Free courses
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 9 different subject areas. Our courses are available to start right away.
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Education & Development
Approaching language, literature and childhood
This OpenLearn course is an adapted extract from the Open University course L301 Language, literature and childhood.
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Education & Development
Physical and mental health for young children
This free course will increase your knowledge and skills and show you ways that adults, both parents and professionals, can play an active role in supporting and promoting good health in babies and young children.
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History & The Arts
Introducing music research
Introducing music research provides you with insights into the wide variety of possibilities for studying music at postgraduate level. In this free course you will explore diverse musical topics through four themes: inclusions and exclusions, practice, technology, and community. You will encounter music from different times, places and genres ...
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Digital & Computing
Diagramming for development 2: exploring interrelationships
Diagramming for development 2: exploring interrelationships, is a free course that introduces you to the diagramming techniques of Influence diagrams, Multiple Cause Diagrams and Cognitive Maps. Using a case study project based in Africa, this unit illustrates the powerful use of systems diagramming for international development management. This...
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Science, Maths & Technology
Returning to STEM
This free badged course, Returning to STEM, offers useful skills and solutions to help you get back into a career in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM).
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Education & Development
Introduction to Arabic
In this free course you will learn the Arabic alphabet, vowels, and also a little bit about the history of the Arabic language.
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Health, Sports & Psychology
Child mental health: is it in crisis?
There is much discussion about the issue of children and young people’s mental health problems in the media, and we often hear this issue referred to as a ‘crisis’. But what does the evidence say? Are rates of mental health problems rising? In this course you will explore these important questions as well as delving into a case study of a young ...
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Education & Development
Supporting climate action through digital education
Education has a vital role in tackling the catastrophic impact of the climate emergency. However, there's abundant evidence that educators, worldwide, lack the knowledge and skills to effectively address the climate crisis in their teaching. This free course will equip you for designing and delivering online, blended and technology-enhanced ...
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History & The Arts
Empires: power, resistance, legacies
Empires have existed throughout most of human history. They have spanned the globe. They have influenced the way we are governed, our systems of trade, how we use technology, our relationships with the natural world. They have shaped how we have seen, mapped and divided the world. They have profoundly affected how we have understood and ...
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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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Health, Sports & Psychology
Supporting physical development in early childhood
Are you involved in caring for or educating babies and young children either as a practitioner in the workforce or as a parent/carer? In this free course, Supporting physical development in early childhood, you will learn how to ensure young children do enough physical activity and how it improves child mental and physical health development....
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Money & Business
Managing my investments
Gain the skills to manage your investments: analyse portfolio risk and plan your pension, with this free online course.