Technical Support Fundamentals

Welcome to Technical Support Fundamentals, the first course of the IT Support Professional Certificate! By enrolling in this course, you are taking the first step to kickstarting your career in tech. In the first week of the course, we'll learn about how computers were invented, how they've evolved over time, and how they work today. We will also learn about what an "IT Support Specialist" is and what they do in their job. By the end of this module, you will know how to count like a computer using binary and understand why these calculations are so powerful for society. So let's get started!

In the second week of this course, we'll learn about what's inside a computer. We'll learn all about the hardware components or different pieces inside a computer. We'll discover what each component does and how they work together to make a computer function. By the end of this module, you will also know how to build a computer from scratch!

In the third week of the course we will become familiar with operating systems. We discuss the operating systems that are most widely used today and learn how an operating system interacts with computer hardware. We will learn about the startup process of an operating system and show you how to install the Windows, Linux and Mac OS X operating systems from scratch. At the end of this module you will interact directly with the Windows and Linux operating systems via the Qwiklabs environment.

In the fourth week of this course, we'll learn about computer networking. We'll explore the history of the Internet and what "The Web" actually is. We'll also discuss topics like Internet privacy, security, and what the future of the Internet may look like. You'll also understand why the Internet has limitations even today. By the end of this module, you will know how the Internet works and recognize both the positive and negative impacts the Internet has had on the world.