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Making the IoT Internet of Things a Career Choice

The ‘Internet of Things’ or IoT is gaining momentum and extending its reach, but how do we learn more about how these connected gadgets are collecting and transmitting data over the internet? Where do we learn to program the IoT? How do we apply this emerging juggernaut into our careers right now?

Well, we’ve compiled a list beginning with free and low cost (but quality) training courses that you can take online right now to get you into the mix. Whether you just want to gain a better knowledge and understanding of the IoT; want to learn how to setup and configure a range of IoT technologies; or want a nationally (or even internationally recognised certification; there is an IoT course on this list for you.

Coursera.org

Coursera offers a large range of courses developed by leading universities and higher education institutions. You can enroll in either of these 6 x course specialisations or take the courses individually. There is a fee for the specialisation but you can elect to take the individual courses for free.

Internet of Things: 6-course Specialisation

This Specialization covers the development of Internet of Things (IoT) products and services—including devices for sensing, actuation, processing, and communication—to help you develop skills and experiences you can employ in designing novel systems. The Specialization has theory and lab sections. In the lab sections, you will learn hands-on IoT concepts such as sensing, actuation, and communication. In the final Capstone Project, developed in partnership with Qualcomm, you’ll apply the skills you learned on a project of your choice using the DragonBoard 410c platform.

  1. Internet of Things: How did we get here?

This course provides a core grounding in how science and technology have developed to enable the Internet of Things – in a way appropriate for any learner.  For those interested in developing further hands-on expertise in designing and developing for the Internet of Things, this course will provide a context to the discoveries and converging technologies that will springboard the next round of innovations.

  1. Internet of Things: Setting Up Your DragonBoard™ Development Platform

Do you want to develop skills to prototype mobile-enabled products using state-of-the-art technologies? In this course, you will build a hardware and software development environment to guide your journey through the Internet of Things specialization courses. We will use the DragonBoard™ 410c single board computer (SBC).

  1. Internet of Things: Sensing and Actuation From Devices

Have you wondered how information from physical devices in the real world gets communicated to Smartphone processors?  Do you want to make informed design decisions about sampling frequencies and bit-width requirements for various kinds of sensors? Do you want to gain expertise to affect the real world with actuators such as stepper motors, LEDs and generate notifications?

  1. Internet of Things: Communication Technologies

Have you wondered how “Things” talk to each other and the cloud? Do you understand the alternatives for conveying latency-sensitive real time data versus reliable signalling data? Building on the skills from the Sensing and Actuation course, we will explore protocols to exchange information between processors.

  1. Internet of Things: Multimedia Technologies

In this course, you will learn the principles of video and audio codecs used for media content on iTunes, Google Play, YouTube, Netflix, etc.  You will learn the file formats and codec settings for optimizing quality and media bandwidth and apply them in developing a basic media player application.

  1. Internet of Things Capstone: Build a Mobile Surveillance System

In the Capstone project for the Internet of Things specialization, you will design and build your own system that uses at least 2 sensors, at least 1 communication protocol and at least 1 actuator. You will have a chance to revisit and apply what you have learned in our courses to achieve a robust, practical and/or fun-filled project.

An Introduction to Programming the Internet of Things (IoT) Specialisation

This Specialization covers embedded systems, the Raspberry Pi Platform, and the Arduino environment for building devices that can control the physical world. In the final Capstone Project, you’ll apply the skills you learned by designing, building, and testing a microcontroller-based embedded system, producing a unique final project suitable for showcasing to future employers. Please note that this specialization does not offer discussion forums.

  1. Introduction to the Internet of Things and Embedded Systems

In this introductory course, you will learn the importance of IoT in society, the current components of typical IoT devices and trends for the future. IoT design considerations, constraints, and interfacing between the physical world and your device will also be covered. You will also learn how to make design trade-offs between hardware and software.

  1. The Arduino Platform and C Programming

The Arduino is an open-source computer hardware/software platform for building digital devices and interactive objects that can sense and control the physical world around them. In this class, you will learn how the Arduino platform works in terms of the physical board and libraries and the IDE (integrated development environment). You will also learn about shields, which are smaller boards that plug into the main Arduino board to perform other functions such as sensing light, heat, GPS tracking, or providing a user interface display.

  1. Interfacing with the Arduino

Arduino senses the environment by receiving inputs from add-on devices such as sensors and can control the world around it by adjusting lights, motors, and other actuators. In this class, you will learn how and when to use the different types of sensors and how to connect them to the Arduino. Since the external world uses continuous or analog signals and the hardware is digital you will learn how these signals are converted back-and-forth and how this must be considered as you program your device.

