Week 1: Getting started: home networks and IP addresses

Introduction

In this first week of the course you will work through two sessions.

The first session introduces you to networks by looking in the home. You will see how home computers, smartphones, printers and other devices can communicate with each other over a network.

This session will be taught by Judith Williams, a Visiting Fellow of the Open University.

The second session begins your exploration of how a network functions, starting with how each device on the network has a unique address.

This session will be taught by Allan Jones, a Senior Lecturer at the Open University.

The Open University would really appreciate a few minutes of your time to tell us about yourself and your expectations for the course before you begin, in our optional start-of-course survey [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] . Participation will be completely confidential and we will not pass on your details to others.