All our free courses
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Languages
Advanced Spanish: Art in Buenos Aires
This course uses a documentary about artists in Buenos Aires to help you to develop your listening skills. By assessing various parts of the documentary you will be able to extend your comprehension of spoken Spanish.
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Languages
Advanced German: Regional landscapes
German regions and landscapes, local traditions and the notion of Heimat are at the centre of this course. You will describe images, make notes from a variety of sources, and write a short piece about the three-nations region around Lake Constance.
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Science, Maths & Technology
Analytical science: secrets of the Mary Rose
This free course, Analytical science: secrets of the Mary Rose, teaches you about the analytical techniques that are used in the research and investigation of historical objects using the case study of the Mary Rose. It covers the use of sonar to locate shipwrecks, and the analysis of the artefacts found on the ship, and the crew and their remains.
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Education & Development
An introduction to Open Educational Resources (OER)
In this free course, An introduction to Open Educational Resources (OER), you will look at some institutional OER initiatives. These will include MIT's open courseware, Carnegie Mellon's Open Learning Initiative and The Open University's OpenLearn. You will get a flavour of how different OER initiatives design and present the content for their ...
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Science, Maths & Technology
An introduction to minerals and rocks under the microscope
In this free course, An introduction to minerals and rocks under the microscope, you will experience the study of minerals using a polarising microscope. While the study of minerals can involve electron or ion beam chemical analysis, the polarising microscope remains the prime tool for the study of rock thin sections and is the foundation of ...
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Education & Development
Accessibility of eLearning
It is part of a teaching professional's skills to understand the needs of a diverse population of students. This free course, Accessibility of eLearning, introduces the challenges for disabled students who may use computers in different ways when taking part in eLearning or may need alternative teaching methods. It covers the technology and ...
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History & The Arts
Art and visual culture: medieval to modern
What is art? What is visual culture? How have they changed through history? This free course, Art and visual culture: medieval to modern, explores the fundamental issues raised by the study of western art and visual culture over the last millennium. It moves from discussing the role of the artist and the functions of art during the medieval and ...
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History & The Arts
Approaching prose fiction
Do you want to get more out of your reading? This free course, Approaching prose fiction, is designed to develop the analytical skills you need for a more in-depth study of literary texts. You will learn about narrative events and perspectives, the setting of novels, types of characterisation and genre.
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History & The Arts
Approaching plays
Do you want to get more out of drama? This free course, Approaching plays, is designed to develop the analytical skills you need for a more in-depth study of literary plays. You will learn about dialogue, stage directions, blank verse, dramatic structure and conventions and aspects of performance.
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History & The Arts
Approaching literature: reading Great Expectations
This free course, Approaching literature: reading Great Expectations, considers some of the different ways of reading Great Expectations, based on the type of genre the book belongs to. This is one of the most familiar and fundamental ways of approaching literary texts. The novel broadens the scope of study of a realist novel, in both literary ...
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Health, Sports & Psychology
A question of ethics: right or wrong?
Explore ethical challenges with this free course. Learn about professional principles, managing relationships, and the responsibilities of coaches and instructors in fostering trust, integrity, and character development.
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History & The Arts
Aberdulais Falls: a case study in Welsh heritage
This free course, Aberdulais Falls: a case study in Welsh heritage, looks at the Aberdulais Falls in Wales, and considers the key issues affecting the decision-making of the bodies which are responsible for looking after our heritage. We examine the heritage debates: who decides what should be preserved from the past as our heritage, who is this...
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Education & Development
Exploring educational leadership
This free course, Exploring educational leadership, provides an overview of the field of educational leadership and management. You will explore: the relationships between management and leadership; the scope of the field; different world views that underpin educational leadership research and practice; and some key concepts such as agency, ...
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Health, Sports & Psychology
Living psychology: animal minds
Does your pet cat or dog experience emotions the same way you do? Can non-human animals solve complex problems? To what extent do other species have minds that are like human minds? This free course, Living psychology: animal minds, explores these, and other, issues in the psychology of animal minds. Studying animal minds is of great importance ...
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Money & Business
Commercial awareness
Boost your commercial awareness with this free short course. Explore your organisation’s purpose, understand your role within it, and learn how different perspectives can enhance the value you create.
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History & The Arts
The poetry of Sorley MacLean
Sorley MacLean (1911-1996) is regarded as one of the greatest Scottish poets of the twentieth century. This free course, The poetry of Sorley MacLean, will introduce you to his poetry and give you an insight into the cultural, historical and political contexts that inform his work. MacLean wrote in Gaelic and the importance of the language to ...
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History & The Arts
Recording music and sound
This free course, Recording music and sound, provides an historical introduction to music and sound recording in the creative industries and offers some guidance about making your own recordings. Many of the processes that have been developed and the issues that have been raised in the first 150 years of recording are still relevant today, and a...
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Languages
Beginners’ French: A trip to Avignon
This course helps you to acquire the basic language to find your way around a French town. You will learn how to understand and give directions, ask about accommodation, book a hotel room at the tourist information office and get information about what to see and do in the local area. You will visit some museums in Avignon and buy a film for ...