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
Using film music in the classroom
There are many approaches to using film music in the classroom including: a focus on pupil experience; a focus on the structure of composition; a focus on the relationship between music and image. This free course, Using film music in the classroom, explores them all.
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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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History & The Arts
Wilberforce
William Wilberforce, the politician and religious writer, was instrumental in the abolition of slavery in Britain. This free course explores Wilberforce's career and writings and assesses their historical significance. In particular, it examines the contribution that Evangelicalism, the religious tradition to which Wilberforce belonged, made in ...
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History & The Arts
Health, disease and society: Scottish influence in the 19th century
This free course, Health, disease and society: Scottish influence in the 19th century, examines the role that Scots played in contributing to the developments in healthcare during the nineteenth century. The radical transformation of medicine in Europe included the admission of women as doctors and the increased numbers of specialised ...
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History & The Arts
Form and uses of language
In this free course, Form and uses of language, we will consider how language can be used in different ways for different purposes. To do this we will use the theme of memorial and commemoration. In the first section we briefly discuss the life of the poet Siegfried Sassoon before examining both his poetry and his prose. Through this we will see...
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History & The Arts
Speeches and speech-making
This free course, Speeches and speech-making, explores an aspect of language use where 'voices' and 'texts' converge: the art of speech-making.
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History & The Arts
The Roman Empire: introducing some key terms
This free course, The Roman Empire: Introducing some key terms, will define basic concepts and terms that are essential for an understanding of the culture and identity of the Roman Empire. Terms such as 'Roman Empire' and 'imperium' will be introduced in the context of the formation and expansion of the empire, and the course will provide you ...
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History & The Arts
Imagination: The missing mystery of philosophy
What is imagination and can philosophy define it in any meaningful way? This free course, Imagination: The missing mystery of philosophy, will introduce you to some of the possible answers to these questions and will examine why philosophy has sometimes found it difficult to approach imagination. It will then go on to examine the relationship ...
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History & The Arts
Hadrian's Rome
This free course, Hadrian's Rome, explores the city of Rome during the reign of the emperor Hadrian (117-38 CE). What impact did the emperor have on the appearance of the city? What types of structures were built and why? And how did the choices that Hadrian made relate to those of his predecessors, and also of his successors?
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History & The Arts
Brighton Pavilion
In this free course, Brighton Pavilion, you will examine the Royal Pavilion at Brighton, and its relationship to nineteenth-century Romanticism and exoticism. You'll begin with a biographical discussion of the Prince of Wales, afterwards Prince Regent and eventually King George IV, to whose specifications the Pavilion was built. With the help of...
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History & The Arts
Getting started on classical Latin
This free course, Getting started on classical Latin, has been developed in response to requests from learners who had had no contact with Latin before and who felt they would like to spend a little time preparing for the kind of learning that studying a classical language involves. The course will give you a taster of what is involved in the ...
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Society, Politics & Law
Y Gymru Gyfoes
Drwy edrych ar wahaniaethau a chysylltiadau, mae'r cwrs yn gofnod awdurdodol a diweddar o economi, cymdeithas, gwleidyddiaeth a diwylliant Cymru gyfoes ac mae'n cynnwys amrywiaeth eang o astudiaethau achos diddorol.