This free course, Teaching mathematics, has been designed for
non-specialist mathematics teachers of 8 to 14 year olds, teaching assistants,
home schoolers and parents and draws on the established provision of
mathematics education at the Open University. It can
also be used as Continuing Professional Development by individuals or groups of
teachers. The authors have many years’ experience of teaching mathematics
in the classroom and in Initial and Continuing Teacher Education.

Do you want to improve your reading, writing or maths skills? We have the solution. Exciting new free online courses for anyone who wants to get inspired and brush up on their everyday skills in maths and English.

This free course, Introduction to complex analysis, is an extract from the third level Open University course M337 Complex Analysis, which develops the theory of functions of a complex variable, emphasising their geometric properties and indicating some applications.

To what extent did Alan Turing influence the evolution of modern computing? The 20th Century mathematician is considered by many to be the father of computer science and many would argue that it is largely due to his research that we are able to read this text on a PC, laptop or smart phone. Aside from his contribution to maths and computing however, Turing’s influence impacted on a variety of fields including cryptanalysis and deciphering Nazi codes which helped to end World War 2. This collection examines Turing’s troubled personal life, the significance of his role at Bletchley Park, his ideas on artificial intelligence and finally examines what his legacy should be.

Test your problem-solving skills and try to crack our secret messages using clues.

This free course, Everyday maths for Construction and Engineering 2, will build on your current maths skills for work, study and everyday life.

This
free course, Everyday maths 2, will build on your existing maths skills and
help you to feel more confident tackling the maths you come across in everyday
situations.

This free course is an introduction to algebra which builds on the idea of using letters to represent numbers. Section 1 looks at finding, simplifying and using formulas and includes useful tips on learning algebra. Section 2 introduces some of the terminology used in algebra and techniques such as evaluating and checking equivalence of expressions, identifying terms in an expression and collecting like terms. Section 3 looks at how to simplify terms and introduces index notation and multiplying powers. Section 4 looks at the use of brackets in algebra and section 5 covers solving, checking and using simple linear equations.

Maths is intimately entwined with science and technology, whether it is used to analyse data collected on plants in the Amazon rainforest, to calculate the trajectory of a comet or design a bridge to connect two countries. This means that science and technology go hand-in-hand with maths, and that a firm grasp of maths is crucial for studying any science and technology discipline.
This free course, Maths for science and technology, will help you build a stronger grip with the maths helping hand. You’ll learn about how the power of algebra, the sense of scientific notation, the beauty of basic trigonometry and why 70 db (decibels) is 10 times more powerful than 60 db. As well as this you will delve into scientific measurement, including the importance of units and the flexibility and practically of the SI – the internationally recognised system of units based on multiples of ten.