Programming for a Networked World

Programming for a Networked World is a beginner-level MOOC on Coursera that takes about 24 hours to complete on a flexible schedule. Its modules cover the fundamentals of programming concepts, the basics of distributed computing and computer networking, and problem solving using NetsBlox, the block-based educational programming environment developed at Vanderbilt. Although designed for teachers, the course is accessible to anyone who wants to learn block-based programming.

The MOOC was created primarily as an online professional development opportunity for high school teachers preparing to teach The Frontiers of Computing, a Vanderbilt-developed course for high school students approved by the Tennessee Department of Education. Both courses are projects within the LIVE (Learning Incubator: a Vanderbilt Endeavor) Initiative, an interdisciplinary collaboration among the School of Engineering, Peabody College, and the College of Arts and Science, with support from Vanderbilt seed funding, the National Science Foundation, and the National Security Agency. Clifford Anderson developed and teaches the course with Akos Ledeczi, professor of computer science, and Brian Broll, research scientist at Vanderbilt’s Institute for Software Integrated Systems and chief architect of NetsBlox, aiming to make the leading ideas of computer programming and distributed computing accessible to all.