Online courses directory (801)

Nursing is a very important profession within the health care sector. The nursing profession focuses on the quality care of sick individuals within hospital settings and also on the care of individuals and families within society. This free online nursing course provides the learner with an overview of the skills, techniques, and approaches required to effectively treat a diverse range of patients. Key elements of the course introduce the learner to aspects and concepts of health, communication techniques and methods used to establish a patient’s basic needs to ensure the necessary care is provided. You will learn about the patient’s reaction to hospitalisation and illness together with the emotional response. You will review the stages of illness along with therapeutic communication techniques, interview techniques and communication approaches to apply when treating patients who are blind, deaf and speakers of other languages. You will also learn about transcultural nursing and how it addresses the issues encountered when providing medical care to diverse cultural groups, or those from cultures different from the nursing professionals. The course material also creates an awareness of the impact and associated challenges that can exist when providing patient care in transcultural settings. This free online nursing course will be of great interest to health care workers who would like to learn more about nursing skills, and to any learner who is interested in pursuing nursing as a career. <br />

A healthy diet is fundamental to sustaining life, supporting vital body functions and maintaining a disease free body. Correct dietary combinations are also necessary in supporting the patient’s healing and recovery process. This free online nursing studies course provides the learner with an overview of the key elements in diet therapy. The module Factors Influencing Diet introduces the learner to the intrinsic and extrinsic factors impacting the patient’s diet. The range of lifestyle, cultural and religious factors influencing diet and diet choice are reviewed and the resulting health implications for the patient are outlined. The module Reasons for the Therapeutic Diet examines the range of medical disorders requiring special dietary preparations to assist the healing process, correct an imbalance or supply necessary dietary nutrients when a pre-existing medical condition exits. The module Standard Hospital Diets identifies the range of food combinations used in diet preparation to meet the needs of patients with diverse medical and recovery needs. Food ingredients and preparation methods are outlined, enabling the learner to identify and match diet preparations to patient healing and recovery requirements. The vital active role of the practice nurse in diet therapy in assisting and supporting the patient recovery process is also discussed. The range of nursing interventions in the hospital and patient-care setting are outlined, as is the role of the specialist dietary practitioner. This free online nursing studies course will be of great interest to all professionals in the healthcare sector who would like to acquire a greater knowledge and understanding of diet therapy as a key factor in maintaining overall body health and wellness.<br />

Ensuring adequate health and safety is vital in the healthcare setting to prevent the spread of pathogens and to protect both the nursing professional and their patients. This free online nursing course provides the learner with an overview of important health and safety guidelines that aid in the prevention and transmission of human immunodeficiency virus and blood-borne pathogens. Other key elements of the course focus on good body mechanics that demonstrate the importance of correct posture and body alignment for lifting heavy objects or when moving patients or materials from one location to another. Ambulating the patient is one of the tasks the nursing professional performs regularly to assist the recovery process and ensure patient comfort, sleep, and relaxation when bed bound. The type and range of positions are outlined, together with procedures to apply when positioning and turning adult patients with specific spinal or surgical conditions. Range-of-motion exercises introduce the learner to the challenges presented by immobility, the impact on the patient’s overall body system, and the resulting psychosocial effects. The purpose, type, and time of exercises are discussed with guidelines for planning the appropriate range-of-motion exercises, the possible contraindications and the importance of documenting a patient’s progress. This free online nursing course will be of great interest to all healthcare professionals who would like to learn more about good nursing practices and techniques that help protect and maintain the health and safety of both nursing professional and patient in any healthcare setting.<br />

The daily responsibility for protecting the patient from additional injury or illness rests with the nursing team. Following on from the Introduction to Nursing Studies course, the learner is now introduced to the essential elements of adult patient care. This free online nursing course provides an overview of the skills and techniques required in areas such as advanced patient hygiene procedures, environmental health and safety awareness for the practice nurse, and how to ensure patient safety and comfort in the adult care setting. Advanced principles of hygiene provides the learner with an overview of the functions, methods and techniques applied in providing adult patient care with particular emphasis on the daily bath, oral hygiene and the benefits of a back massage in patient comfort. Essential patient personal care routines are also discussed. Environmental health outlines the necessary health and safety procedures relating to patient care and the safe operational use of electrical equipment. Patient care safety measures introduces the learner to techniques that help prevent falls and protect patients who are at risk from injury, burns or scalds, together with steps to prevent the spread of micro-organisms in the care environment. This free online nursing course will be of great interest to all healthcare professionals who would like to learn more about advanced nursing practices and procedures in adult patient care.<br />

