Computer programs are abundant in many people’s lives today, carrying out applications on smartphones, tablets, and laptops, powering businesses, helping cars drive and planes fly, and much more. The course introduces computational thinking and algorithms, a sequence of instructions that solves a problem. Computational or mathematical thinking became increasingly important throughout the industrial age to enable people to successfully live and work. In the information age, computational thinking and algorithms will continue to be increasingly critical for work and everyday life. Beyond business and personal computing devices such as PCs, tablets, and smartphones, embedded computers exist invisibly in nearly anything electrical today (e.g., TVs, cars, printers, thermostats, satellites, etc.) and require scripting and programming of instructions to perform efficiently.
An excellent online course offered by edX: how it works
edX courses consist of weekly learning sequences. Each learning sequence is composed of short videos interspersed with interactive learning exercises, where students can immediately practise the concepts from the videos. The courses often include tutorial videos that are similar to small on-campus discussion groups, an online textbook, and an online discussion forum where students can post and review questions and comments to each other and teaching assistants. Where applicable, online laboratories are incorporated into the course.
edX offers certificates of successful completion and some courses are credit-eligible. Whether or not a college or university offers credit for an online course is within the sole discretion of the school. edX offers a variety of ways to take courses, including verified courses where students have the option to audit the course (no cost) or to work toward an edX Verified Certificate (fees vary by course). edX also offers XSeries Certificates for completion of a bundled set of two to seven verified courses in a single subject (cost varies depending on the courses).
An edX learning programme under Other Experiences