provides a general background on computers today: what is a computer, what is hardware, what is software, what is the internet. No previous experience is required other than the ability to use a web browser.

Topics:

The nature of computers and code, what they can and cannot do
How computer hardware works: chips, cpu, memory, disk
Necessary jargon: bits, bytes, megabytes, gigabytes
How software works: what is a program, what is "running"
How digital images work
Computer code: loops and logic
Big ideas: abstraction, logic, bugs
How structured data works
How the internet works: ip address, routing, ethernet, wi-fi
Computer security: viruses, trojans, and passwords, oh my!
Analog vs. digital
Digital media, images, sounds, video, compression

This July-2014 version is the newest edition of CS101, and it's now running on Stanford's own Stanford Online site. There was an older version we ran on Coursera, so you may see links pointing to the old version scattered around the internet.

Prerequisites

Zero computer experience is assumed beyond a basic ability to use a web browser.

Course Staff

Nick Parlante

Nick Parlante has been teaching CS at Stanford for over 20 years.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a statement of accomplishment available?

Yes.

What sort of work is required?

CS101 has a "lab" component where participants play with short bits of computer code, on their way to understanding the nature of computers. That's more involved than answering multiple choice questions. These code-writing exercises ramp up gradually.

Is a book required?

No. We do provide extensive written notes to go with each lecture, for review, or for people who learn better that way.

What computer language is used?

CS101 uses a variant of Javascript. However, the code used in CS101 is very stripped down, avoiding all sorts of boilerplate that would get in the way of learning. As a result, CS101 code does not look like full, professional Javascript code.

Is CS101 a full programming course?

No. CS101 uses code to explore the nature of computers, but does not pursue code in the depth of a full programming course. Certainly CS101 participants will have a real understanding of what code is and how it works, but not going so far as a full programming course. CS101 is an excellent first step for someone who then wants to take a full programming course.

How much time will I need to allot to this course each week?

You should expect to spend about 4 hours of work per week on this course.

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