Nursing staff provide essential support during all phases of the surgical cycle, which encompasses the peri-operative, pre-operative, intra-operative and recovery room phases. In this free online nursing studies course the learner is introduced to the vital roles performed by the medical team throughout the surgical experience. The range of surgical interventions performed in the treatment of disease and disorders are outlined, along with the related nursing implications and corresponding patient care procedures applied during the surgical cycle. Peri-operative patient care introduces the surgical experience with particular reference to the types and classification of surgical interventions, their function, risk level and impact on the patient. The pre-operative phase outlines patient preparation procedures which start once surgical intervention is agreed, through to the patient's arrival on the operating table. Nursing implications, patient care, communication and the relevant documentation process are outlined. The intra-operative phase refers to patient surgery and ends when the patient is transferred to the recovery room. The learner is introduced to the surgical team and their respective functions. The selection, type, effect and administration method of the anaesthetic agents is also discussed. Patients are transferred directly to the Recovery Room after the surgical intervention procedure is complete and remain there until sufficiently conscious to respond to stimuli. Key elements of the course focus on post-operative complications and patient care procedures in relation to body systems treated. This free online nursing studies course will be of great interest to all healthcare professionals who would like to acquire a greater understanding of the key phases in the surgical experience and the types of surgical interventions performed in the treatment of injury, disease and disorders. <br />

The essential role of nurse as caregiver is well recognised but the modern nurse can also be a team leader and healthcare teacher. This free online nursing course provides an overview of the varied dimensions associated with the practical nurse as team leader within the healthcare setting. The course defines team nursing as well as reviewing the types of leadership styles employed and their impact on team performance and productivity levels. Additionally, the learner is introduced to the practical nurse as teacher within the healthcare setting. Key elements of the course encompass teaching and learning strategies, factors which affect learning and steps in the teaching-learning process. The importance of preparation, lesson planning and evaluations to ensure effective delivery of the learning programme are outlined. This free online nursing course will be of great interest to healthcare practitioners and those learners who wish to develop their understanding of the varied and multi-dimensional role of the modern nursing professional.<br />

In order for the nursing professional to devise a correct, accurate and effective care plan for their patients, it is necessary to perform a series of medical tests and evaluations. This free online nursing studies course provides the learner with an overview of the vital role of the nursing professional in supporting both the Patient and Physician along with the procedures and techniques applied when performing the Physical Examination, the Physical Assessment, Specimen Collection and measurement of Patient Vital Signs to ensure accurate patient diagnosis and corresponding care plan. The learner will first gain an overview of the systematic approach to conducting an effective physical examination. Components of the physical assessment provides the learner with an overview of the assessment process which is based on subjective data from the patient's complaint and objective data resulting from tests carried out and observations made during the physical examination. Specimen collection provides a more focused series of test procedures to determine the functioning and health status of vital internal organs and body components. Patient vital signs are measured through weight, blood pressure, pulse and temperature readings. These measurements form the basis for other more in depth medical checks that are performed when necessary. This free online nursing studies course will be of great interest to all healthcare professionals who would like to learn more about practises and procedures utilised by nursing professionals for the effective diagnosis and treatment of patients in a healthcare setting.<br />

This free online course the Occupational Hygiene - Biological, Physical and Environmental Hazards introduces you to the skills and knowledge on various topics associated with working in an occupational hygiene environment. The course begins by introducing you to chemical and biological hazards. You will learn how to prevent biological agents from replicating and about diseases that can arise from contact with certain biological agents.<br /><br />You will then learn about noise and the health effects associated with excessive noise, and how to assess and control the level of noise in the workplace. From here, the course will introduce you to different ways exposure to vibration can be harmful to you and how to measure vibration.<br /><br />The course also presents you with information on human reactions to the thermal environment such as physiological responses to the heat and cold. In addition, you will learn about evaluating and controlling the thermal environment in multiple ways. The course will continue by introducing you to lighting, ionising and non-ionising radiation. You will learn about the effects of excessive exposure to these and how to evaluate and control this radiation to ensure safety at workplace.<br /><br />The final module of this course will show you the impact of behaviour and culture in occupational hygiene. You will learn about the importance of using behaviour modification to ensure safety in occupational hygiene. The course will conclude by informing you about controlling work-related stress and different careers associated with occupational hygiene.<br /><br />This course will be of great interest to professionals working in occupational hygiene, health and safety, and workplace safety. It will also be of interest to all learners who are interested in a career in occupational hygiene or related areas. <br />

In this free online course Operating Systems - Introduction to Memory Management you will learn about the different models for memory management. You will learn about virtual memory and segmentation the more modern versions of memory management compared to the models. You will learn about booting up a computer system and how and what it loads up till it gets to the user’s process.<br /><br />The course begins by introducing you to memory management in a computer system. You will learn about the single contiguous model and the partition model for memory management. You will learn about virtual memory, its structure and how the virtual address is mapped to a physical one.<br /><br />Next, you will be introduced to segmentation. You will learn how segmentation is more logical in dividing up a process compared to virtual memory. You will also learn how segmentation maps to physical addresses. You will learn about the structure of the xv6 operating systems memory and about the booting process when a computer system is powered on.<br /><br />This course would be of great interest to computer science students and computer engineers, and anyone who wants to learn more about memory management in computer operating systems.<br /><br />Perquisites: Learner will need to have completed the previous course Introduction to Operating Systems.

