Schedule
Unless specified otherwise, weekly readings and media are due before class on Tuesday.
Weeks are listed newest first, so the current one is always at the top.
Week 6: Hardware continued: Central Processing Unit (CPU)
Turtle programming from the class of Oct 1, 2026: Logo Blocks
Due: by Oct 6
Estimated time to complete: 1–1.5 hours
- Rewatch the first five minutes of Relay computer ep. 1 - Basic logic gates
- Watch twice: The Central Processing Unit (CPU): Crash Course Computer Science #7
- Read:
Week 5: Hardware and logic gates
Videos from the class of Sep 22, 2026:
Video from the class of Sep 24, 2026: Understanding Logic Gates
Due: by Sep 29
Estimated time to complete: 2–2.5 hours
- Watch:
- Read the following sections of the InCS textbook (also available through Brightspace):
- Chapter 5 Introduction
- Section 5.1
- Section 5.2
Optional:
Week 4: File system and data wrap-up
Large language model explainer from the class of Sep 15, 2026
Due: by Sep 22
Estimated time to complete: 1.5–2 hours
- Watch the following videos:
- Listen to Episode 4 of the Computer History with Chris Garcia podcast in your favorite podcast app or on Youtube: Episode 4.
Optional:
Week 3: Data representation continued
Due: by Sep 15
Estimated time to complete: 1.5–2 hours
- Read the following sections of Computer Science Field Guide:
- 5.2 Getting started with data representation
- 5.3 Representing numbers up until 5.3.6 (not including that section); section 5.3.6 is optional
- 5.4 Representing text
- 5.5 Representing images and colours
- Watch What is Unicode? ASCII & UTF-8 Explained Simply!.
- Listen to Episode 3 of the Computer History with Chris Garcia podcast in your favorite podcast app or on Youtube: Episode 3.
- Continue reading the History of computing article from Britannica: start with the section Invention of the modern computer, up until Toward the classical computer (not including that subsection).
Week 2: Binary numbers and data representation
Due: by Sep 8
Estimated time to complete: 1–1.5 hours
- Read Binary Digits and Binary Number System from Math Is Fun, especially if you’ve missed class activities. If you are comfortable with binary, decimal, and hexadecimal numbers, you can skip this reading.
- Read Section 5.3 of the InCS textbook (also available through Brightspace).
- Listen to Episode 2 of the Computer History with Chris Garcia podcast in your favorite podcast app or on Youtube: Episode 2.
Note: if you are running behind and need to prioritize, go in the listed order.
Week 1: History of computing
Videos from the class of Aug 27, 2026:
- How Weaving Pioneered Machine Programming! - Impossible Engineering
- Was the First Computer Made of Wood? (Jacquard Loom)
Due: by Sep 1
Estimated time to complete: 2 hours
- Read Time management for sleep.
- Watch Tips for Time Management for College Students.
- Read Chapter 1 of the InCS textbook (also available through Brightspace), i.e., Sections 1.1, 1.2, 1.3.
- Listen to Episode 1 of the Computer History with Chris Garcia podcast in your favorite podcast app or on Youtube: Episode 1.
Note: feel free to increase the speed when you listen to it. - Read the beginning of the History of computing article from Britannica, up until the section Invention of the modern computer (not including that section).
Note: if you are running behind and need to prioritize, start with the time management video, InCS Section 1.1, and the article.
Week 0: Intro to the Course
Due: by Aug 27
Read the syllabus.