Online courses directory (19947)

Explores Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and Māori history, society, culture, language and demography.

This pass/fail seminar should be a fun setting where we can all enjoy a love of good books together. Students will read approximately one novel every two weeks, and the class will discuss each novel in a relaxed and interactive setting, with attention to whatever themes and issues interest them most about each book. We will read a wide mixture of classic and contemporary novels written by women, including: Edith Wharton, The House of Mirth; Toni Morrison, Jazz; Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway; Alice Walker, The Color Purple; Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre; Sheri Reynolds, The Rapture of Canaan; Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice; and Sylvia Plath, The Bell Jar. Recurrent issues likely to be discussed include: gender, race, and class; romance, love, and marriage; depression and suicide; and conception, childbirth, and parenthood.

This free course aims to provide healthcare line managers and department heads with an introduction to managing occupational health and safety. The full course consists of six modules and is suitable for all healthcare settings. <br /><br /> This module, <b>Module 5</b>, introduces you to <b>Physical Hazards in Healthcare</b>. It can be studied as a stand alone module or as part of the full course. <br /><br /> <b>Module 5</b> is split into six topics: <ul style="font-size: 0.9em;"> <li>Topic 1: Slips, Trips And Falls, </li> <li>Topic 2: Slips, Trips and Falls Risk Assessment, </li> <li>Topic 3: Implementing Control Measures, </li> <li>Topic 4: Manual Handling and Patient Handling, </li> <li>Topic 5: Manual Handling Risk Assessment, and </li> <li>Topic 6: Manual Handling Implementing Control Measures. </li> </ul> <br /> Please note that the module is intended as an overview and may need to be supplemented by more specific training and / or specialised advice.<br />

This lab course supplements BIO101 [1]: “Introduction to Molecular and Cellular Biology.”  Although we cannot virtually replicate a true lab experience, this “lab” will allow you to become familiar with scientific thinking and techniques and will enable you to explore of some key principles of molecular and cellular biology. The material in this lab supplement directly relates to the material covered in the lecture and reading portion of the course.  While the lecture and reading portion focuses on big-picture concepts, here we will focus more on visual understanding, manipulation, and practical use of your knowledge.  In each unit, you will work through tutorials related to important scientific concepts, and then will be asked to think creatively about how your knowledge can be put to practical or experimental use. There are also activities devoted to learning important techniques in scientific study, including microscope use, DNA extraction, Polymerase Chain Reaction, and DNA microarrays.  A…

In BIO101 [1], you were introduced to biology on a microscopic scale when you learned about the functions of molecules, genes, and cells.  In this course, you will learn about biological changes that happen on a very large scale, across entire populations of organisms and over the course of millions of years, in the form of evolution and ecology.  Evolution, the process by which different species of organisms have developed and diversified from their evolutionary forbears, has been a central theme in the field of biology ever since Darwin first published his theories about it.  Mounting evidence from many different branches of science all point to the fact that species have experienced a gradual but definite physical change.  In this course, we will learn about evolution and theories that stem from evolution. We will also learn about ecology, the study of the interactions between different types of organisms and their surroundings.  Changes in surroundings will force organisms to adapt and changeoften…

Developmental biology asks questions about how organisms come into being, how life forms, and how complex structures develop and are differentiated.  These fundamental questions have been the subject of research for centuries; accordingly, this course you will teach you not only about the beginnings of organisms, but about the beginnings of developmental biology as a science.  Currently, developmental biologists use a range of tools and research focifrom molecular techniques to surgical manipulations to chemical and environmental studiesto answer these questions.  Their approaches are multi-faceted because developmental biology itself addresses topics of importance to a wide range of fields, from molecular biology to neuroscience to evolutionary biology. In this course, you will learn about the field of developmental biology from its origins to the present day.  We will take a look at historical experiments as well as modern techniques and the mechanisms of development.  You will follow a variety of me…

The purpose of this course is to explore the subject of human disease, placing special emphasis on the cause of disease at the tissue level.  We will pay close attention to the underlying mechanisms that initiate and perpetuate the disease state.  Much can be learned about the causes of disease at the molecular and cellular level; we will accordingly spend quite a bit of time examining molecules, cells, and tissues and determining how the disruption of their normal functioning by various known and unknown causes can lead to disease. We will begin this course with a basic review of molecules, cells, and tissues in the human body.  We will then discuss the body’s first line of defense, the inflammatory reaction, and the immune system. Finally, we will survey the body’s organ systems.  We will approach each of the systems by examining the ways in which a prototype disease impacts its functioning.  (These “prototypes” will be diseases that impact a large number of patients around the world.)  We…

