Study skills
Studying can be daunting. These free courses will refresh your study skills and prepare you for success.
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Education & Development
All my own work
Plagiarism comes in all shapes and forms. Step into the shoes of a university student to learn the challenges and temptations facing her during her assignment, and help make it all her own work.
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level 1: introductory icon
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Education & Development
Succeed with learning
This course is for people who want to feel more confident about their learning skills. Informal in approach, the course builds on each person's own qualities, knowledge and skills to develop a deeper understanding of the nature of learning and of their own potential. It introduces some core ideas about learning and academic study, and some ...
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Society, Politics & Law
Carrying out research for policy and advocacy work
How can you effectively influence decision makers to change laws, regulations or policies? How can your idea to improve an issue or problem be adopted by those in power? If you are involved in law reform or policy work, then this free course, Carrying out research for policy and advocacy work, is for you. Whether you are employed as a policy ...
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Health, Sports & Psychology
At a crossroads: navigating work and/or family alongside study
Balancing the demands of studying with family or employment responsibilities can be difficult. This interactive explores different challenges, including lack of understanding and support from family members and employers, time pressures, and dealing with the emotional side of navigating work, family and study. Based on the real-life experiences ...
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History & The Arts
Introducing music research
Introducing music research provides you with insights into the wide variety of possibilities for studying music at postgraduate level. In this free course you will explore diverse musical topics through four themes: inclusions and exclusions, practice, technology, and community. You will encounter music from different times, places and genres ...
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Society, Politics & Law
International relations: exploring territorial divisions
In this short taster course, drawn from part 1 of the MA in International Relations (D818), you will be introduced to the idea of international division, focusing on territory. Divisions over territory have often lied at the heart of global problems like conflict, and in the following pages you will learn about the roots of some of the lines on ...
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level 1: introductory icon
Science, Maths & Technology
Data analysis: hypothesis testing
Making decisions about the world based on data requires a process that bridges the gap between unstructured data and the decision. Statistical hypothesis testing helps decision-making by formulating beliefs about the world, including people, organisations or other objects, and formally testing these beliefs. In this free course, you will ...
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Science, Maths & Technology
Data analysis: visualisations in Excel
Evidence comes in the form of qualitative or quantitative data about the world around you. It is not always obvious, however, how to structure, aggregate, analyse or interpret the data to help you make decisions. In this free course, you will look at how to use data to make decisions in a systematic way using Microsoft Excel. Microsoft Excel ...
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Education & Development
Making social media work in Higher Education
This free course explores the potential of social media as a space that can be used in higher education/University to enhance educational experiences. It examines how students can take advantage of platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp to engage and connect with other fellow students and their lecturers. While, also examining the ...
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level 1: introductory icon
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Education & Development
Multidisciplinary study: the value and benefits
This free course, Multidisciplinary study: the values and benefits, explores the advantages of studying more than one subject and will help you to decide if multidisciplinary study is for you. Featuring videos with students on the Open University’s ‘Open’ qualifications, you will learn about the unique skills you can gain from studying a ...
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Education & Development
Study skills: one-minute tips
Check out our series of one-minute animations exploring revision tips, beating procrastination, what’s involved in a remote exam and other study skills.
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level 1: introductory icon
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Languages
Describing language
This free course introduces you to the basics of describing language. Using examples from English, you’ll learn how words are built, how they fit together to make sentences, and what labels like noun, verb and adjective mean. You’ll see how language patterns in regular ways and how the meaning of a sentence is more than the sum of its parts. ...
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