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.
WEEK 1
1 hour to complete
Introduction
An introduction to what this course is about: the fundamentals behind social and technical networks.
5 videos (Total 39 min) 3 readings
3 hours to complete
Power Control in Cellular Networks
How is it possible that we can all communicate effectively without disrupting each other's calls messages or Internet usage? In this lesson we will take a look at some of the methods that have been developed for letting us share the air over which our phones communicate.
21 videos (Total 125 min) 1 reading 1 quiz
WEEK 2
2 hours to complete
Random Access in Wifi Networks
In this lesson we will investigate WiFi another type of wireless network. Rather than having stringent power control algorithms as we saw for cellular WiFi relies on random access methods to manage interference among users in the same location.
15 videos (Total 98 min) 1 reading
2 hours to complete
PageRank by Google
In this lesson we will take a look at PageRank Google's famous algorithm for ordering the results on its search page. PageRank is a prime example of how coming up with the right ranking of a set of items is a difficult yet important question in networking.
11 videos (Total 67 min) 1 reading 1 quiz
WEEK 3
1 hour to complete
Product Rating on Amazon
The decision of whether or not to purchase something online is often driven by the ratings that previous customers have left for it. In this lesson we will take a look at Amazon's review system and the see how crowds are wise is another important networking principle.
11 videos (Total 69 min) 1 reading
2 hours to complete
Movie Recommendation on Netflix
One of the perks of having a Netflix subscription is getting recommendations of movies to watch. Behind the scenes Netflix uses powerful algorithms to determine which will be suggested to each person specifically. In this lesson we will take a look at the main ideas behind these algorithms.
18 videos (Total 111 min) 1 reading 1 quiz
WEEK 4
2 hours to complete
Midterm
Tham gia đánh giá khóa học
Nếu bạn đã học qua khóa học này thì mời bạn tham gia đóng góp ý kiến và đánh giá để cộng đồng bạn học có thêm thông tin tham khảo.
Cung cấp bởi: Coursera / Princeton University
Thời lượng: 24 hours
Ngôn ngữ giảng dạy: Tiếng Anh
Chi phí: Miễn phí / 0
Đối tượng: Beginner
Thông tin về nhà cung cấp
Coursera (/ kərˈsɛrə /) là một nền tảng học tập trực tuyến toàn cầu được thành lập vào năm 2012 bởi 2 giáo sư khoa học máy tính của đại học Stanford là Andrew Ng và Daphne Koller, nền tảng này cung cấp các khóa học trực tuyến (MOOC) cho cộng đồng người học online.
Coursera hợp tác với các trường đại học danh tiếng tại Bắc Mỹ và trên khắp thế giới, cùng với nhiều tổ chức khác để cung cấp các khóa học trực tuyến chất lượng, theo chuyên ngành và được cấp chứng chỉ trong nhiều lĩnh vực như kỹ thuật, khoa học dữ liệu, học máy, toán học, kinh doanh, khoa học máy tính, tiếp thị kỹ thuật số, nhân văn, y học, sinh học, khoa học xã hội , và nhiều ngành khác.