Online courses directory (801)

Information Technology (IT) has become one of the key elements in the design of business frameworks and it is also a key influence in determining corporate strategy. The modern manager must have a thorough knowledge of both the structure of the organization and the capabilities of modern technology, and this knowledge is especially important when designing business frameworks and determining corporate strategy. In this free online course the learner is introduced to the importance of IT in the design of business frameworks and the different elements that influence framework design. The course also outlines the basics of information systems, the different types of information systems and the characteristics of each one. The course explains the importance of IT in creating a flexible, modern organization and discusses the benefits IT can bring when determining corporate strategy. This free course will be of great interest to management professionals who would like to learn more about the importance of IT in a business framework, and how to use IT in determining corporate strategy.<br />

In the free online course Introduction to Database Concepts you will learn about the structure of a database, and how to establish relationships within your database. You will learn about the objects and data that make up a database, and the ways to create databases to store data.<br /><br />The course begins by introducing you to the core concepts of databases. You will learn about applications for performing tasks and interacting with a database. Next, you will be introduced to concepts that you need to understand to be able to construct a database. You will learn about the normalization process of organizing data in a database, and the constraints that make data consistent and unique when required. You will learn about referential integrity and how constraints are a fundamental part of it.<br /><br />Finally, you will be introduced to objects that make up a database and the various datatypes you can store within a database. You will learn about creating, altering and deleting databases using the Data Definition Language.<br /><br />This free Alison course will be of interest to those wishing to learn about the core concepts of databases, database creation and database structure.<br />

In this free online course Introduction to Design Thinking and People Centred Design you will learn what design involves, how to examine design problems, and frame problems from a design point of view.<br /><br />The course begins by introducing you to design thinking for people centred design. You will learn about the seven mindsets for designers. You will learn about being people centred with your designs and how there is more than aesthetics to design, such as the perceived value that people place on what they see.<br /><br />Next, you will learn how to examine and reflect on design problems. You will be introduced to the questions you should ask when facing a design problem and how to examine a problem by looking at it from different angles. You will learn the importance of asking 'why' to explore a problem and its different aspects. Finally, you will learn about framing your problem from a design point of view.<br /><br />This free Alison Course will be of great interest to professionals working in the areas of product and service design and who would like to learn more about design thinking for people centred design. <br />

In the free course Introduction to DevOps you will be introduced to concepts and practices behind DevOps which can lead to improved customer satisfaction, improved productivity and efficiency, and the increased ability to build the right product by fast experimentation (DevOps is a clipped compound of the words 'development' and 'operations').<br /><br />The course begins by explaining what DevOps is and its benefits as a collaboration and communication methodology for both software developers and other information-technology (IT) professionals. You will learn about different aspects of DevOps such as how it can be used to establish a culture and environment where building, testing, and releasing software can happen rapidly, frequently, and more reliably. Testing occurs in almost every cycle of software development and is a useful way of knowing what works and your end user needs. You will learn about continuous integration and MTTR.<br /><br />The course then delves into continuous deployment and release management. You will gain knowledge about the three stages of deployment, how you can set up your own private agent, and the functionality of artifacts in DevOps. You will then learn about the process of configuration management, application performance monitoring, and availability monitoring. <br /><br />Finally, the course provides you with information on advanced processes of DevOps. You will learn about different advanced processes such as rollback and roll-forward, automated environment de-provisioning, and user telemetry. <br /><br />This course will be of great interest to software developers and other IT professionals who would like to learn more about DevOps and how it can bring significant benefits such as shorter time-to-market, better product quality, and more reliable releases.

In the free online course Introduction to Drones learn about the main components and parts that are found in drones and how they are built and prepared for flight. <br /><br />The course begins by introducing common acronyms that are used when talking about drones and it then describes the common components found in a drone. You will also learn about flight terms such as roll, pitch, yaw and throttle. <br /><br />Next, you will be brought through the steps in building a Rush 4 drone for the first time. You will learn about the process of preparing the motors, electronic speed controllers and power distribution board. You will be guided on how the first-person view is attached in order to film while you fly the drone. The course also reviews the process for the final assembly of a drone.<br /><br />Finally, you will learn about what steps need to be taken before you first fly a drone, in particular you will be introduced to the software tools that you can use to prepare your drone before flying.<br /><br />This free course will be of great interest to anyone who is interested in drones and would like to know how a typical drone is assembled.

