The impact of networks and technology continues to increase. Understanding technology makes it easier to function in an information-centric world.

We just published a massive course about Internet history and technology on the freeCodeCamp.org YouTube channel.

In this course you will learn how the Internet was created, who created it, and how it works. Along the way you will see interviews with many of the innovators who developed the Internet and Web technologies that we use today.

Charles Severance (a.k.a. Dr. Chuck) created this course. He is a Clinical Professor at the University of Michigan School of Information, where he teaches various technology-oriented courses including programming, database design, and Web development.

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.

Here are the sections in this information-packed course:

  • High Stakes Research in Computing and Communication
  • IEEE Computer: Alan Turing at Bletchley Park
  • The "First" Electronic Computers Around the World
  • Monash Museum of Computing History Interviews
  • Post-War Computing and Communication
  • Early Academic Networking Research
  • Len Kleinrock: The First Two Packets on the Internet
  • Packet Switched Networks
  • Computing Conversations: Len Kleinrock on the Theory of Packets
  • Packet Switching and the ARPANET
  • Katie Hafner on the history of the ARPANET project
  • Supercomputers as Technology Drivers
  • Networked Computing, lecture by Larry Smarr on Scientific Computing
  • From Super Computers to NSFNet
  • Doug Van Houweling: Building the NSFNet
  • Expanding NSFNet Around the World
  • Nii Quaynor: Bringing the Internet to Africa
  • The World-Wide-Web Emerges at CERN
  • Building the Web Around the World
  • Steve Job's Second-Order Effects (High resolution)
  • Mosaic at NCSA - The Browser for Everybody
  • Joseph Hardin: NCSA Mosaic
  • Reflecting on Mosaic
  • Computing Conversations with Brendan Eich
  • Computing Conversations: Mitchell Baker on the Mozilla Foundation
  • The Web, the World, and the Economy
  • Computing Conversations: Brian Behlendorf on the Apache Software Foundation
  • Open Source Wrap Up
  • Introduction: Link Layer
  • Computing Conversations: Bob Metcalfe on the First Ethernet LAN
  • The InterNetwork Protocol (IP)
  • Computing Conversations: Vint Cerf on the History of Packets
  • DNS - The Domain Name System
  • Transport Layer
  • Van Jacobson: The Slow-Start Algorithm
  • TCP Wrap Up
  • Application Layer
  • Security Introduction
  • Bruce Schneier: The Security Mindset
  • Understanding Security
  • Encryption and Confidentiality
  • Cryptographic Hashes and Integrity
  • Bruce Schneier: Building Cryptographic Systems
  • Hashing and Digital Signatures
  • Security Public/Private Key - Secure Sockets
  • Security - Integrity and Certificate Authorities

Watch the full course below or on the freeCodeCamp.org YouTube channel (9-hour watch):