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Science, Maths & Technology
Egyptian mathematics
The Egyptians are known for being ahead of their time in comparison to some civilisations that came after them. This free course, Egyptian mathematics, looks at how the Egyptians solved mathematical problems in everyday life and the technology they used. An understanding of this area has only been possible following the translation of the ...
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Education & Development
Learning to teach: an introduction to classroom research
This is the fourth of four courses which comprise the course Learning to teach. Undertaking classroom research is seen as an effective form of CPD. This free course, An introduction to classroom research, provides a basic introduction to research design and illustrates two methodologies, case study and action research, by drawing on examples ...
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Nature & Environment
Climate change: transitions to sustainability
Human societies have to take urgent action to end their dependences on fossil fuels. We have to alter the whole path of our development and decision making in order to make our societies both environmentally adaptable and sustainable. This free course, Climate change, takes on the task of trying to chart some of the ways in which it might be ...
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Science, Maths & Technology
A tour of the cell
This free course, A tour of the cell, contains a blend of text and a multimedia interactive component to look at the uniformity and diversity within cells. Fundamental to understanding how cells 'work' is a knowledge of the subcellular components and how they are arranged. This is introduced through a series of in-text and self-assessment ...
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Society, Politics & Law
The use of force in international law
This free course, The use of force in international law, is designed to provide you with an introduction to one of the contentious topics in public international law: the use of force. In this course, you will explore international rules governing the use of force, including an introduction to the laws of war (International Humanitarian Law). ...
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Education & Development
Encouraging book talk in the school library
As adults we sometimes struggle to justify our feelings about particular books, but children are quite clear about what they like and don't like. It is possible to get children to discuss why they liked or did not like particular books and to encourage them to think more deeply about the books they've read. This free course, Encouraging book ...
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Nature & Environment
‘Land grab’: an environmental issue?
This free course, ‘Land grab’: an environmental issue?, explores how environmental problems are entangled with economic and political issues and offers tools for making sense of the complexity that results. The case of land grab illustrates how everyday issues such as food prices are caught up in connections that link different places, different...
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History & The Arts
Dutch painting of the Golden Age
Seventeenth-century Dutch painting stands out from other art of the same period and even more so from that of previous centuries on account of its apparently ‘everyday’ character. Works by artists such as Johannes Vermeer, Pieter de Hooch and Jacob van Ruisdael seem to offer a faithful picture of life in the Netherlands at the time. In studying ...
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Languages
Language in the real world
This free course, Language in the real world, explains and illustrates why a knowledge about how language works (i.e. ‘linguistics’) is helpful – some might say essential – for different aspects of our everyday lives. It provides an introduction to ideas around what language is and to the field of Applied Linguistics, which is dedicated to ...
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Nature & Environment
Introducing environmental decision making
Many of the decisions we make have implications for our environment, particularly those concerning natural resources and waste. Taking account of environmental factors in decision making can be both complex and challenging. This free course, Introducing environmental decision making, considers decisions in their broader contexts and advocates a ...
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Money & Business
Liquidity management
In this free course you will focus on liquidity management, one of the fundamental aspects relating to risk management that has come under intense scrutiny in the past few years.
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Health, Sports & Psychology
Understanding service improvement in healthcare
This free course, Understanding service improvement in healthcare, will help you to understand what people mean by the terms ‘service’ and ‘improvement’ in relation to healthcare. The course will help you to think about how those involved in healthcare, whether as practitioners or service users, can monitor the progress of any initiative to ...
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Science, Maths & Technology
Sound for music technology: An introduction
Whether you're a professional musician, play music with your friends on the weekends or just like to listen to CDs, music technology affects your life. In this free course, Sound for music technology: An introduction, you will learn some of the basics of music technology, starting with what sound is, how it is created and how it travels.
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Education & Development
Teaching citizenship: work and the economy
The issue of 'citizenship, work and the economy' is often neglected in everyday discussions of citizenship. But a moment's reflection should demonstrate how important it is. The vast majority of us will spend the bulk of our adult lives working in some context or another, and our engagement with economic activity more generally is obvious (and ...
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Education & Development
Learning to teach: making sense of learning to teach
This free course, Making sense of learning to teach, is the first of four courses which comprise the course Learning to teach. It draws on what we know about how people learn to become teachers. It explores the different approaches to teacher education and the different routes into teaching. It will help you to understand the philosophical and ...
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Education & Development
Learning to teach: mentoring and tutoring student teachers
This is the second of four courses which comprise the course Learning to teach. Traditionally student teachers are supported by a mentor in school and a tutor from a university. Both play distinctive and important parts in the teachers development. This free course, Mentoring and tutoring student teachers, examines each role in detail and ...
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Science, Maths & Technology
Mosquito resistance to insecticides
Learn about how allele frequency can change rapidly in a population in response to selective pressure by considering how evolutionary change can occur in insects that are exposed to insecticides. This free course, Mosquito resistance to insecticides, further demonstrates how traits that are advantageous in one environment can have effects that ...
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Education & Development
Literacy, social justice and inclusive practice
This free course, Literacy, social justice and inclusive practice, explores some of the tensions and debates linked to the aim of achieving literacy for all, using specific examples. It focuses on current significant debates related to the teaching of the technical aspects of literacy to a ‘sufficient standard’ and debates related to becoming a ...