Major advances in technology have seen e-commerce becoming extremely viable for business and also very convenient for consumers. Various topologies and security plans allow producers and consumers to sell and purchase with ease. This free online course introduces the learner to various topologies used within e-commerce, the infrastructure required and security needed to make e-commerce possible. This free online course will be of great interest to business professionals, as well as any learner wanting to expand their knowledge and understanding of e-commerce.<br />

The free online course Introduction to E-Learning Theory and Practice is an overview of internationally recognised and research-based e-learning theory and methodologies for creating effective e-learning courses. The course begins by reviewing what is meant by the term &quot;e-learning&quot; and what the benefits are in creating e-learning content. The course then reviews the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Development, how learning occurs in a multimedia environment, and how to identify relevant course material using topic analysis and task analysis methodologies. You will learn about the importance of writing learning outcomes first when creating a course, and how to write learning outcomes about specific aspects of the course that describe a competency or performance capability that is to be acquired by the learner. Next you will learn how to storyboard a course using presentation techniques such as storytelling, a scenario-based approach, a demonstration-practice method, or a toolkit approach. Finally, you will learn how to create different types of assessments that monitor and evaluate student learning. This free online course will be of great interest to teachers, trainers and all subject matter experts who would like to learn more about the theory and practice behind designing and developing effective e-learning courses.<br />

The free online course in Introduction to Ecology provides detailed information about the different types of ecosystems, terrestrial and aquatic biomes, and the effects of climate change on biodiversity. The course first introduces you to the scope of ecology and biogeography with a focus on the distribution of plant and animal species and their impact on the terrestrial environment. You will learn how to differentiate between ecological patterns and processes at different scales and levels of biological organisation (population, community and ecosystem). Next, you will learn to identify and recognize the distinguishing characteristics of terrestrial and aquatic biomes. You will gain an understanding of what controls animal and plant distribution, abundance and biodiversity. You will learn how plants and animals absorb energy and nutrients from the ecosystem around them as well as how species interact with each other. You will learn about the biology of various habitats from marine and freshwater to terrestrial habitats and the soil. Finally, you are introduced to climate and the effects of global climate change where you will learn about the interaction between humans, animals and the environment with specific reference to the effects of modern technological advances. You will gain an understanding of the role ecology plays in conservation, wetland and natural resource management, forestry, agriculture and fisheries, as well as the climatological challenges faced by society. The course will be ideal for professionals working in the area of biology, ecology or environmental science, for students who wish to pursue a career in the sciences, or for those who simply want to learn more about building a sustainable existence on this planet. This course will also be of great interest to anyone who would like to learn more about ecological diversity and the distribution of organisms in the global ecosystem around them or those who are concerned about their impact on the environment. <br />

Installing electrical wiring is an integral part of an electrician's job. Working with electrical wiring involves working with device boxes, raceways, conductors, and cables. This free online course will introduce the learner to the basics of the electrical wiring system. From explaining the key installation procedures for electrical device boxes and raceways to outlining the correct technique for using hand-benders to bend conduits, this course covers the essential requirements of the job. The course also provides information on metal conduit fittings and some common types of fasteners used to attach raceway supports. Besides this, the course includes a list of commonly used terms associated with electrical wiring. The course will be of great interest to all professionals who would like to learn about the electrical wiring system. It will also be of interest to all learners who are interested in developing a career in the field and learning the practical aspects of the trade. If you are interested in a career in construction, you may find this course of general professional interest. If you always thought you would like to know more about electrical systems, then this might just be the opportunity you have been waiting for to learn more.<br />

An employer becomes aware of possible illegal or inappropriate conduct by a member of staff. The employer now has to consider what action they will take to establish the facts and, if appropriate, take disciplinary action or contact the police. This free online employee investigation course takes the learner through the role of an Employee Investigator referencing the Private Security industry, the Police force and the law as it applies in the UK. To work within the law in the UK the learner will be introduced to all the major legislation impacting on the role of Employee Investigator, from RIPA and PACE to the TORT law and what constitutes theft. The learner will also be introduced to Employee Rights, how to document any findings from an investigation, how the Employee Investigator should conduct him/herself during the investigation, how to report back to the client and how to proceed with an arrest should that become necessary. This free online employee investigation course will be of great interest to security professionals wanting to work as an Employee Investigator, and to employers and human resource professionals who need to understand the role of the Employee Investigator.<br />

