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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Blockchain Basics by University at Buffalo

4.6
stars
7,501 ratings

About the Course

This first course of the Blockchain specialization provides a broad overview of the essential concepts of blockchain technology – by initially exploring the Bitcoin protocol followed by the Ethereum protocol – to lay the foundation necessary for developing applications and programming. You will be equipped with the knowledge needed to create nodes on your personal Ethereum blockchain, create accounts, unlock accounts, mine, transact, transfer Ethers, and check balances. You will learn about the decentralized peer-to-peer network, an immutable distributed ledger and the trust model that defines a blockchain. This course enables you to explain basic components of a blockchain (transaction, block, block header, and the chain) its operations (verification, validation, and consensus model) underlying algorithms, and essentials of trust (hard fork and soft fork). Content includes the hashing and cryptography foundations indispensable to blockchain programming, which is the focus of two subsequent specialization courses, Smart Contracts and Decentralized Applications (Dapps). You will work on a virtual machine image, specifically created for this course, to build an Ethereum test chain and operate on the chain. This hands-on activity will help you understand the workings of a blockchain, its transactions, blocks and mining. Main concepts are delivered through videos, demos and hands-on exercises....

Top reviews

TT

Nov 18, 2018

This is an introductory course to Blockchain. The supplemented material (in other words self-study) is excellent and in my opinion is the only way to master the concepts and details of this discipline

SS

Jul 27, 2018

I find this course helpful to absolute beginner and for one who wants to grasp the basic concepts of Blockchain . The tutor tried to explain most part with simplicity and good and sufficient details.

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51 - 75 of 1,877 Reviews for Blockchain Basics

By gabriele r

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Nov 11, 2018

very superficial

By Amirreza G D

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Jul 7, 2022

Don't waste your time with this course. The way the instructor is speaking is like she is reading something. Most of the time waste time. For exmple in 8 minutes video 1 minute she talk about what we will learn and last minute she repeats it. In the middle there is no or so little usefull information. Totally unsuefull.

By Shiva M

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Oct 1, 2019

The external material referenced in this course was actually more useful and better at explaining concepts than this course. I am glad I decided to audit instead of purchasing it. The lecturer should explain the concepts instead of reading off slides, especially when using heavy jargon for an abstract concept like this.

By Sergio A M

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Jun 3, 2021

Really bad. Lots of links are outdated with 404. Even in one of the tests it is not possible to answer one question because of that. The total video time is like 1 hour and the rest is just links to pages.

By Babak B

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Nov 19, 2021

very bad design. Without giving the basic understanding of blockchain structure (with just some general information which could be found in wikipedia) dives into UTXO!

By Richard

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May 23, 2023

The final task of the course is broken and took a long time to debug, involves trying to find an old version of virtual Box

By jessica o

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Apr 25, 2021

The part at the end of the course where I tried to download the 2gb software was not possible for me.

By Mo

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Oct 3, 2020

Many of the links in the course material have expired. It definitely needs an update.

By Sanjay P

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Jun 21, 2019

Pathetic

By Shrawak B

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Feb 17, 2023

I recently completed the Blockchain Basics course on Coursera and I must say that it exceeded my expectations! The course provided a thorough overview of blockchain technology, its evolution, and its potential applications across different industries. The course content was well-structured and presented in an engaging and easy-to-understand manner. The interactive quizzes and hands-on exercises helped to reinforce my learning and enabled me to apply the concepts I had learned.

The instructors were knowledgeable and experienced, and were able to explain complex concepts in a clear and concise way. The peer-reviewed assignments were challenging but also very rewarding, as they allowed me to apply what I had learned and receive valuable feedback from other learners.

Overall, I highly recommend this course to anyone who is interested in learning about blockchain technology and its potential impact on the future. The course has given me a solid foundation to build upon and I'm excited to explore more advanced topics in this field. Thank you, Coursera, for providing such a valuable and well-designed course!

By Kavindu P

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Jul 18, 2023

First and foremost, I commend the course content for its clarity and accessibility. The explanations of blockchain principles were presented in a manner that was easy to grasp, even for someone with limited prior knowledge in the field. The course covered a wide range of topics, including decentralized networks, cryptography, consensus mechanisms, smart contracts, and more. The depth of coverage allowed me to develop a solid foundation in blockchain technology.

I would like to highlight the effectiveness of the teaching methods employed throughout the course. The use of real-world examples and case studies helped to illustrate the practical applications of blockchain technology across various industries. Additionally, the interactive elements, such as quizzes and practical exercises, encouraged active engagement and ensured that the concepts were reinforced.

By Ankit P

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May 29, 2023

This course is excellent for understanding the basic concepts of Blockchain.

The assignments and projects are made so that they are very informative, relatable to the course video learning, and application-based, interactive, and exciting.

The final project was highly interesting and educative where we applied what we learned so far in a virtual machine by creating our own nodes , accounts ,statuses and verifying transactions by miner. It was hell of fun!

However at the time of creation of this course the articles attached seemed quite outdated as im learning this course in 2023 and reading articles of 2017 did'nt make any sense for me as the changes proposed on these research paper were already been adapted or better techniques or changes were already implemented .

Still I would say this is an excellent course for beginners!

Thank you for creating this course

By Sean T D

•

Aug 26, 2018

Very helpful basic understanding to Blockchain technology. I have a background in Economics / Statistics and found the course accessible despite not having much technical experience in computer science. It was a good first look under the hood of a pretty interesting new technology. For anyone who is looking for additional resources, I'd recommend checking out the Podcast Unchained with Laura Shin. I selected at least one episode a week on my own and felt it complimented the content so I was able to connect contemporary projects or headlines with the foundational concepts in the course.

