Online courses directory (801)

Introduction to Human Nutrition is a free online course providing a broad insight into the dynamic field of human nutrition. With the huge rise in diet related illnesses such as obesity, type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease, we face important choices in terms of diet and nutrition on a daily basis. It is also important to understand the role nutrition plays in growth and development throughout our lives. This course will cover various topics from explaining the fundamental nutrients that provide us with the essential components for our bodies, to the scientific research and practices that are being conducted and continuously reported to the public. This free course will be of great interest to all learners who want to gain an insight into human nutrition or any learner who wants to enter the field of human nutrition. The course will also be of interest to any professional working in the areas of healthcare and health promotion and who would like to learn more about human nutrition.<br />

Immunology is the study of the immune system. This free online course explains how the human immune system fights disease and infection. This course is taught through a series of narrated videos. These videos include illustrations to increase your comprehension of the material. The first section of this course explains the non-specific immune system. Following this, the role of B-cells and T-cells in the specific immune system is explained. The final section of the course explains the symptoms and causes of the inflammatory response. The course is suitable for biology or medicine students that wish to increase their understanding of immunology. It is also suitable for anyone who wants to learn more about the workings of the immune system.<br />

An Information System is a man-made system that facilitates an organization’s operational functions and supports management decision making by providing information that managers can use to plan and control the activities of the firm. This free online course in Information Systems enables the learner to explore the system’s components, explain elements in the study of Information Systems, identify what a business process is and explain the features of quality information. The course will be of interest to business professionals who would like to gain a basic knowledge and understanding of Information Systems.<br />

<p>This free online course represents an in-depth introduction to the world of Information Technology (IT). </p><br /> <p>It explores information communication technology (ICT), design techniques, information management technology, problem solving and troubleshooting, and much more and is ideal for those looking for a career in IT as well as people who wish to enhance limited IT skills. </p>

A good understanding of Information Technology (IT) is of vital importance for any manager in today’s modern workplace. Effective management and implementation of IT resources have now become routine tasks for many middle and senior managers. The impact of IT is constantly changing the structure of business organisations and new forms of technology can mean new customer relationships and new forms of commerce. Information is now a major asset to business corporations and information management affects both daily decision making and the implementation of major strategies within a business. This free online course introduces the learner to IT and information systems in the workplace. The course outlines the nature of IT and the uses and systems IT presents in the workplace. The course also explains the changes that technology brings to the workplace, and the manager’s role in creating and controlling these changes. This course will be of great interest to management professionals who would like a better understanding of the role IT plays in business organisations, and it will also be of interest to learners who would like to learn more about managing information systems.<br />

Instructional Systems Design is the process of designing and developing instructional courses or materials that bring greater efficiency and effectiveness to acquiring knowledge or skills for learners. This free online course in Instructional Systems Design reviews important aspects such as learning theories and learning objectives and how they influence the design process. It also reviews the role of memory, needs analysis, and design models such as ADDIE (Analysis, Design, Development, Implementation, and Evaluation). Robert Gagne's Nine Events of Instruction are also discussed with examples of their application and use. Finally, learning technologies and how they are used to deliver training are reviewed, as well as techniques for measuring and evaluating the effectiveness of the instructional materials. This course will be of great interest to all human resources, teaching and training professionals who are involved in training, instructional design and e-learning, and who would like to learn more about important aspects of instructional systems design and their use and application in designing and developing highly effective instructional materials or courses.<br />

Investment and tax principles are very important topics in finance and professionals who act as investment and taxation advisors must have a thorough knowledge and understanding of these areas. In this free online financial course you will learn more about risk-and-return concepts, capital markets and explore various aspects of taxation such as understanding what tax deductions are and how to calculate the upper and lower bounds on forward settlement prices. This course will be of great interest to financial and business professionals who would like a greater understanding of investment and taxation practices and procedures, and to learners who would like to learn more about these fundamental areas of finance.

Introduction to Job Search Skills is a free online course which is designed for anyone who is beginning or is actively involved in a job search. The course covers different scenarios from students looking for internships or entering the workforce for the first time, to experienced professionals re-entering the workforce, changing industry/role or relocating. This course breaks down each scenario and describes what you should do to ensure that you secure your ideal job. You will also be introduced to the Six Step Method which is a structure with six steps anyone can use to identify the types of jobs they’d like, position themselves for these jobs, figure out what employers are looking for, develop relationships with prospective employers, stay connected throughout the decision-making process and fix any problems that might arise, and complete their search. This course will be of great interest to anyone who is actively looking for employment or considering a career change. It will also be of great interest to all professionals in the areas of career coaching and career guidance counselling.<br />

