Produced by The Open University, a world leader in open and distance learning, all OpenLearn courses are free to study. We offer nearly 1000 free courses across 8 different subject areas. Our courses are available to start right away.
A growing selection of our courses offer a free Open University digital badge. Badges demonstrate your interest in a subject, a commitment to your career or provide evidence of continuing professional development.
Got a few spare minutes? Brush up on your knowledge with our range of free bite-size courses and activities.
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Education & Development
Early years team work and leadership
This free course, Early years team work and leadership, explores aspects of teamwork and leadership for early years practitioners.
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Education & Development
Talk the talk
This free course introduces the mechanics of effective, persuasive oral presentations, by giving you the opportunity to analyse examples and then create your own. Using resources such as TED Talk videos, you will see how experts deliver professional talks and famous speeches, observe what works, and identify how language connects ideas and keeps a listener engaged.
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Education & Development
Digital literacy: succeeding in a digital world
This free course, Digital literacy: succeeding in a digital world, will develop your confidence and skills for life online, whether study, work or everyday life. It explores a range of digital skills and practices, including digital identity, digital well-being, staying safe and legal, finding and using information and online tools, and dealing with information overload. The importance is emphasised throughout of developing a critical approach to life online, whether consuming or creating information. You will be encouraged to reflect on your own situation and to apply what you learn to real-life scenarios, using a digital skills plan to keep a record of progress.
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Education & Development
The digital scholar
Digital scholarship is a shorthand for the intersection of three technology related developments: digital content, networked distribution and open practices. It is when digital, networked and open intersect that transformational practice occurs. In this free course, The digital scholar, you will explore the impact of digital technologies on scholarly practice.
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Science, Maths & Technology
Mastering systems thinking in practice
This free course, Mastering systems thinking in practice, provides a primer for someone wanting to take the postgraduate qualifications in Systems Thinking in Practice. It will help you develop new ways of thinking about and approaching situations that cross multiple discipline and skill boundaries. You will learn to think more holistically about complex and messy situations, understanding the roles other people play, taking account of the interconnectedness of all the components making up the problem situation and working more collaboratively
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Education & Development
Succeed in the workplace
Do you want to change jobs, are you just starting in the job market or may be returning after a break? If so, then this free course, Succeed in the workplace, is for you. It will help you explore career opportunities. You will also gain the skills to write strong CVs and application forms, and to handle different types of interviews. By the end of the course you will have made a start on your own realistic and strong action plan to enable you to find a job that will fulfil your aspirations and suit your lifestyle.
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Education & Development
Leadership and followership
This free course, Leadership and followership, will help you to explore what makes a good leader, recognise common leadership challenges, and identify the skills you need to develop if you want to enhance your own leadership experience.
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Money & Business
Understanding your sector
This free course, Understanding your sector, will help you to understand the difference between sectors, industries and professions. It will also help you to gain the inside knowledge to impress in applications and at interviews and to put together an action plan that is tailored to you.
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Education & Development
Working with young people: Roles and responsibilities
In this free course, Working with young people: Roles and responsibilities, we look at the roles that are taken when working with young people. We focus on what those working with young people actually do, starting with some analysis of roles. We show that, in the context of work with young people, the term is more than simply a statement about who does what: it also says something about the kinds of relationships we form with young people and the values we bring to our work. We then move on to discuss roles in relation to the 'bigger picture' of organisations and projects that are concerned with young people.
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Education & Development
Learning to teach: becoming a reflective practitioner
This is the third of four courses which comprise the course Learning to teach. Critical reflection is crucial to becoming a successful teacher. This free course, Becoming a reflective practitioner, explains what is meant by reflective practice and how to ensure that reflection leads to learning. As a beginner teacher you will encounter many contradictions and challenges in school; you will learn to teach in a particular context but will need to be able to transfer your learning to new contexts. Critical reflection will help you to do this. This free course explores the different models of critical reflection, knowledge of which will help you to structure your practice and evaluate whether you are reflecting and therefore learning effectively.
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Languages
Translation as a career
This free course explores translation as a career. During the course you will meet professional translators discussing their work and reflect on what they say. You will ------ your own language level and find out how translators maintain their language skills. You will also engage in a short translation activity.
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Education & Development
Thinking about how I work with other professionals
This work-based free course, Thinking about how I work with other professionals, encourages early years practitioners to think about the values and principles underpinning how they work with other professionals. It explores beliefs about teamwork, examines frameworks for professional communication and concludes with identifying possible changes in practice.