Thanks for teaching Prof. Ramamurthy and thanks for offering Coursera. Would love to see more specializations built out in this area particularly some related to learning higher level concepts and build more advanced skills.

By Chetnathelife T

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Apr 2, 2019

Most important course with all the information required to understand the Blockchain Basics from Beginner to Intermediate level.. Its very important to take time and go through all the exercises and the Resources file for additional reading - only then one can take complete advantage of the course and have the concepts crystal clear. Must really appreciate the Instructor to provide really awesome curated list of resource websites, that really help get connected with what is exactly going on in the real world of Blockchain as of now.. Loved the course - totally worth the time! I was able to talk to my Sr. Director after completing this course! Was able to explain him about different Consensus protocols and use cases! Wow - that felt surreal! Thx Ms. Bina R!

By Pablo M V C

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Feb 9, 2022

This course is great for anyone looking to learn more in detail how blockchain works. Ideally, you have already some (non-technical) knowledge of blockchain/bitcoin/ethereum, as it'll be of great help if you're already familiarized with some of the concepts. The course was made around 2018, so it's not fully updated. But to be fair, this is a field that evolves really rapidly and it's hard to find a course that covers everything (that being said, this is the best course I've seen on the topic, and it quickly helped me finally understand some concepts I didn't quite get). This course is a great step to understanding the tech at a deeper level, and it comes with many helpful links and resources to complement your learning.

By Subhrajit R C

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Feb 29, 2020

Very well structured course that comprehensively builds up all the foundational knowledge required for understanding blockchains with emphasis on Bitcoin and Ethereum, but not just restricted to them. The course has short lectures followed by exhaustive optional reading, which I thought should have just been made required reading, given how they work towards both expanding and cementing the knowledge imparted in the lectures. I initially signed up to test the waters with this course to learn the basics, but now that I have completed it, it has piqued my interst in what lay ahead. I am moving on to the rest of the courses in this specialization. Thank you for a great course that was well delivered.

By YeÅŸim E

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Jul 12, 2020

For a fifty-something, it was a matter of etching in a new corner in the mind to even begin to understand what it's all about. I probably spent 10 times the time a more competent person would spend trying to understand the concepts and the mechanism. I even think I learned a new language, since techno-speak is quite another matter in any language. The short videos covered the most important key points, the quizzes matched the teaching with clarity, and all the additional reading and video links were well selected, well placed and extremely helpful. Thank you; you've given me faith that I can function within the 21st century.

By Akash H

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Apr 27, 2020

Thank you Bina Ramamurthy mam for this course. I am a Mtech student from WestBengal, India. I have got my final year project named "Blockchain for IoT". Two weeks before I have no knowledge about Blockchain but I have heard lots about Bitcoin in internet. Now after completing this course I have understand about Blockchain technology. I think i will pass my exam..Thank you mam. I also Thank you to coursera team for giving this oppurtunity for such facility where students can learn from different famous universities from different parts of the world.

By Aneesh K

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Jul 29, 2020

The course is certainly a good way of understanding what block-chain is and it also encourages us to explore cryptocurrencies such as Ethereum and Bitcoin (so as to see how a transaction chain is built). The given exercises certainly helped us understand how a block-chain works. All assignments were good, but the final assignment of this course puts our patience as well as our skills and willingness to the test in an incredible manner. I sincerely thank University of Buffalo as well as the State University of New York for the course provided.

By Tanish J

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Apr 16, 2022

Content covers the basics properly. Some content is repeated when necessary. Overall, it is a great introduction to blockchain.

If some higher difficulty content was added, it would have been even better. Maybe that content will be there in the next courses in the series.

The project is something that someone spent a lot of time creating, I didn't face any issues at all. But here too, there could have been some more difficult problems. The infrastructure for that is already there, just need to add new problems.

By Siddhi M P

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Dec 8, 2022

This course makes it very easy to understand the basic concepts of Blockchain for intimidated beginners. The videos are not too long, the language used by the instructor is simple and concise, the resources provided are beneficial, and the pop quizzes in every section summarize the topic well. The instructions for the final project are well elaborated, making it very easy to complete it. Loved the final project since I actually created peer-to-peer connected nodes and carried out transactions on them.

By Georgios N

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Jun 7, 2021

Good course that provides a good introduction to the student. In some cases poor articulation and pronunciation of the lecturer that even the automatic English subtitles are wrong. In some cases poor presentations with very few illustrations and a confusing background. Sporadically outdated material. Some links of the material for further reading are a dead link. Even in a quiz that one needs to pass for getting a grade, there are dead links. Please update urgently and respect Your customers.

By R S

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Jan 1, 2024

Thank you so much. It was with much trepidation and self doubt that I started the course.. You made the course very interesting and easier to follow with your lectures, videos, downloads, additional material supports, web links etc. Lastly I was very skeptical if I shall be able to do the hands on project. But the support system provided was a huge relief .Though I just followed the instructions once I completed I felt elated as I had on my own tried to do something new. Big Thank you. !

By Nicholas D R C

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Jul 29, 2018

I know a lot of people will not give this 5/5 because it is very simple. However, I believe this is what a true "basics" course should be. The course introduces learners to the core concepts and the common terminology used in the industry so that learners can converse properly with others about Blockchain applications. Without this underlying knowledge it is difficult to discuss new ideas with others. For these reasons I believe the instructor and team deserve 5 stars. Well done.

By Sergey G

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Oct 11, 2018

I love this course on Blockchain Basics and highly suggest to take it! It is a very good starting point for any person, interested in blockchain technologies. Moreover, it has a continuation on Coursera within this same Blockchain specialization from University at Buffalo and State University of New York. Bina Ramamurthy is a great Teacher, she explains many complex Blockchain concepts in a very clear, concise and intuitively understood manner. I enjoy her lectures. Thanks a lot!