Beauty and Joy of Computing

Created by Senior Lecturer Dan Garcia at UC Berkeley

The Beauty and Joy of Computing brings the relevance of computing to the student and explores its impact on society with a historical review of the major applications that changed the world, as well as an introduction to the various architectures, forms and principles of computing.   Issues related to privacy, security, ethics and industry will be explored and students will meet with real world practitioners to hear how computing empowers discovery and progress in other fields.  During this course, students can expect to:

  • Get hands-on experience with a friendly, graphical language and complete a programming project related to their interests.
  • Meet with guest speakers to learn about the practical and world-changing applications of computing
  • Learn data manipulation and analysis techniques with algorithms and lists
  • Glimpse into the future of computing’s burgeoning areas of innovation and growth

Request more information using the sidebar to the right or give us a call to learn more about taking the Beauty and Joy of Computing with UC Online!

Click here to view Course Pricing and Credit information.

Important Dates:

Registration: Enroll now! Registration ends January 22, 2013.
First Day of Instruction: January 22, 2013.
End of Term: May 17, 2013.

Please Note: The course instructor requires that a minimum number of students must be enrolled in this online course to provide the most effective learning environment. If this course does not meet minimum enrollment, UC Online will cancel the course and all enrolled student(s) will receive a full refund.

Syllabus:

Click here for the Beauty and Joy of Computing syllabus.

Additional Course Fees:

$75.00 for online exam proctoring. This fee is separate from the course price that will be charged when you register. The additional fee will be charged at a later time.

Pre-Requisites:

None

Instructor Information:

Senior Lecturer Dan Garcia

Meet the Faculty

Dan Garcia
Dan Garcia is a Senior Lecturer with Security of Employment in the Computer Science Division of the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department at the University of California, Berkeley. He is an active participant in the CS10K project, whose goal is to broaden participation in computing through the introduction of an advanced placement course for high school students centered on the study of Computer Science principles.

A recipient of three grants from the National Science Foundation in support of teaching Advanced Placement Computer Science course to high school teachers nationwide, Dan Garcia has also received several departmental awards including the Information Technology Faculty Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, the Diane S. McEntyre Award for Excellence in Teaching, as well as other awards on teaching effectiveness at UC Berkeley.

Dan holds a Ph.D. and M.S. from UC Berkeley. He serves on the ACM Education Board, GRE Computer Science Committee and the AP CS: Principles Advisory Board. Also, he is the faculty champion for the local Computer Science Teachers Association chapter and faculty co-director for BFOIT, a wonderful Berkeley K-12 CS outreach effort.