The free online course Introduction to Journalism provides information on the basic principles and practices in journalism, such as how to identify a story, how to gather facts, how to perform interviews and research, and how to create news articles while maintaining the highest journalistic ethics. The course begins by introducing you to the key elements of journalism such as identifying what is and what is not newsworthy, how to identify stories which are new, unusual or significant, and how to distinguish between a big news story and a small one. Next, you will learn about organizing and writing the feature story itself: you will learn how to define a feature story, what the basic approaches to writing the feature story are and what different types of feature stories there are. The basic processes and approaches involved in getting the required information for a feature story and putting it into an easily understood form is also explained. You will also learn about the four parts of an editorial, the different approaches to editorial titles and the three types of conclusions most commonly used in editorial writing. You will also learn about the different roles and responsibilities in a newsroom and how to use story weighting to assess a story's value and newsworthiness. Finally, you are introduced to the methods that address ethical issues which might arise during the course of journalistic activities with people, businesses and institutions. You will also learn how journalists must live up to the highest standards of integrity such as truth, fairness and sincerity, and you will learn why journalists must avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest. This course will be of great interest to professionals who work in the areas of communications and reportage and who want to learn how to tell stories in a way that will inform people in society. It will also be of great interest to all learners who would like to learn more about the key practices and procedures in journalism and who may want to pursue a career in journalism.<br />

Having adequate life insurance and retirement savings are two very important aspects of personal financial planning. This free online personal finance course introduces and explains the basic forms of both life insurance and retirement savings with an emphasis on its application in the U.S. Both term life insurance and whole life insurance are clearly explained with examples, the features of Traditional Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and Roth IRAs are reviewed and the similarities and differences between Traditional IRAs and 401(K)s are described. This course will be of great interest to all learners who are planning their personal finances and would like a clear knowledge and understanding of both life insurance and retirement savings. <br />

Personal financial debt can be a source of great anxiety and worry for many people, and it can be difficult to know where to start when you want to take control of your financial debts. This free online course helps you get started on the road to reducing your personal financial debts and becoming debt free. The course offers you a clear way of understanding exactly how much money you owe and to whom by setting up a debt spreadsheet, how to contact credit card companies to request a break on interest rates, how to prioritise which debt to pay off first, what strategy you should use to pay off debts based on minimum monthly payments or highest interest rates charged, and how to implement an emergency debt elimination plan if needed. This course will be of great interest to personal finance professionals who work with people who find themselves in financial difficulty and to anyone who wants clear guidance on how to reduce their personal financial debts and become debt free.<br />

<p>Manufacturing industries are a vital component of all modern economies and all of them require employees who are skilled - in and knowledgeable about - manufacturing processes. </p> <br /> <p>This Introduction to Manufacturing Processes will give you a detailed understanding of processes such as casting, forming, cutting and joining. It will review aspects of surface and optical materials engineering as well as examine a number of case studies related to these processes. </p> <br /> <p>The course is ideal for employees in manufacturing industries or business, professionals who want to learn more about this type of work, and anyone who might be seeking a job or career in a manufacturing industry. </p>

Marketing is a crucial function in any business or organisation, and is increasingly important in the modern globalized economy. This free online course will introduce learners to marketing strategies and tools that are used extensively in the marketing industry. You will learn about the ambiguous nature of marketing and its different meanings for different businesses. You will also discover the characterizations of marketing that are common to all businesses, despite their differences. This course will teach you about the different approaches that affect marketing campaigns used in different types of businesses. This course will be of great interest to marketing and business professionals who wish to refresh the basics of marketing and to learners who are interested in business and wish to have a greater knowledge and understanding of the role marketing plays in the modern business world.<br />

In the free online course Introduction to Marketing Management learn about the marketing process and how organizations conduct marketing. Effective marketing is essential in order for a business to be successful so it is important to have knowledge in the area.<br /><br />The course begins by introducing you to the process of marketing. You will learn how the marketing process operates. You will be introduced to core marketing concepts that are important to know before conducting any marketing. You will also learn about real-world examples where different companies have either failed or succeeded in their marketing strategy.<br /><br />Next, you will learn about how services are marketed. You will learn how the marketing of services is different to the marketing of goods. You will learn how marketing theory has changed over the years and what marketing theory is prevalent today. Finally, you will learn about the limitations that can exist with marketing theory. You will also learn about criticisms that have been made about marketing theory. This will give you a broad view of the advantages and disadvantages of marketing.<br /><br />This free course will be of great interest to business professionals and those who want to learn about the basics of marketing in the modern world. <br />

