Online courses directory (19947)

In this social sciences course, you will develop a framework for:

• Engaging diversity and differences in social work practice.
• Advancing human rights and social and economic justice.

We will explore the knowledge base that underlies skills needed to work towards justice. You will learn about types and sources of power, multiple social locations, social constructions, social processes, social identities, conflicts, and how all these interact.

You will develop skills in critical contextual thinking and analyses, and in praxis, learn to use knowledge and theory to recognize and critique underlying assumptions and paradigms and inform working for change.

You will learn how multiple kinds of boundaries are especially important—across groups, between organizations and system levels, and within and between people, related to intersecting social locations.

You will actively explore how societal power and diversity characterize and shape the human experience, and are critical to the formation of social structures, cultural understandings, group and organizational processes, and identities. You will learn how the dimensions of diversity are understood as the intersectionality of multiple factors including: age, class, color, culture, disability, ethnicity, gender, gender identity and expression, immigration status, political ideology, race, religion, sex, and sexual orientation.

You will learn how current experiences of privilege and oppression are shaped by historical forces, societal structures, social constructions, groups, interpersonal processes and human understandings. This includes an understanding of the institutional, organizational, policy, and socio-cultural arrangements that contribute to privilege and oppression. Additionally, this course will explore formulations of human rights, including positive rights, and negative conditions that need to be eradicated.

You will also study how social justice and injustice occur in organizations, institutions, and society, relevant theories that can inform work for justice (e.g., critical race theory, and components of many theories), and how mechanisms of oppression and privilege work (e.g., marginalization, exploitation, violence, cultural hegemony, and powerlessness).

This course is part of the Social Work: Practice, Policy and Research MicroMasters Program offered by MichiganX.

Armed conflicts have always existed all over the world. Unfortunately, recent events have shown that this phenomenon is becoming increasingly complex, especially with respect to certain legal issues, for instance relating to:

• the definition of armed conflicts when foreign forces are fighting armed groups located in the territory of another State.
• the definition of combatants when terrorists are involved in the hostilities.
• the targeting of certain objects which are used for both military and civilian purposes.
• the detention by rebels of State armed forces.
• the involvement and status of UN peacekeepers involved in combat operations.
• the application of the law of occupation to international organizations.

This law course will help you to understand these complex legal issues by teaching you basic norms governing armed conflicts, also known as ‘International Humanitarian Law’ (‘IHL’). This course provides essential theoretical and practical knowledge for students, researchers and academics who wish to specialize in this field. It is also dedicated to professionals, including members of NGOs, involved in armed conflict situations, or members of armed forces.

Starting with the sources and subjects of IHL, as well as its scope of application, the course will address the main substantive norms of IHL governing: the conduct of hostilities; the protection afforded to persons in the hands of the enemy; occupation; and implementation of IHL.

We will discuss questions such as:

• who and what can be targeted by the enemy.
• which weapons can be used.
• which method of warfare is authorized.
• who enjoys protection and what type of protection.
• which norms apply in non international armed conflicts.

We will also deal with the different ways through which IHL can be implemented and how belligerents may be held accountable for violations of its rules when committing war crimes or crimes against humanity.

These critical issues will be addressed in light of recent practice, including the fight against ISIS and Al-Qaeda in different regions of the world, as well as other recent conflicts such as those occurring in Armenia, Afghanistan, Libya, Mali, RDC, Syria, The Soudan, Ukraine or Yemen. Older ongoing conflicts, such as the Israeli-Palestinian one, will also be addressed.

What does it take to create and implement a biobased product?

In this course we’ll explore 5 major issues:

1. Bioconversion
Learn how to convert molecules through microbial processes. Find out how to choose the right host organism and how choices in process design influence cell growth, substrate conversion and product formation.

2. (Bio)Chemical conversion
Explore catalytic conversion of biomass by discussing types of catalysts, special challenges for catalysis when converting biomass and the interplay of catalysis and up/down stream processes.

3. Business
Learn the steps to transform a biobased product to a winning business case. We’ll discuss commercial, financial and organizational aspects and stakeholder management to realize biobased ambitions. You’ll also learn about the required dynamics in and timing of (innovation) activities for a sector transformation to a biobased economy.

