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level 3: advanced icon
Education & Development
Introducing ethics in Information and Computer Sciences
Although ethics is often viewed as an academic specialism or an add-on to training programmes in technology and science, it is in fact an area of the utmost relevance to professionals and, indeed, everyone. This free course, Introducing ethics in Information and Computer Sciences, draws upon examples taken from dialogues, plays and the media to ...
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level 1: introductory icon
Society, Politics & Law
Political ordering
This free course, Political ordering, asks questions about what states are and how they are involved in the processes of governing and ordering social life. Building from an awareness of just how much of everyday life involves the state, the course questions whether states have this authority to govern. It also asks about situations in which ...
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level 1: introductory icon
Society, Politics & Law
The meaning of crime
Tough on the causes of crime'. A famous phrase, but what is crime? This free course, The meaning of crime, examines how we, as a 'society', define crime. You will look at the fear that is generated within communities and what evidence is available to support claims that are made about crime rates.
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level 2: intermediate icon
History & The Arts
History of reading tutorial 2: The reading and reception of literary texts – a case study of Robinson Crusoe
How have famous books been read and received by audiences in the past? This free course, History of reading tutorial 2: The reading and reception of literary texts a case study of Robinson Crusoe, is the second tutorial in a series designed to help users of the UK Reading Experience Database (UK RED) search, browse and use this resource, and ...
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level 1: introductory icon
Health, Sports & Psychology
Motivation and factors affecting motivation
This free course explores the term 'motivation' and factors affecting motivation. This includes looking at the most influential theories of motivation that contribute to understanding the causes of motivation. The motivation of sports people and people working in sport and fitness environments are used to help understand the theories presented.
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Society, Politics & Law
The Open University at 45: What can we learn from Britain's distance education pioneer?
This month sees the 50th anniversary of the government ‘White Paper’ which launched the OU in 1966. This author draws attention to the arguments for mass production of education...
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Education & Development
Free course: Childhood in the digital age
Try our free course, Childhood in the Digital Age, to get an idea of what it's like to study at the OU and take it further by exploring learning, digital identity, child psychology and development.
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level 3: advanced icon
History & The Arts
Minds and mental phenomena: an introduction
This free course, Minds and mental phenomena: an introduction, examines the philosophical questions surrounding the mind. You will examine how beliefs have changed over the centuries and be able to contrast the views of Descartes with more modern ideas.
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Education & Development
What's the problem with the government's plans for our schools?
A new report suggests that schools planning has become hard to make sense of. The OU's Jacqueline Baxter shares a personal view of the state schools are in.
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Education & Development
Teaching reading: what are our long term goals?
Teresa Cremin, Professor of Literacy in Education at The Open University examinines teachers’ perceptions and practices, as well as children’s own experiences, of reading pedagogy.
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Education & Development
Additional efforts: Why we need to be better at maths
We need to be better at maths - and the suggestion that only smart people can be good with numbers is holding a lot of us back.
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level 3: advanced icon
History & The Arts
Emotion: an introductory picture
What is emotion? This free course, Emotion: an introductory picture, takes a philosophical approach to this question in an attempt to understand why people respond to events in a certain way. Is there a difference between an emotion and a bodily feeling or is one a consequence of the other?