All our free courses
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Education & Development
Learning how to learn
Learning how to learn: a process we all engage in throughout our lives, but no single method of learning guarantees success. This free course, Learning how to learn, aims to make the process of learning much more explicit by inviting you to apply various ideas and activities to your own study as a way of increasing your awareness of your own ...
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Money & Business
Three principles of a coaching approach
This course provides a good sense for three of the core skills required of an effective coach. Whether or not you recognise the use of a 'coaching approach' in your workplace, you will be able to use the learning in the course to enhance your day-to-day interactions in your workplace.
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Science, Maths & Technology
Language, notation and formulas
Communication is as vital in mathematics as in any language. This free course, Language, notation and formulas, will help you to express yourself clearly when writing and speaking about mathematics. You will also learn how to answer questions in the manner that is expected by the examiner.
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level 3: advanced icon
Education & Development
Open education
There are many different 'flavours' or interpretations of what openness means in education. This free course, Open education, is an example of a massive open online course (MOOC) and spans seven weeks. Like all the free materials on OpenLearn, this course is open to the wider world but, uniquely, it also forms part of the module for students who...
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Society, Politics & Law
Getting started with SPSS
Handling statistical data is an essential part of psychological research. However, many people find the idea of using statistics, and especially statistical software packages, extremely daunting. This free course, Getting started with SPSS, takes a step-by-step approach to statistics software through seven interactive activities. No statistics ...
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History & The Arts
John Webster, The Duchess of Malfi
This free course, John Webster, The Duchess of Malfi, concentrates on Acts 1 and 2 of John Webster's Renaissance tragedy, The Duchess of Malfi. It focuses on the representation of marriage for love and the social conflicts to which it gives rise. The course is designed to hone your skills of textual analysis.
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Languages
Intermediate French: Understanding spoken French
This course is aimed at intermediate learners of French with an interest in language and culture. It is designed to develop your understanding of spoken French through six video portraits of people living in the Touraine region in France and in Brussels in Belgium. It introduces you to naturally spoken language, and gives clear advice on how to ...
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History & The Arts
Introducing the philosophy of religion
In this free course, Introducing the philosophy of religion, Timothy Chappell, Professor of Philosophy, asks what the words 'God' and 'religion' mean, and what it means to ask philosophical questions about them.
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History & The Arts
Introducing philosophy
Ever wondered what it would be like to study philosophy? This free course, Introducing philosophy, will introduce you to the teaching methods employed and the types of activities and assignments you would be asked to undertake should you wish to study philosophy and the human situation.
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Digital & Computing
Systems thinking and practice
What is systems thinking and practice? The essence of systems thinking and practice is in 'seeing' the world in a particular way, because how you 'see' things affects the way you approach situations or undertake specific tasks. This free course will help you to learn about the problems of defining a system and meet some of the key concepts used ...
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Education & Development
Paratoi aseiniadau
Efallai y byddwch yn teimlo ar goll pan gewch eich aseiniad cyntaf ond peidiwch â phoeni, nid oes disgwyl i chi wneud gwaith perffaith o'r cychwyn cyntaf. Nid oes un ffordd gywir o ysgrifennu aseiniad. Fodd bynnag, mae rhai egwyddorion a phrosesau cyffredin a fydd yn eich helpu i gadw ar y trywydd cywir wrth ei lunio. Yn yr uned hon byddwch yn ...
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History & The Arts
Start writing fiction: characters and stories
Start writing fiction is a free course that helps you to get started with your own fiction writing, focusing on the central skill of creating characters.
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Nature & Environment
Sustainable Scotland
Sustainable Scotland is a free course that will appeal to anyone with an interest in a sustainable future in the context of contemporary Scottish society. It will give you a broad-based introduction to a number of different aspects of sustainability that impact on Scotland and the wider world.
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History & The Arts
Visions of protest: graffiti
This free course, Visions of protest: graffiti, introduces students to contrasting understandings of graffiti. It draws on a wide range of graffiti examples, including mystery zebras in Hackney, fish graffiti in Morecambe, 'tags' in a Milton Keynes underpass, a McDonald's advert and exhibits at a highly established art gallery, the Tate Modern....
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Health, Sports & Psychology
Social care in the community
Social care involves the challenge of supporting people who, for a variety of reasons, are unable to function without assistance or supervision. This free course, Social care in the community, focuses on one important area of social care, home care for older people.
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History & The Arts
The moral equality of combatants
This free course introduces and explores the idea of the moral equality of combatants and discusses the question of the basis of liability to killing in war. It invites students to understand and assess the epistemological argument for the moral equality of combatants and other arguments for and against this idea.
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Digital & Computing
Presenting information
Tables and charts are a great way to present numerical information in a clear and concise form. This free course, Presenting information, explains how to use the Windows calculator to carry out basic operations and calculate percentages. You will then learn how to use charts and tables to represent and interpret information.
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Education & Development
Teaching assistants: support in action (Chinese)
本免费课程是“助教：提供行动支持”课程的中文翻译版本，英文原版也在本网站中提供。 This free course is the Chinese version of Teaching assistants: support in action which is also available in English.