From the discovery of metals up to mapping the human genome, take a quick crash through the development of scientific knowledge.

A freelance career in the creative arts is a free badged course which lasts 8 weeks, with approximately 3 hours’ study time each week. You can work through the course at your own pace, so if you have more time one week, there’s nothing to stop you pushing on and completing another week’s study. This course has a specific focus on the ...

Simulation provides a safe space for learning and improvement, leading to better-prepared healthcare professionals and safer patient care environments. This free course will help you develop an understanding of digital simulation and how it can enhance learning and clinical practice, not only through simulation but also through debriefing. ...

Gain an understanding of the basic building blocks of musical theory and notation. This free course, An introduction to music theory, will introduce you to music staves, clefs, rhythmic and pitch values, rhythmic metre and time signatures. This OpenLearn course provides an introduction to music theory pitched at a level equivalent to Grades 1–3 ...

Do you want to get more out of your reading of poetry? This free course, Approaching poetry, is designed to develop the analytical skills you need for a more in-depth study of literary texts. You will learn about rhythm, alliteration, rhyme, poetic inversion, voice and line lengths and endings. You will examine poems that do not rhyme and learn ...

YXM130 Example subject pathway created by Martin Weller, Chair of the Open Qualifications.

In recognition of Black History Month we have pulled together some content about some inspirational individuals and events for you to explore. 

This free course, Exploring the history of prisoner education, looks at the history of prison education in the British Isles. It will examine the motivations behind the provision of education, the types of learning that were offered and the experiences of prisoners over the first 100 years of education in prisons.

This course offers a taster of the ancient Greek world through the study of one of its most distinctive and enduring features: its language.The course approaches the language methodically, starting with the alphabet and effective ways to memorise it, before building up to complete Greek words and sentences. Along the way, you will see numerous ...

Find out more about our Classical past by exploring the digital text of Herodotus’ ‘The Histories’ with online mapping and an interactive map-and-narrative timeline 'mashup'.