  1. The Raspberry Pi Platform and Python Programming for the Raspberry Pi

The Raspberry Pi is a small, affordable single-board computer that you will use to design and develop fun and practical IoT devices while learning programming and computer hardware. In addition, you will learn how to set up up the Raspberry Pi environment, get a Linux operating system running, and write and execute some basic Python code on the Raspberry Pi. You will also learn how to use Python-based IDE (integrated development environments) for the Raspberry Pi and how to trace and debug Python code on the device.

  1. Interfacing with the Raspberry Pi

The Raspberry Pi uses a variety of input/output devices based on protocols such as HDMI, USB, and Ethernet to communicate with the outside world. In this class, you will learn how to use these protocols with other external devices (sensors, motors, GPS, orientation, LCD screens etc.) to get your IoT device to interact with the real world. Most physical devices use analog signals;  however computer hardware is digital so in this class, you will learn how these signals are converted back-and-forth and how this must be considered as you program your device. The basic design of a sensor-actuator system will also be covered. You will also learn how to build more sophisticated hardware systems using Raspberry Pi expansion boards to create fun and exciting IoT devices.

  1. Programming for the Internet of Things Project

In this Capstone course, you will design a microcontroller-based embedded system. As an option, you can also build and test a system. The focus of your project will be to design the system so that it can be built on a low-cost budget for a real-world application. To complete this project you’ll need to use all the skills you’ve learned in the course (programming microcontrollers, system design, interfacing, etc.). The project will include some core requirements, but leave room for your creativity in how you approach the project. In the end, you will produce a unique final project, suitable for showcasing to future potential employers.

lynda.com

Lynda charges an annual subscription fee and subscribers can take as many courses as they wish. Courses are updated regularly.

IoT Foundations: Fundamentals

The Internet of Things (IoT) is more than just smart or connected devices. In this course, learn what IoT is, and how it works from a technical standpoint.

Securing the IoT: Introduction

The course overviews IoT, and the types of IoT devices as well as the different networks that range in size and purpose—LANS, WANS, and PANS—and explains how businesses invest heavily in IoT in order to keep a competitive edge, going into IoT developments in automobiles, building automation, and the medical field.

IoT Foundations: Low-Power Wireless Networking

The Internet of Things (IoT) has been significantly driven by the increasing number of networked devices with ubiquitous wireless connectivity. Low-power wireless networking is one of the most important connectivity technologies required by today’s IoT systems, ranging from smart home appliances to smart city systems.

IoT Development with Windows 10 IoT Core 1: Installation and Basic Connection

With Windows 10 IoT Core, Microsoft brings together Windows and the Internet of Things (IoT). This version of Windows 10 is optimized for smaller devices, runs on the Raspberry Pi 2 and 3, and allows you to incorporate the power of Windows into nearly any kind of device you can dream up—from smart watches to car data connectors.

udemy.com

Udemy offers thousands of courses and users pay for each course individually. Some of these courses can be taken for as little as $10 depending on your enrolment choices.

From 0 to 1: Raspberry Pi and the Internet of Things

An Internet-Of-Things course for everyone – accessible yet serious, to take you from absolute beginner to a solid intermediate level – built around Home Automation using Raspberry Pi.

Hands on Internet of Things: Get started with a Raspberry Pi

This is a course about getting started with the Internet of Things. It’s a hands-on course with exercises designed to teach you the concepts of gathering, sending, and storing data. We’ll build a full end to end project gathering information from sensors, sending them over the internet and into a database. Then we’ll build a nice dashboard to view it all. You’ll go from a beginner to a confident IoT pro with this course.

Internet of Things using Augmented Reality in Unity IoTAR

This course is designed to help you understand the fundamentals of Internet of Things and Augmented Reality using the Vuforia assets in Unity through practical and easy to understand labs. This class covers these capabilities, including getting started, Interfacing the Arduino Based- Particle Photon IoT Microcontroller with the magic of Augmented Reality. We have designed this course so that you are able to interface any sensor to your IoT device and we show you what we think is the best way to visualize that data so that it makes sense when augmented into the real world.

Universities

Universities are starting to incorporate the Internet of Things into their Undergraduate and even Graduate programs now. The University of Sydney in Australia, Wuhan University in China as well as FIU in the United States are some higher education platforms leading the way. You can also consider recognised online courses in information technology to get started. With connected devices experiencing a predicted growth of more than 20% per year, now is the time to leverage these learning opportunities and target your skills in this rapid-growth area.

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