In the free online course Operating Systems - Introduction to Scheduling you will learn about scheduling processes in an operating system. The course also reviews methods for scheduling with a single processer, multi-processers, and scheduling in a Linux operating system.<br /><br />The course begins by introducing you to process scheduling. You will learn about the two types or classifications for processes: first come first serve scheduling and its advantages and disadvantages, and other scheduling techniques such as Shortest job first and Round Robin scheduling and what they involve. You will learn about priority based scheduling and about setting priorities for your processes, and techniques for multi-processer scheduling and how they work.<br /><br />Next, you will be introduced to scheduling in a Linux operating system. You will learn how Linux classifies processes into real time and normal processes, about the different schedulers Linux has used in their systems and how they work. The course also covers Completely fair scheduling (CFS), the main scheduler used in Linux currently, and how the CFS selects processes for running.<br /><br />This free Alison course will be of great interest to computer science students and computer engineers, and anyone who wants to learn about scheduling in computer operating systems<br /><br />Perquisites: The learner will need to have completed the previous courses: Introduction to Operating Systems, Introduction to Memory Management, Introduction to Operating Systems Processes and Introduction to Operating Systems Interrupts.

In the free online course Operating Systems - Introduction to Synchronization you will learn about Inter-process Communication (IPC) for process communication and data sharing. The course also introduces you to shared memory, message passing and signals all methods for IPC. <br /><br />You will learn about the critical section and problems accessing the critical section. You will learn about ways to access the critical section and how hardware can also help accessing it. <br /><br />The course begins by introducing you to Inter Process Communication (IPC). You will learn the main ways processes share data and communicate with each other. The course then introduces process synchronization and the Critical section, how to access the critical section using interrupts and build your own solution.<br /><br />Next, you will be introduced to the bakery algorithm, which is another method for accessing the critical section. You will learn about how hardware can help with accessing the critical section, and about the test &amp; set instruction, why Intel doesn’t support it but instead has its own xchg instruction. You will learn about Spinlocks, Mutexes and Semaphores and how they help with accessing the critical section. <br /><br />This free Alison course will be of great interest to computer science students and computer engineers, and anyone who wants to learn about Inter-process communication in computer operating systems.<br /><br />Perquisites: The learner will need to have completed the previous courses; Introduction to Operating Systems, Introduction to Memory Management, Introduction to Operating Systems Processes, Introduction to Operating Systems Interrupts and operating systems scheduling.

In the free online course Operating Systems - Understanding Hardware and Software Interrupts you will be introduced to interrupts and will learn operating how systems handle interrupts. <br /><br />The course begins by introducing you to interrupts in an operating system. You will learn about the different types of interrupts and how a system handles a hardware interrupt. You will learn about a programable interrupt controller and how it handles hardware interrupts. You will learn about the advanced programable interrupt controller, and how it is used for modern system. You will learn about steps in handling an interrupt. You will learn about what the CPU and operating system do in each of the steps in handling an interrupt.<br /><br />Next, you will be introduced to software interrupts, and how they are used for implementing system calls. You will learn about how system calls work and about some of the different types of system calls you can use. You will learn about the parameters passed into a system call and where they come from. You will learn what a resource descriptor is used for in a system call. You will learn about CPU context switching and when the occur. You will learn about the trap frame and what happens when a software interrupt occurs. You will learn about context switch overheads and factors effecting context switching time.<br /><br />This course will be of great interest to computer science students and computer engineers, and anyone who wants to learn more about Interrupts in computer operating systems.<br /><br />Perquisites: The Learner will need to have completed the previous courses: Introduction to Operating Systems, Introduction to Memory Management, Introduction to Operating Systems Processes.

In this free Alison course Operating Systems - Deadlocks and Threads you will be introduced to the important concepts of deadlocks and threads and their occurrence in operating systems. <br /><br />The course begins by introducing you to deadlocks. You will learn about the four conditions necessary for a deadlock to arise and how to prevent deadlocks from happening. The course also explains the concept semaphores and their role in deadlocks. You will also learn about the role of mutex in preventing deadlocks and be able to explain the dining philosopher’s problem. <br /><br />Next, this course will introduce you to threads. You will learn the difference between threads and processes and explain how different operating systems supports the use of threads. You will also learn about paralyzation and how threads are used in paralyzation. In addition, the course will also describe to you how threads are created and destroyed.<br /><br />This free course will be of great interest to computer science students and computer engineers, and anyone who wants to learn more about deadlocks and threads in computer operating systems.

