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level 1: introductory icon
Science, Maths & Technology
Assessing risk in engineering, work and life
Risk is something that must be taken into account at all times when practising as an engineer. We accept risk as part of everyday life so there is a need to balance the risks of an activity against the benefits that it brings. This free course, Assessing risk in engineering, work and life, investigates how we can manage risks at work, in the ...
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level 2: intermediate icon
Science, Maths & Technology
Babylonian mathematics
This free course looks at Babylonian mathematics. You will learn how a series of discoveries has enabled historians to decipher stone tablets and study the various techniques the Babylonians used for problem-solving and teaching. The Babylonian problem-solving skills have been described as remarkable and scribes of the time received a training ...
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level 2: intermediate icon
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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level 2: intermediate icon
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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level 3: advanced icon
Science, Maths & Technology
Software and the law
In this free course, Software and the law, you'll look at the laws relevant to software and its use, taking a global perspective. A major part of this course is devoted to intellectual-property law, the issue of who owns software and digital content and how that ownership can be protected using instruments like copyright and patents. We also...
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level 1: introductory icon
Nature & Environment
Life in the Palaeozoic
Fossils are a glimpse into the distant past and fascinate young and old alike. This free course, Life in the Palaeozoic, will introduce you to the explosion of evolution that took place during the Palaeozoic era. You will look at the many different types of creatures that existed at that time and how they managed to evolve to exist on land.
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level 3: advanced icon
Science, Maths & Technology
Approaches to software development
This free course, Approaches to software development, presents an engineering approach to the development of software systems – a software engineering approach. The course pays particular attention to issues of software quality, in terms of both product (what is built) and process (how we build it).
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level 2: intermediate icon
Science, Maths & Technology
An introduction to interaction design
From apps, phones and business systems to wearables, the Web and the Internet of Things, interactive products have become part of everyday life. But how can interactions be designed to best meet their purpose and offer good user experience? This free course, An introduction to interaction design, explores this topic. You will learn: what ...
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level 1: introductory icon
Science, Maths & Technology
An introduction to design engineering
This free course, An introduction to design engineering, looks at the way in which engineers use ideas and approaches from the discipline of design thinking to inform their work. The complexity that people bring to design problems is introduced, along with some basic methods of dealing with such complexity.
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level 2: intermediate icon
Science, Maths & Technology
Modelling events in time
This free course develops ideas about probability and random processes. Sections 1 and 2 introduce the fundamental ideas of random processes through a series of examples. Section 3 describes a model that is appropriate for events occurring ‘at random’ in such a way that their rate of occurrence remains constant. Section 4 derives the main ...
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level 2: intermediate icon
Science, Maths & Technology
Metric spaces and continuity
This free course contains an introduction to metric spaces and continuity. The key idea is to use three particular properties of the Euclidean distance as the basis for defining what is meant by a general distance function, a metric. Section 1 introduces the idea of a metric space and shows how this concept allows us to generalise the notion of ...
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level 2: intermediate icon
Science, Maths & Technology
Rings and polynomials
This free course contains an introduction to rings and polynomials. We see that polynomial rings have many properties in common with the integers; for example, we can define a division algorithm, and this enables us to develop the analogue of the highest common factor for two polynomials. Section 1 explores the abstract definitions of a ring ...