4. Logistics and Supply Chains
Understand the biobased supply chain including network design and geographical allocation of processing steps answering the key questions where to produce, how to transport and where to process biobased products.

5. Economy and Regulations
Learn the economic basis for government regulations and implications for the biobased economy and in particular the responses by the private sector. This includes the economic foundations for government regulations from different perspectives, the implications for an economic assessment of regulatory policies and a look at the regulatory policies in the United States and the European Union.

Pursuing goals for ambitious teaching and learning requires that students, teachers, and educational leaders learn to work together in new ways. This course engages learners in exploring four leading logics of educational innovation: strategies and approaches to producing and using knowledge to improve educational practice and outcomes at scale, across many classrooms, schools, and systems. These logics include:

• Shell enterprises
• Diffusion enterprises
• Incubation enterprises
• Evolutionary enterprises

Each of these logics has been used successfully in different types of classrooms, schools, and systems, though each also features traps and pitfalls that complicate universal usage.

To understand both their potential and their pitfalls, learners will apply these logics in analyzing exemplary cases of large-scale, practice-focused educational innovation in the US and abroad.

With deeper understandings of these logics, learners will be able to be strategic in designing and managing local innovation. They will also be able to identify external programs and projects that can serve as effective partners in innovation and improvement.

This course is part of the Leading Educational Innovation and Improvement MicroMasters Program offered by MichiganX.

How do you create realistic animations? How do you predict the motion of materials? It’s key to the success of animated films to ensure (was insure) audiences believe in characters.

This course will show you how to create lifelike animations focusing on the technical aspects of CGI animation and also give you a glimpse into how studios approach the art of physically-based animation.

You will learn the fundamental concepts of physical simulation, including:

1. integration of ordinary differential equations such as those needed to predict the motion of a dress in the wind.
2. formulation of models for physical phenomena such as crumpling sheet metal and flowing water.
3. treatment of discontinuities such as fractures and collisions.
4. simulation of liquids and solids in both Lagrangian and Eulerian coordinates.
5. artistic control of physically-based animations.

These concepts will be put into practice in the programming assignments spanning:

• Discretizing and integrating Newton’s equations of motion
• Constrained Lagrangian Mechanics
• Collisions, contact, and friction: detection and response
• Continuum mechanics
• Finite elements
• Rigid body simulation
• Thin shell and cloth simulation
• Elastic rod and hair simulation
• Fluid simulation

We think of Robotics as the science of building devices that physically interact with their environment. The most useful robots do it precisely, powerfully, repeatedly, tirelessly, fast, or some combinations of these. The most interesting robots maybe even do it intelligently. This course will cover the fundamentals of robotics, focusing on both the mind and the body.

We will learn about two core robot classes: kinematic chains (robot arms) and mobile bases. For both robot types, we will introduce methods to reason about 3-dimensional space and relationships between coordinate frames. For robot arms, we will use these to model the task of delivering a payload to a specified location. For mobile robots, we will introduce concepts for autonomous navigation in the presence of obstacles.

Class projects will make use of ROS - the open-source Robot Operating System (www.ros.org) widely used in both research and industry. Computer requirements for working on the projects will include a computer set up with Ubuntu Linux and high bandwidth internet access for downloading and installing ROS packages.

Being a leader in development means working in complex and challenging contexts. Projects rarely run as planned, and managers need to be flexible and adaptive in their approach.

This course will teach you the skills to tackle complex problems in developing - and developed - countries. You will learn how problems in development contexts are always complex - no matter how simple they may appear at first. You will learn strategies for how to dig deeper into the problem and come up with solutions that address the real issues. You will learn techniques and practical tools for understanding local context, and ways to lead effectively.

This course will also expose you to the disconnect between policy and practice.

Uncertainty is a way of life in development, and leaders need the skills to adapt and excel in this space. Join us to learn effective strategies for being an adaptive leader in development.

This course is part of the Leadership in Global Development MicroMasters Program. In order to get the most out of this course, we recommend that you have experience working in the development sector or a strong interest in this area. We also recommend that you complete the following courses prior to commencing or in parallel with these courses: Leaders in Global Development and The Science and Practice of Sustainable Development.

According to world-renowned management consultant, Peter Drucker, "Marketing is the only distinguishing and unique function of business…There is only one valid definition of business purpose and that is to create a customer.”