Introduction to Masonry is a free online course which is designed for anyone who wants to understand the work done by masons in the construction industry. Masonry is an ancient trade and refers to the building of structures using individual units that are bound together by mortar. The quality of the materials and the workmanship involved go a long way in building durable masonry structures. The course is divided into three modules, each covering an essential aspect of the trade: the history of masonry, tools and equipment, and measurements and drawings used by masons. The course also introduces the learner to basic masonry units such as clay bricks, concrete blocks, and stone. Furthermore, masonry tasks like the spreading of mortar, furrowing, buttering, and brick laying technique are discussed. The course provides a list of terms used in and associated with the profession. This free online course will be of great interest to all professionals who want to understand what the masonry trade encompasses and learn the basics of masonry. It will also be of interest to all learners who want to gain a comprehensive understanding of a mason's job.<br />

The free online course Introduction to Media and Culture guides you through the basic theories of mass media and new media and the different ways media affects culture.<br /><br />This course begins by developing an understanding of media and culture. In particular the course will look at the evolution of both media and culture over time, before examining mass media and popular culture. This course will also look at the development of convergence and established cultural values. <br /> <br />Next, you will be introduced to the effects of media and culture, which will help you to understand their impact on society. In order to achieve this, you will look at the messages which mass media can facilitate, as well as the theories surrounding media effects. You will also gain insight into researching media, and examine some controversies surrounding the field. <br /><br />This free online course will be of great interest to professionals working in the areas of media or culture, and would like to learn more about the field. It will also be of interest to learners would like to learn more about the effects which media can have upon our culture. <br />

This free online course Introduction to Mobile and Cloud Computing will help you to gain an insight into the development of mobile and cloud technology. The course will look at how the different types of mobile technology, and the emergence of cloud computing. <br /><br />First, you will be introduced to the basics of mobile communication. You will learn about the different types of mobile devices and their functions. You will be introduced to both Android, and mobile wireless communication. You will also examine the impact of 4G mobile wireless WiMAX. <br /><br />Finally, you will look at the influence of cloud computing. In particular, you will study the emergence of cloud computing. You will also examine the services cloud computing can provide, and learn about the providers of cloud computing. <br /><br />This course will be of interest to anyone who wishes to learn more about mobile and cloud technologies. It will also be of interest to anyone looking to increase their knowledge of how software works and interacts with hardware. <br />

The free online course Introduction to Modern Human Resource Management will introduce learners to practices and procedures used in modern human resources (HRM) departments. The course outlines the processes HR professionals go through to ensure they have the right employees at the right time to make sure the company is both productive and profitable. The course first introduces you to the seven main roles that HRM plays in business and why, in a constantly changing world, the HRM function is key to success. You will also learn about the array of skills needed to deal with a variety of HR situations and the challenges facing HRM today. Strategic planning is necessary to tie company objectives with HRM objectives and the course covers the steps in the development, writing and implementation of strategic plans, and how those plans should be developed. The course also introduces you to the employment cycle: from recruitment and selection, to job analysis and performance appraisals. Finally, the course introduces the concept of diversity and multiculturalism, discusses the diversity aspect of business, and why multiculturalism is so important to ensuring a healthy organization. This free course will be of great interest to all HRM professionals who would like to learn more about modern human resource practices and procedures, and to all learners who are interested in HRM as a career.<br />

This free course &quot;Introduction to Modern Project Management Theory and Practice&quot; is the first in a series of free online courses designed for anyone who wants to learn about contemporary project management. The course covers topics such as profiling projects, the phases and organizational structures within a project, and the tasks performed in a project start-up. The course series will proceed to investigate the impact of information and communications technologies and methodologies on the speed and efficiencies now possible within the project management area. It will help update the knowledge and understanding of project management of those with more traditional project management training. This project management course series is intended to be a natural progression to the highly popular ALISON course &quot;Diploma in Project Management&quot;. With organizations looking to deliver projects faster, cheaper and better project management has evolved continuously since the 1980’s to help address these needs, and this course lays down the foundations of project management, supported throughout by examples from real world projects. Learners will be introduced to project management concepts, phases, profiles, functions, structures, working documents and terminology. You will also learn the importance of managing customer expectations within the scope of a project. This free online course will be of great interest to learners who would like a career in project management, professionals who are involved in managing projects or any person who just wants to be able to manage personal projects more effectively. <br />

Music theory, one of our top online music classes, is the analysation of how music works - by studying the notation and language of music. Unlike other online music lessons, Introduction to Music Theory introduces the basic concepts and terms needed to discuss melody and harmony. Concepts covered include interval, major and minor keys and scales, triads, chords and beginning harmonic analysis.<br />The course is suitable for teens or adults with no background in music theory but some familiarity with reading common notation and playing an instrument (or singing).<br />