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Health, Sports & Psychology
Making sense of ourselves
This free course, Making sense of ourselves, introduces you to well-known psychological topics by asking and answering everyday questions, such as Why don’t we like one another? Why would I hang around with you? Do you see what I see? What’s the point of childhood? You’ll learn how psychologists can go about addressing these questions using different research tools and approaches.
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Society, Politics & Law
Critical criminology and the social sciences
This free course, Critical criminology and the social sciences, will provide you with an insight into some of the main disciplines within the social sciences, focusing in particular on critical criminology. It will begin by outlining some of the defining characteristics of the social science disciplines of psychology, law, sociology and critical criminology. Using the global financial crisis of 2007-8 as a case study, the course will then provide you with an insight into how academics working in some of these different disciplinary backgrounds make sense of a similar topic in different ways. The course will conclude by considering the place of critical criminology within the social sciences.
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Education & Development
Supporting children's development
Supporting children’s development is an introductory course for anyone who is interested in children’s development, especially support staff in schools, such as teaching assistants. It builds on your knowledge and skills to develop a deeper understanding of children from the early years to school leavers. You will be introduced to some core ideas surrounding development and learning, behaviour, special needs and disabilities.
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Languages
Beginners’ Chinese: a taster course
Learn about Mandarin Chinese as a tool for communication and gain insights into Chinese society and culture. This free course, Beginners’ Chinese: a taster course, provides a brief introduction to the Chinese language, its scripts and sounds, and how words are formed. You will hear short conversations where people greet each other and introduce themselves, and learn how to ----- from one to ten. You’ll learn different ways of saying your name and greeting people, as well as give your telephone number. This OpenLearn course is introductory material for absolute beginners in Chinese.
TV, Radio & Events
The Bottom Line 2021
Evan Davis hosts the business conversation show with people at the top giving insight into what matters.
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Science, Maths & Technology
Surviving as communities
Ann Grand, Lecturer in Astrobiology Education, interviews Dr Sevasti Filippidou, a Post-Doctoral Research Associate with AstrobiologyOU, on her research looking at microbial life and ecologies in extreme environments and how microbes adapt and survive.
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Health, Sports & Psychology
Olympics, Paralympics, Olympians and Paralympians
The Tokyo Olympics were postponed due to COVID-19, but they are now underway and will run until the conclusion of the Paralympic Games in September - 6 weeks of sporting excellence. You can dig deep into the Olympics and Paralympics with our range of free resources, with new articles being added throughout the event.
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Education & Development
The Race and Ethnicity Hub
This hub offers fresh perspectives on race, racism and ethnicity through free courses, articles, interactives and audio/visual materials.
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