The University of North Georgia (UNG) is home to many distinguished and dedicated professors, but one in particular is taking class size to another level.

Aside from his regular duties as a professor of computer science at UNG, Dr. Bryson Payne is teaching two online courses through Udemy.com that at last count contained a total of 8,425 students from 129 different countries.

"It’s exciting and humbling to work with such a diverse, global set of students through these video courses. It shows that people worldwide understand the value of learning to code," Payne said.

The massive, open online courses (MOOC) are based on his recently published book "Teach Your Kids to Code: A parent-friendly guide to Python programming," and his new book "Learn Java like a Kid," due out later this year, both from No Starch Press. "Teach Your Kids to Code" was a #1 New Release and Top 10 Best Seller in three categories on Amazon and selected as a Top Pick in Computers at Barnes & Noble nationwide.

Payne has taught computer science at UNG since 1999 and served as the university's chief information officers for six years. He was also the first department head of computer science and information systems at UNG and is the Director of the new Center for Cyber Operations Education. He has been featured in CIO Magazine, Campus Technology and the Wall Street Journal.