While the significance of marketing in today’s business world can never be overstated, it is the precise understanding and appreciation of marketing management that needs to be accentuated. Marketing management allows an organization to track, review and analyze their marketing resources and activities.

In this marketing course, you will learn the fundamentals of marketing management, as you gradually learn advanced theories and applications through real world business examples, illustrations, cases and exercises. You will learn how marketing management tools can be used to increase your customer base, improve customer satisfaction and increase your company’s overall perceived value.

You will learn how marketing serves as a key element within an organization’s strategy.

El curso “Diseño y desarrollo de recursos multimedia para la enseñanza virtual” está enfocado para que identifiques las principales características, utilidades y ventajas de los diferentes tipos de recursos multimedia que puedes construir para complementar o generar conocimiento; utilizarás tu creatividad al máximo al desarrollar presentaciones, actividades interactivas y videos educativos los cuales podrás integrar de forma eficiente a tus procesos de formación o bien como recurso de apoyo en tus clases presenciales.

El contenido se desarrolla en una serie de temas entrelazados y dosificados en 6 lecciones, en las que aprenderás de forma práctica y dinámica las diferentes metodologías, herramientas y técnicas de diseño para la elaboración de recursos educativos multimedia, poniendo en práctica las competencias digitales adquiridas construyendo recursos innovadores usando herramientas líderes en la industria de la producción multimedia como Articulate Storyline, Adobe Captivate, Camtasia, Adobe Spark entre otras.

Este curso forma parte del programa de MicroMasters “e-Learning: crea actividades y contenidos para la enseñanza virtual” diseñada con el propósito de desarrollar en los participantes  las habilidades y competencias necesarias para la implementación de entornos de aprendizaje innovadores apoyados por las TIC's. Al inscribirte en este programa de MicroMasters te daremos acceso a un área de descarga especial, en la cual encontrarás plantillas (predefinidas) de las principales herramientas presentadas en los cursos, guías de mejores prácticas y vídeos complementarios con entrevistas de reconocidos expertos a nivel internacional, que comparten su experiencia y conocimiento en el campo de la educación apoyada por tecnología, el diseño y producción de recursos multimedia.

In this course you will learn the meaning of development based on human rights and social justice perspectives. You will understand how development is practiced based on the needs, rights and capabilities of individuals; and critically explore the strengths and shortcomings of these approaches.

Next, you’ll explore the ideology behind international aid programs and look at development from both Indigenous and African perspectives. You’ll uncover human rights abuses, environmental issues and challenges to colonialist development, all of which still have an effect to this day.

Finally, you’ll explore the role of international financial and trade institutions in global development.

This course is part of the Human Rights MicroMasters program.

If you take the verified certificate pathway for the three human rights courses you will qualify for the MicroMasters credential.

The MicroMasters credential is an achievement in itself, but if you want to study further, you can use it towards studying a Master of Human Rights at Curtin.

Understand social work practice through the critical examination of methods associated with decision-making, critical thinking, and ethical judgment.

The course integrates the core themes related to multiculturalism and diversity; social justice and social change; promotion, prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation; and behavioral and social science research.

You will learn how to formulate appropriate research questions and hypotheses, techniques for testing relationships and patterns among variables, methods of data collection, methods to assess and improve the validity and reliability of data and measures, and the ethics of scientific inquiry.

This course will cover:

• quantitative and qualitative research methods

• commonly used statistical procedures

• approaches to the evaluation of practice

Learn how to understand and appreciate a scientific approach to building practice knowledge and for evaluating practice, and to use research to advocate for clients and inform policy. Special emphasis will be placed on increasing one's ability to formulate research questions, apply research methods, conduct statistical analysis, and interpret research reports. The latest statistical, graphical, and display technologies will be used.

This course is part of the Social Work: Practice, Policy and Research MicroMasters Program offered by MichiganX.

Learn mobile application development on the Android platform by acquiring strong knowledge of Android SDK and different versions of Android. You will gain familiarity with RESTful APIs to connect Android applications to back-end services and will practice with Genymotion emulator.

As a part of this course, you will create widgets, customize list views and create 5 applications using Facebook, Twitter, maps & location based services. You will test Android-based mobile applications using Android testing tools such as Mockito.