This course will introduce you to entrepreneurship and business planning. By way of introduction, the word entrepreneur originates from the French word entreprendre, meaning to undertake. Today, we define an entrepreneur as an owner or manager of a business enterprise who attempts to make profits by starting and growing his or her business. In earnest, entrepreneurs are a diverse group of risk-takers who share the same goal of cultivating ideas and developing them into viable business opportunities. Take a quick look at the statistics below to get a sense for some of the (potentially surprising) qualities that have been attributed to entrepreneurs. According to a recent report by the US Census, every day approximately 2,356 Americans are becoming entrepreneurs by starting new businesses. According to 2006 report from Northeastern University’s School of Technological Entrepreneurship, 62% of entrepreneurs in the US claim innate drive as the number one motivator in starting their business. According t…

In this course, we will study the emergence of the major civilizations of the ancient world, beginning with the Paleolithic Era (about 2.5 million years ago) and finishing with the end of the Middle Ages in fifteenth century A.D. We will pay special attention to how societies evolved across this expanse of timefrom fragmented and primitive agricultural communities to more advanced and consolidated civilizations. To do this, we will rely upon textbook readings to provide historical overviews of particular civilizations and then utilize primary-source documents to illuminate the unique features of these individual societies. By the end of the course, you will possess a thorough understanding of important overarching social, political, religious, and economic themes in the ancient world, ranging from the emergence of Confucian philosophy in Asia to the fall of imperial Rome. You will also understand how many aspects of these ancient civilizations continue to remain relevant in today’s world.

Mathematics is about structure, about reasoning, and about modeling.  This course braids these three threads together.  Mathematical logic began as the study of the reasoning used in mathematics, but it turns out to be useful in describing the mathematical concept of structure and in modeling automated reasoningthat is, modeling computation. The logical approach to structure gives an alternate perspective on such other mathematical subjects as combinatorics and abstract algebra.  This, for the most part, is described by the area of model theory, which is the focus of Unit 1. In Unit 2, we will look at modeling computation.  The central fact of these models, from a logical standpoint, is that once we can handle a computation as a definable mathematical object, we can prove that certain computations are impossible.  The most famous such proof is Gödel’s Incompleteness Theorem, showing that it is impossible to compute truth in a system sufficiently strong to describe natural number arithmetic.

This course will introduce you to a number of statistical tools and techniques that are routinely used by modern statisticians for a wide variety of applications. First, we will review basic knowledge and skills that you learned in MA121: Introduction to Statistics [1]. Units 2-5 will introduce you to new ways to design experiments and to test hypotheses, including multiple and nonlinear regression and nonparametric statistics. You will learn to apply these methods to building models to analyze complex, multivariate problems. You will also learn to write scripts to carry out these analyses in R, a powerful statistical programming language. The last unit is designed to give you a grand tour of several advanced topics in applied statistics. [1] http://www.saylor.org/courses/ma121/…

This course provides an introduction to critical thinking, informal logic, and a small amount of formal logic.  Its purpose is to provide students with the basic tools of analytical reasoning, which will give them a distinctive edge in a wide variety of careers and courses of study.  While many university courses focus on the presentation of content knowledge, the emphasis here is on learning how to think effectively.  Although the techniques and concepts covered here are classified as “philosophical,” they are essential to the practice of nearly every major discipline, from the physical sciences and medicine to politics, law, and the humanities.  The course touches upon a wide range of reasoning skills, from verbal argument analysis to formal logic, visual and statistical reasoning, scientific methodology, and creative thinking.  Mastering these will help students become more perceptive readers and listeners, more persuasive writers and presenters, and more effective researchers and scientists. Th…

If you pick up almost any newspaper looking for information about Africa, you will likely encounter stories about the HIV/AIDS epidemic in Malawi, riots in Tunisia, famine in Ethiopia, or environmental disaster in the Niger Deltaproblems that journalists often link to dysfunctional government.  Based on such accounts, you might consider Africa to be a pretty bleak place!  However, these events highlight only one side of politics in Sub-Saharan Africa.  While some African countries face great struggles, others offer great hope. This course provides an overview of African politics in historical context, synthesizing material from traditional comparative politics and area studies courses that examine democratization, economic development, and identity politics.  This course also examines Africa’s position in a broader international framework by addressing conflict, political economy, and the processes of state division and integration. Seven units organize this course.  We have organized the beginning…

In this course, we will look at the properties behind the basic concepts of probability and statistics and focus on applications of statistical knowledge.  We will learn how statistics and probability work together.  The subject of statistics involves the study of methods for collecting, summarizing, and interpreting data.  Statistics formalizes the process of making decisionsand this course is designed to help you cultivate statistic literacy so that you can use this knowledge to make better decisions.  Note that this course has applications in sciences, economics, computer science, finance, psychology, sociology, criminology, and many other fields. Every day, we read articles and reports in print or online.  After finishing this course, you should be comfortable asking yourself whether the articles make sense.  You will be able to extract information from the articles and display that information effectively.  You will also be able to understand the basics of how to draw statistical conclusions.