In this free Alison course Operating Systems - System Security you will be introduced to methods and techniques that are used to secure operating systems from malicious bugs and viruses. Security has become extremely important in the modern digital age because systems are always on and are highly connected, and hackers and cyber-criminals are always looking for ways to insert malicious programs into vulnerable operating systems. <br /><br />The course begins by introducing you to secrecy, integrity, and availability with regard to security goals. You will learn about the denial of service attacks and the different access control techniques that can be used. This course will introduce you to information flow policies and leaky states and will also inform you about the difference between the Biba model and Bell-LaPadula module.<br /><br />Next, the course will provide you with in-depth knowledge on buffer overflows and stacks. You will learn about the use of buffer overflows and how an attacker can use these to create an exploit code. You will be able to implement different techniques to overcome buffer overflow vulnerability. This module will also explain libc and ‘how to return libc attacks’. Finally, you will learn what gadgets are in operating systems and how they can be used. <br /><br />This free course will be of great interest to computer science students and computer engineers, and anyone who wants to learn more about systems security in computer operating systems.<br />

The free online course Organizational Change - Managing and Supporting Employees presents you with a practical step by step guide on the most effective and efficient way to implement organizational change and how to manage and support employees through what can be for many a very difficult period in their working lives. With continuous changes in technology and increased competition due to globalization, organizations need to be able to continuously adapt to the changes occurring around them or face the risk of becoming irrelevant in the market place. This course will help you develop the change management skills necessary to do so. First you will learn how to successfully manage organizational change. You will study 9 key success factors that research on successful organizational change projects from all over the world indicate are crucial for change to be fully implemented. Each of these 9 key success factors will focus on a specific element of organizational change such as: the role of stakeholders, the development of a change plan, and risk management strategies. Next you will learn how to guide employees through organizational change. You will study the 11 key success factors necessary to ensure that your employees do not have a negative experience during the change period. You will learn how to empathize with your employees and see change from their perspective, learn why stability is important during a period of change, and how to develop a policy of open communication throughout the process. This free course will be of great interest to professionals working in an industry that is currently experiencing, or will soon be experiencing change, and wish to play a prominent role in the change management process. The course will also be of interest to small business owners who wish to learn more about guiding their business and employees through a period of change.<br />

This training course offers a comprehensive exploration of Outdoor Education and all its facets. The course takes a broad all-encompassing view and approaches the topic from a psychosocial, anthropological, geo-environmental, historic and marketing angle. This course will be of interest to anyone with an interest in outdoor adventure, either as a personal hobby, or in a professional capacity such as outdoor adventure guide or group leader.<br />

This second installment of the free Outdoor Education course examines the environmental impact of human activity and conservation, environmental management and sustainable living in the context of aboriginal Australia. This lesson is particularly valuable for those interested in adventure sports, outdoor activities and managing the environment for recreational purposes.<br />

The diversity of family units and the increase in parental separation has resulted in increased demands being made on schools where their child or children are enrolled. This free online course aims to clarify the role, responsibilities and implications for the school following parental separation. It provides an overview on parental separation and the rights of parents, custody disputes and the courts, children in care, school communication and school collection requirements according to parental status. A sample Custody &amp; Separation Policy and some useful links are provided as well as answers to some of the most frequently asked questions in this area. This short course is relevant to school principals, teachers, ancillary staff and even parents/guardians of school-going children. For the purpose of this course, the child is referred throughout in the singular format.

A wiki is a website that allows the creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser. Wikis allow content to be easily created and updated. They also allow previous versions of documents to be accessible. PBWorks is a Website that allows the creation of wikis. These wikis can be used for educational purposes, for work or in community organisations. This free online course shows you how to create a wiki with PBWorks in an easy, step-by-step manner. This course is ideal for learners who want to learn how to set up a wiki and lack the skills or knowledge to do it. <br />

Everyday our attitudes and opinions about our personal well-being are influenced by messages and advertising on the television, in newspapers, on the radio and Internet. How the media portrays health and fitness has a major influence on individuals and society as a whole. This free online course begins by looking at how we define what health is and how media and society influence our attitudes and opinions to what we think is healthy and what is not. The course then covers aspects of health and fitness such as healthy eating, aerobic fitness and how exercise affects mental health. This course will be of interest to any person who is interested in their health and wants to be informed and educated on ways to improve their own personal health and fitness.