This Android course is taught by a group of Google Developer Experts and other industry professionals, who develop innovative mobile apps .

This course is part of the GalileoX Android Developer MicroMasters Program that is specifically designed to teach the critical skills needed to be successful in this exciting field and to prepare you to take the Google Associate Android Developer Certification exam. In order to qualify for the MicroMasters Credential you will need to earn a Verified Certificate in each of the four courses as well as Final Project. 

In this business and management course you will learn management techniques to operate in an international economy presented with tremendous opportunities as well as risks. 

Globalization has dramatically expanded opportunities for international trade, investment and economic development. At the same time, global managers are facing the prospect of trade wars, international financial crises and intensified competition over markets and resources. International organizations such as the International Monetary Fund, World Trade Organization and World Bank Group have a direct impact on international business operations.

This course develops analytical tools for understanding the rapidly changing and dynamic global economy. With these tools, you will be better prepared to anticipate the risks and take advantage of the opportunities you will encounter in the global business environment.

In a biorefinery a complex biobased feedstock is separated and processed in such a way that sustainability and application opportunities are maximized. In this course we will focus on tools and techniques to efficiently disentangle, separate and convert different biomass based feedstocks into simpler (functional) components.

First we will discuss available techniques and processes for biomass activation/disentanglement and separation.

Next we explore how to design a biorefinery taking into account feedstock and sustainable energy use. Therefore we will dive into:

• mass and energy balances;
• design of biorefinery process units to obtain multiple products from one type of biomass;
• how to recover energy and resources in the biorefinery system;
• evaluation of the designed system with respect to sustainability and economic criteria;
• evaluation of criteria for successful implementation (operational and investment costs).

Project management plays a key role in supporting a business’s success. In this project management course, you will learn what’s required from an organization for projects to excel.

You will learn how to turn project management principles and theory into practice. The course will cover:

• project management methods and best practices
• project portfolio management
• the project management office
• Six Sigma
• corporate culture and organizational behavior
• project management leadership

The course will utilize case studies and examples from companies to help students sharpen their project management skills to recognize and implement an environment that supports success.

First, we will cover the basic organizational and leadership elements required to provide a successful environment for all projects to succeed.

Second, we will cover the necessary organizational support structures and methods that enable project management and project managers to deliver results to the business and to the customers they serve.

Finally, we will explore the challenges of specific types of projects such as projects in crisis, global projects and managing a portfolio.

This course is part of the RIT Project Management MicroMasters Program that is designed to teach the importance of the organizational and leadership characteristics for the success of projects. In order to qualify for the MicroMasters Credential, you will need to earn a verified certificate in each of the three courses as well as pass a capstone exam.

With roots in industry and in health care, improvement science is a disciplined approach to educational innovation that supports teachers, leaders, and researchers in collaborating to solve specific problems of practice. Improvement science brings discipline and methods to different logics of innovation by integrating:

• Problem analysis
• Use of research
• Development of solutions
• Measurement of processes and outcomes
• Rapid refinement through plan-do-study-act cycles.

For teachers, school leaders, and system leaders, improvement science moves educational innovation out of the realm of “fad” and into the realm of research-based, evidence-driven continuous improvement, with the goal of increasing the effectiveness of educational practice.

That, in turn, will support schools and systems in responding to calls to improve opportunities to learn and student performance and calls to reduce achievement gaps by improving the day-to-day work students, teachers, and leaders.

In this introduction to improvement science, developed in collaboration with the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, learners will explore:

• Problem-specific and user-centered design and analysis
• Differences in implementation and outcomes as resources for improvement
• Improving systems to improve practice
• Driving improvement through measurement, evidence, and disciplined inquiry

This course is part of the Leading Educational Innovation and Improvement MicroMasters Program offered by MichiganX.

En este curso conocerás diferentes estilos de liderazgo y las situaciones en las que son más adecuados; reflexionarás sobre las capacidades personales para ejercer un liderazgo eficaz; analizarás tu competencia transversal “liderazgo” y establecerás un plan de trabajo personal para mejorar tus habilidades como líder y convertirte en un líder eficaz.

Para que una organización pueda avanzar en la dirección adecuada son necesarias dos cosas: saber a dónde ir y orientar los esfuerzos de las personas que hacen posible el movimiento.

