Complete beginner11 weeks55 lessons11 assignments
Watch a free lessonComputer Foundation
Understand the computer from the ground up — how sand becomes a chip, how switches count, think and remember, how a message crosses the ocean, and how a machine learned to talk — then use that understanding to work like a professional: files, the internet, email, documents, staying safe and AI. Free, for complete beginners, taught from Lagos. Windows first, with Mac notes.
Instructor: Stephen Adeniyi
Course content
Module 1
From sand to switch
- 1.1What a computer actually is▶ Watch free preview
- 1.2Why everything is on or off
- 1.3From sand to silicon
- 1.4The transistor: a switch with no moving parts
- 1.5Billions of switches on one chip
- The rock in your handAssignment
Module 2
Counting with light switches
- 2.1Counting in twos▶ Watch free preview
- 2.2Bits, bytes and what "1GB" really is
- 2.3Letters as numbers
- 2.4Pictures as numbers
- 2.5Sound and video as numbers
- Your life in numbersAssignment
Module 3
Teaching switches to think
- 3.1Yes, no and the logic of every decision▶ Watch free preview
- 3.2Logic gates: decisions built from switches
- 3.3How switches add
- 3.4How a switch remembers
- 3.5What a program is
- The machine that decidesAssignment
Module 4
Inside the machine
- 4.1Opening the box▶ Watch free preview
- 4.2The processor, really
- 4.3Memory: the workbench
- 4.4Storage: where things stay
- 4.5Reading a spec sheet at Computer Village
- The machine auditAssignment
Module 5
Software: telling the rock what to do
- 5.1From numbers to words: how people talk to processors▶ Watch free preview
- 5.2The operating system: the manager nobody sees
- 5.3Installing software safely
- 5.4From your fingers to the screen
- 5.5Shortcuts that save hours, and why they work
- The software mapAssignment
Module 6
Files: where your work actually lives
- 6.1What a file really is▶ Watch free preview
- 6.2Names, extensions and formats
- 6.3Folders that still make sense in a year
- 6.4Zips, flash drives and viruses
- 6.5Backups: never lose your work again
- Your files, made unlosableAssignment
Module 7
How a message crosses the ocean
- 7.1How bits travel: wires, light and radio▶ Watch free preview
- 7.2Addresses and packets
- 7.3Following the packets: routers and tracert
- 7.4Under the ocean: the cables that carry the internet
- 7.5Names, not numbers: DNS, and "connected, no internet"
- Follow your own message across the worldAssignment
Module 8
Working online
- 8.1What really happens when you open a web page▶ Watch free preview
- 8.2Searching like a professional
- 8.3Email that gets answered
- 8.4Working in the cloud: documents, sheets and sharing
- 8.5Video calls and your professional presence
- Your professional toolkitAssignment
Module 9
Staying safe
- 9.1How passwords are stored, and cracked▶ Watch free preview
- 9.2Encryption: locks only the right key opens
- 9.3Keeping your accounts yours
- 9.4How scams actually work
- 9.5Malware, updates and your safety routine
- Make yourself a hard targetAssignment
Module 10
The talking rock: how AI works
- 10.1From rules to learning▶ Watch free preview
- 10.2Inside a neural network
- 10.3How a chatbot talks: predicting the next word
- 10.4Where AI goes wrong
- 10.5Using AI well and honestly
- The talking rock, explained by youAssignment
Module 11
Capstone: own it
- 11.1The whole journey: from a tap in Lagos to a screen in London▶ Watch free preview
- 11.2Your professional workspace
- 11.3A CV that gets read
- 11.4Applying for a job, entirely on a computer
- 11.5Owning it: explain, teach, keep learning
- Own it: the capstoneAssignment
🔒 Assignments open once you've finished the lessons and quizzes in their module. They're marked by an instructor and count towards your certificate.