CS 10100 Digital Literacy

Course Description

Survey of the digital world, computers as multi-purpose machines, digital information, definition of programming, computers everywhere (the Internet of things), computers that perform simultaneous computations, how apps work, data storage and searching, databases, digital audio, graphics, video, computer networks and the Internet, the World Wide Web and Internet sharing services, network and Internet performance, real-time services, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, security, and privacy.

Course Outline

Week     Contents

1            Course Overview -- Why study the digital world?

2            The Malleable machine -- a computer can be changed through programming

3            Digital Information: Representation and Storage -- the reason for binary

4            The Concept of Programming -- specifying steps, sequence, repetition, and choice

5            Computers Everywhere (The Internet of Things) -- embedded systems, smart phones

6            Computers that Perform Simultaneous Computations

7            How Apps Work

8            Structured and Unstructured Data -- what is in a database

9            Digital Audio, Graphics, and Video

10          Computer Networks and the Internet

11          Internet Services: World Wide Web and Sharing Services

12          Network and Internet Performance and Real-Time Services

13          Artificial Intelligence -- speech recognition, natural language processing

14          Cloud Computing -- processing and storage

15          Security and Privacy -- encrypting information, passwords, virus software