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University of Michigan

Internet History, Technology, and Security

The impact of technology and networks on our lives, culture, and society continues to increase. The very fact that you can take this course from anywhere in the world requires a technological infrastructure that was designed, engineered, and built over the past sixty years. To function in an information-centric world, we need to understand the workings of network technology. This course will open up the Internet and show you how it was created, who created it and how it works. Along the way we will meet many of the innovators who developed the Internet and Web technologies that we use today. What You Will Learn: After this course you will not take the Internet and Web for granted. You will be better informed about important technological issues currently facing society. You will realize that the Internet and Web are spaces for innovation and you will get a better understanding of how you might fit into that innovation. If you get excited about the material in this course, it is a great lead-in to taking a course in Web design, Web development, programming, or even network administration. At a minimum, you will be a much wiser network citizen.

Status: Network Protocols
Status: Computer Networking
BeginnerCourse15 hours

Featured reviews

SI

5.0Reviewed Apr 25, 2019

Great Instructor! I have learnt alot from this course as well as the instructor. I am thankful to coursera for providing me this opportunity to learn from an instructor like Dr. Charles Severance.

GR

5.0Reviewed Mar 7, 2021

The course is a very good startup course for those interested in the ins and outs of the Internet. The instructor (Dr. Chuck) is very good in teaching the course and very knowledgeable.

HV

5.0Reviewed Mar 19, 2016

Great course. It gives a good understanding of how the internet works and where it comes from. I really enjoy the interviews with people that lay the foundations of the internet.

JJ

5.0Reviewed Oct 23, 2015

A excellent overview of Internet History, the underlying technology and a quick tour of SSL/TLS. The interviews with some key folks of internet folklore was an added advantage. Highly recommended.

JH

5.0Reviewed Jan 1, 2020

The course is not just taught with enthusiasm, but many of the key events are described by people who were directly involved. The course should have something new for almost anyone.

SS

5.0Reviewed Nov 11, 2016

Very interesting course. The instructor is really helpful and knowledgeable person. Someone interested in internet should take this course. It's awesome and fun to learn.Best of luck!!!

AA

4.0Reviewed Aug 9, 2017

Great classes. Very easy for everybody looking to have a first contact with the subject: although a bit more in-depth explanations about the technology part would have been great.

EE

5.0Reviewed Apr 29, 2017

Dr. Chuck is always a pleasure to listen to. Also, it's amazing that he actually got to experience all those monumental milestones in his life, by being in the right place at the right age.

HH

5.0Reviewed Aug 17, 2015

Covers an broad, yet manageable scope of computer, network and Internet history followed by an short, understandable taste of the complex scope of cyber security and cryptography.

JM

5.0Reviewed Jun 14, 2016

Dr. Chuck is the best!! The interviews with the Grandfathers and Innovators of the Internet are AWESOME! I highly recommend this class to everyone, you will definitely enjoy it tremendously.

U

5.0Reviewed Jul 19, 2020

Thank you for making me a part of such an awesome course. My special thanks to Dr. Chuck who made his lectures very interesting and fun. Would love to do more courses under him.

AA

5.0Reviewed Aug 19, 2019

Thank you for the informative and fun course, Dr. Chuck. I have learnt to appreciate the wonders of the Internet, and the people who made it happen (and those who continue to make it better).

All reviews

Showing: 20 of 710

Jeffrey Jose
5.0
Reviewed Oct 23, 2015
Stacy Bird
5.0
Reviewed Jan 7, 2016
Syed Azeem Inam
5.0
Reviewed Apr 26, 2019
Parth Thakker
5.0
Reviewed Jun 4, 2019
Jeff Mathis
5.0
Reviewed Jun 14, 2016
Diogo Azevedo Pereira Dantas
5.0
Reviewed Jul 5, 2019
Xinyuan Gu
5.0
Reviewed Apr 22, 2019
Thomas Rowlands
5.0
Reviewed Aug 12, 2020
CARLOS AUGUSTO DE LIMA
5.0
Reviewed Apr 6, 2019
ベンラミノ
5.0
Reviewed May 22, 2019
Zachary Meisner
5.0
Reviewed Dec 24, 2019
Jaspher Kathrine
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Reviewed Apr 24, 2019
Corey Milley
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Reviewed May 13, 2019
Helena Paulasova
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Reviewed Oct 13, 2019
Ann
5.0
Reviewed Aug 19, 2019
Jacques Mahoudeaux
5.0
Reviewed May 31, 2020
Ludoviko
5.0
Reviewed Aug 22, 2019
Tong Leo
5.0
Reviewed Oct 1, 2019
Ashari Ali
5.0
Reviewed Sep 14, 2019
Diego Gómez
5.0
Reviewed Oct 31, 2019