This introductory course in biology starts at the microscopic level, with molecules and cells. Before we get into the specifics of cell structure and behavior, however, let’s take a cursory glance at the field of biology more generally. Though biology as we know it today is a relatively new field, we have been studying living things since the beginning of recorded history. The invention of the microscope was the turning point in the history of biology; it paved the way for scientists to discover bacteria and other tiny organisms and ultimately led to the modern cell theory of biology. You will notice that, unlike the core program courses you took in chemistry and physics, introductory biology does not have many mathematical “laws” and “rules” and does not require much math. Instead, you will learn a great number of new terms and concepts that will help you describe life at the smallest level. Over the course of this semester, you will recognize the ways in which the tiniest of molecules are involved…

Welcome to BIO101B, Introduction to Molecular and Cellular Biology.  This course is intended for the student interested in understanding and appreciating common biological topics in the study of the smallest units within biology: molecules and cells. Molecular and cellular biology is a dynamic field.  There are thousands of opportunities within the medical, pharmaceutical, agricultural, and industrial fields (just to name a few) for a person with a concentrated knowledge of molecular and cellular processes.  This course will give you a general introduction of these topics.  In addition to preparing for a diversity of career paths, an understanding of molecular and cell biology will help you make sound decisions in your everyday life that can positively impact your diet and health. Note that this course is an alternative to BIO101A [1], and that you may choose to take either BIO101A or BIO101B in order to learn about Molecular and Cellular Biology.  These courses cover the same material, but in a slig…

American Government belongs to the Saylor.org CLEP® PREP Program. In taking this version of POLSC232, you will master the subject of American Government and Politics. This course is also designed to prepare you to take the CLEP® exam in American Government [1]. The CLEP® (College Level Examination Program) exams are designed by the College Board, the organization which administers the AP and SAT exam programs you may have encountered or taken in high school. CLEP® exams test for the mastery of college-level material that you may have acquired through any number of ways college-level course instruction, independent study, work experience, or any other program of study you have pursued. In other words, CLEP® exams are freestanding exams that any individual can pay to take in order to prove that he or she has mastered a given subject area at the college level. Over 2,900 US colleges and universities recognize and award college credit for a satisfactory score on a CLEP® exam. A student who earns a satisf…

This course will introduce you to the fundamental principles of psychology and to the major subjects of psychological inquiry. It has been designed to not only provide you with the tools necessary for the study of psychology but to present you with a sampling of the major areas of psychology research. The course begins with a short overview of how psychology developed as an academic discipline and an introduction to a number of the principle methodologies most commonly deployed in its study. The subsequent units are arranged around broad areas of research, including emotion, development, memory, and psychopathology. We will focus on well-substantiated research and current trends within each of these categories. This course is designed to align with Excelsior College’s UExcel Psychology examination. Visit the Excelsior website [1] to download the content guide for the PSYX-101 exam.  For more information about this partnership, and earning credit through Excelsior College, go here [2].    [1] http:/…

This sequence provides an overview of the biochemical basis of cellular structure and function; the anabolic and catabolic processes involved in energy utilization; and cellular communication. The hierarchical organization of cellular components are discussed in terms of the structure and function of the four macromolecules: protein, lipid, carbohydrate, and nucleic acids. Level: First Year Medical Students Unless otherwise noted, this Work, Cells and Tissues, by Audrey Seasholtz, Ph.D. is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.

The M2 Renal Sequence provides an overview of diseases of the kidney and urinary tract in a clinical setting and provides an introduction to the basic concepts about the area and tools you will need to continue learning about them in future years. The sequence consists of lectures, small group seminars, Clinicopathological Correlation Laboratories, and multidisciplinary conferences on end stage renal disease and organ procurement. Over twenty faculty members from Nephrology, Pathology, Urology, and Pharmacology will participate in the lectures, seminars, and Clinicopathological Correlation Laboratory sessions. Level: Second Year Medical Students Unless otherwise noted this Work, Renal, by The Regents of the University of Michigan is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike license.