This free online English grammar course teaches you about English grammar, tenses and sentence structure, giving you effective communication with other people in the English language.<br /><br />You will learn examples of Past, Present and Future tenses, the common mistakes made when using these tenses, and their correct usage. You will also learn the word order of a sentence structure and how to turn a sentence into a negative or a question.<br /><br />This will be of great interest to all English language students, language teachers, and anyone looking to improve their use of the English language. This course is complemented by a number of free English language courses hosted for free on ALISON.<br />

Many non-native English speakers find when they study the English language that there is quite a leap from basic informal conversational English to more formal business-like English. The use of colloquial expressions by native English speakers can also be quite confusing to the non-native speaker. In this free online course you will study comparisons between informal and formal uses of greetings, introductions, offers, expressions of gratitude and apologies. You will learn how to recognise the differences between these so that you will be able to decipher what exactly is being communicated. You will practise examples to further increase your knowledge and understanding of the English language. This free English Grammar course will be of great interest to all learners who want to go beyond a basic level of spoken and written English and take their knowledge and understanding to a higher level.<br />

Environmental sustainability involves individuals, communities and countries acting to protect the natural world, so that the capability of the environment to support human life is preserved for future generations. It is becoming an increasingly important subject as people are realising the full impact that businesses and individuals can have on the environment. In this free online course you will be introduced to environmental sustainability and its importance, the sustainability of energy resources such as wind and solar power compared with oil and gas resources, the adverse impacts individuals, communities and businesses can have on the environment, how the global transport of food and goods affects the environment, how communities can become more sustainable by making simple yet effective decisions, and how globalisation in industry and business can affect the environment at both regional and national levels. This free online course will be of great interest to professionals in the areas of ecology studies, environmental organisations, education, local and national governments, business and finance who want to learn more about the importance of environmental sustainability. It will also be of great interest to all students who want to learn how they as individuals can make the right decisions to protect the environment.<br />

In this free course Introduction to Excel 2013 Power BI you will learn about the Power Business Intelligence (BI) tools you can add to Excel 2013. You will learn about using power query to import data from the Internet, and add that data to your Excel worksheet. This course also teaches you to display your data with Power Views and Power Maps.<br /><br />The course begins by introducing you to the Power BI tools and setting them up in Microsoft Excel 2013. It teaches to create a power query to get data from a web page, where you will also learn about modifying your power query and adding the data from the query to your Excel worksheet. This course also includes learning about preparing your data model for creating a power view and adding an url image to your data tables.<br /><br />You will learn about the different visualizations you can use to display your data in power view and interacting with reports in power view to get them to display different data. You will also learn about tiling a card report so it won’t affect your other reports in the same power view, and how to add a simple map to display in your power view.<br /><br />Finally, this course will teach you to create power maps and about data you need to modify in your data model to activate it. You will learn that power maps uses Bing maps and you will need geographical information in your data model for power maps to work properly. You will also learn about creating new scenes and displaying your data on a power map. You will learn about setting the transition between your scenes and creating a video out of your finished power map.<br /><br />This free Alison course will be of great interest to business, accounting and finance professionals who wish to expand their knowledge of Microsoft Excel 2013 and learn about displaying their Excel worksheet data for more dynamic and engaging presentations. <br /><br />Prerequisites: The learner should have basic skills in using Microsoft Excel 2013 and an understanding of data relationships. <br />

A financial instrument is a tradable asset of any kind and they are a key component of the modern financial market system as they allow for efficient flow of capital through the global financial marketplace. In this free online course you will learn how financial institutions package and trade mortgage backed securities in financial markets and how collateralized debt obligations function. You will also learn about credit default swaps and interest rate swaps and their role in financial trading. This course will be of great interest to professionals in the areas of finance, investments and economics and who like to learn more about the function and use of financial instruments, and to all learners who are interested in how financial instruments help the global financial marketplace function.<br />