En todos los grupos (familiares, deportivos, asociaciones...) existen personas que ejercen mayor influencia que otras y a las que se suele denominar líderes.

En las organizaciones los líderes no sólo se encuentran dentro de las estructuras formales de la organización, sino también en los grupos informales de trabajo. Los líderes deberían crear y mantener un ambiente interno en el cual el personal pueda llegar a involucrarse totalmente en el logro de los objetivos de la organización, construyendo un puente entre el entorno externo y el grupo, las tareas que realizan y los procesos internos del grupo que permiten realizarlas. Ayudando así a identificar, interpretar y alinear los requerimientos de los clientes internos y externos.

Dentro de un contexto de organizaciones “planas” con pocos niveles de mando, los líderes deben asumir las responsabilidades que tradicionalmente estaban repartidas entre las jerarquías de dirección. Lo cierto es que los miembros del grupo necesitan un apoyo activo por parte del líder para poder cumplir sus responsabilidades con justicia y honestidad. Por ello, el papel del líder debe cambiar, pasando de ser un planificador o alguien que toma decisiones, a ser un entrenador, orientador, emprendedor y facilitador que anima y asegura una planificación eficaz y una toma de decisiones distribuida. Un error muy común en este proceso de cambio es que los líderes pasan de un extremo al otro, esto es, de un estilo "ordeno y mando" a la abdicación. Sin embargo, lo que se precisa de ellos es un papel situado en algún punto intermedio entre ambos extremos. En este curso te enseñaremos a encontrar este punto adecuado que te convertirá en un líder eficaz.

Este curso forma parte del MicroMasters Program de UPValenciaX “Liderazgo y trabajo en equipo en grupos de mejora continua”, diseñado para prepararte como líder y gestor de equipos de mejora continua en entornos de lean manufacturing y 6-sigma.

In this social science course we will discuss various methods, strategies and skills within macro social work practice, used to help identify and address needs on a larger scale. You will gain knowledge and skills in the areas of community organizing, management, and policy advocacy, and learn about the various roles social workers play within these areas. This course will provide an appreciation of the historical and contemporary importance of these social work methods and the relevance of these methods for diverse populations and identities.

We will focus on:

• understanding the context of macro practice;
• identifying community and organizational interventions to address social needs and problems;
• organizing and building relationships within communities and organizations;
• organization-based and community-based policy making, planning, and program development.

You will also learn concepts and practice skills involving assessment, problem solving and intervention planning at the macro level, and strategies to work effectively with communities and organizations. Content includes reflective practice and utilizing interpersonal skills in macro practice.

This course is part of the Social Work: Practice, Policy and Research MicroMasters Program offered by MichiganX.

There are many approaches and perspectives about what is most important within the development sector. Some practitioners argue that basic water and sanitation is essential to good development, others push for women’s economic empowerment. Others still believe that good governance and institutions are the driving factor to sustainable development.

In this development studies course, you will engage with contemporary debates and gain new perspectives on what it means to be a leader in development. By gaining a good understanding of the different challenges facing development workers across the globe, you will be able to lead more effectively across sectors and organizations.

The course focuses each module around key readings that argue a particular perspective or idea. Interviews with the author, alongside other academics and practitioners, complement these readings and encourage new ways of thinking about the challenges facing workers in this space. Learners are encouraged to reflect on their own ideas and practice, and share their perspectives with other learners and the course team.

This course is part of the Leadership in Global Development MicroMasters Program. In order to get the most out of this course, we recommend that you have experience working in the development sector or a strong interest in this area. We also recommend you have completed the following courses prior to commencing or in parallel with these courses:

• Leaders in Global Development
• The Science and Practice of Sustainable Development
• Adaptive Leadership in Development

Marketing within the hotel and tourism industry presents unique challenges, as marketers are tasked with selling services and memories rather than goods. In this hospitality management course, you will learn how to apply marketing knowledge and skills to the hotel and tourism industry. You will learn best practices for building customer loyalty and creating a strong brand and learn how to efficiently communicate to stakeholders through integrated marketing communications. You will also learn about the importance of marketing to both previous and new customers.

Students’ learning experience will be enhanced through the use of creative approaches to solve marketing problems in hotel and tourism settings.

Note that this course is priced at USD $150.