CS50
CS50 (Computer Science 50) is an on-campus and online introductory course on computer science taught at Harvard University and, as of 2015, Yale University as well. In 2016, CS50 became available to high school students as an AP course. The course material is available online for free on EdX with a range of certificates available for a fee. The on-campus version is Harvard's largest class with 800 students, 102 staff and up to 2,200 participants in their regular hackathons.[1][2]
After a participant has completed CS50, there are several follow on programs including CS50 Computer Science for Web Programming, CS50 Computer science for Artificial Intelligence, CS50 Computer Science for Game Development and CS50 Computer Science and Mobile Apps. These programs are all available on the EdX platform.
Format
CS50 lectures are recorded and uploaded to several services including iTunes U, EdX, and YouTube. Additional video "walkthroughs" are recorded with professors and volunteer students. Course questions, called problem sets, or "psets" for short, are available in both PDF and HTML format. Students can upload problem set answers, and some questions are graded by automation. Students can also use special software to check their code in the cloud. In 2016, CS50 became the first university course to offer students the possibility to watch all lectures entirely in virtual reality.[3]
Notable people
The lead instructor is Harvard University professor David Malan.[4] Brian Yu is also a prominent member of CS50 and one of the lecturers.[5] Both Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg and former Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer have given guest lectures.[6][7]
References
- ^ Pappano, Laura. "10 Courses With a Twist". The New York Times. Retrieved 2014-05-04.
- ^ Farrell, Michael. "Computer science course fills seats, needs at Harvard". The Boston Globe.
- ^ Fahs, C. Ramsey (2016-08-31). "CS50 Moves Away from Traditional Lectures, Toward Virtual Reality". The Crimson.
- ^ Orbey, Eren. "How Harvard's Star Computer-Science Professor Built a Distance-Learning Empire". The New Yorker.
- ^ Feldt, Brian (2014-03-11). "LaunchCode hackathon to feature global computer science educator". St. Louis Business Journal. Retrieved 2014-05-04.
- ^ "CS50 Guest Lecture by Mark Zuckerberg". Harvard University.
- ^ "CS50 Guest Lecture by Steve Ballmer". Harvard University.