Fractional reserve banking is a key concept in banking. It means banks maintain only a fraction of the total amount of money in all their customers’ deposit accounts as cash that is available for withdrawal by depositors. By doing this, banks free up large supplies of capital that can be loaned out to businesses, thereby helping to expand the economy. The economic system of most countries utilise this concept. This free online banking course explains in detail what fractional reserve banking is and how this banking system works. The course reviews the strengths and weaknesses of the fractional reserve banking system; for example, it helps economies grow but banks are also very vulnerable if there is a run on a bank and all depositors try to withdraw their money at the same time. As an alternative, full reserve banking is also explored and you will also see how money is accounted for in the balance sheets of banks. This free online banking course will be of great interest to professionals in the banking, finance, economics and business fields who would like a greater knowledge and understanding of fractional reserve banking and the strengths and weaknesses of this system of banking.<br />

In the free course Introduction to Games Development with HTML5 and JavaScript you will be introduced to the Visual Studio environment for creating video games with HTML5 and JavaScript. You will learn about creating and displaying maps for your video game, and about Apache Cordova platform for building mobile applications. This course also provide insights on creating and assigning controls to your player character.<br /><br />The course begins by introducing you to the Apache Cordova platform for building mobile applications. You will learn about the Enchant.js an open source game engine and its features. It will teach you the installation process to start your video game project in Visual studio, and also to modify and remove unnecessary code from the default templates visual studio generates for you.<br /><br />Following that, this course will help you understand the process of creating a 2D array for storing your maps data. You will learn about setting up your game map and loading sprite sheets for putting images into your game, and creating a player character with movement in your game. You will also learn about mapping controls for moving and controlling the player character.<br /><br />In the end, this course teaches about setting up collision detection for your game. You will understand Enchant.js built-in functions for detecting collisions. You will learn about creating statistic or attributes for your player character and how to display them on screen.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is a very important topic to understand in economics. It measures the monetary value of final goods and services of a country within a given time period and is a key metric which can be used to gauge a country's standard of living. In this free online economics course you will start by learning about the circular flow of money in an economy. The components of Gross Domestic Product are then identified and explained in terms of how different expenditure is categorised. A single Gross Domestic Product figure gives very little information so you will learn how to look at it in relation to past history by using Price Indexing to work out what is real growth and what inflation is when compared with a base year. This free online economics course will be of great interest to economics, finance and business professionals who would like a better understanding of Gross Domestic Product and its role as an indicator of the economic health of a country, and to any learner who wants to have a better understanding of financial news and how the economies of countries work.<br />

Growing your own organic food in an environmentally friendly and sustainable manner is becoming a very popular activity. However, many people hesitate at growing vegetables as they are uncertain how they should start and of the kind of work that is needed. This free online organic food course will introduce you to all aspects of growing garden vegetables in an organic and sustainable manner. The course will give you a thorough knowledge and understanding of how to grow a large variety of vegetables such as carrots, cabbage, lettuce, tomatoes, potatoes, leeks and many others. You will also learn about maintaining your garden vegetable plot, how to test and improve soil, make compost, create a raised bed, sow seeds and implement crop rotation. This free online organic food course will be of great interest to all learners who would like to grow their own food in an organic and sustainable manner but would like to follow the advice and guidance of organic experts.<br />

The free online course Introduction to Hospitality Management Studies provides information on the basic skills and competencies involved in working within the hospitality industry and an understanding of how the industry operates in its different forms. The course first introduces you to the main characteristics of the hospitality industry such as products and services, communication with customers and with staff, relationship building such as developing repeat customers, cultural diversity and labour. You will also gain an understanding of the relationship between the hospitality industry and the tourism sector, as well as an overview of the different career prospects and opportunities available in the hospitality industry. Next, you will learn about the accommodation sector and the different types of accommodation, from city centre hotels to villas and chalets, as well as the different types of specialized hotels. You will then learn about hotel rating systems, the criteria involved, and the organizations that develop and apply the systems to hotels. Finally, you will learn about the accommodation product which refers to rooms and related products and services that hotel guests will utilize. You will learn about the various types of hotel rooms, their grading systems as well as the different types of bed associated with each room type. You will also learn about the different types of hotel guest and how to interpret and evaluate the different types of requests that are made by guests. This free course will be of great interest to professionals working in the hospitality industry who would like to learn more about the main characteristics of the hospitality industry. The course will also be of great interest to people who wish to gain employment or a career in the hospitality sector, and to owners of hospitality focused businesses.<br />