Online courses directory (1728)

Love letters generated by a computer. An online poem two hundred trillion stanzas long. A mystery novel in the form of a wiki. The story of Inanimate Alice, told through videos and instant messages. An ocean buoy tweeting remixes of Moby Dick. Welcome to the weird world of electronic literature—digitally born poetic, narrative, and aesthetic works read on computers, tablets, and phones. Experimental, evocative, and sometimes simply puzzling, electronic literature challenges our assumptions about reading, writing, authorship, and meaning.

Yet e-lit, as it is often called, has also profoundly influenced mainstream culture. Literature, film, comics, apps, and video games have all learned lessons from electronic literature. This course will trace the rise of electronic literature and explore both historic and contemporary works of e-lit. We’ll begin with electronic literature’s roots in avant-garde art and Cold War technology, and follow e-lit through the birth of the personal computer into the era of the Web and smartphone. At every step along the way the expressive power of new media—the way digital media enables and shapes different modes of creative and cultural expression—will be of particular interest to us.

Courses offered via edX.org are not eligible for academic credit from Davidson College. A passing score in a DavidsonX course(s) will only be eligible for a verified certificate generated by edX.org.

How do artists create visual effects? In order to create an artistic impression, artists select materials that allow image formation, and that lend color, emphasis, shape, and size to the object created.

A scientist might follow up by asking, why those materials?  What characteristics do they have that allow them to embody the artist’s intent? How durable are they? Will they maintain the same qualities, both physical and aesthetic, they had when the work left the studio?

Conservation science further notes that all materials deteriorate over time, and then asks a follow-up question: What physical interventions are possible to maintain, preserve and protect the work as the artist intended? Whatever is done to the art object, the result must be to make the work recognizable as the artist’s work or the result is a failure.  

That is a key goal of this course: to understand, from a chemical point of view, how conservation protocols and the material aspects of an art work allow a better appreciation of an artwork and its creation, as well as confidence that it is the artist’s work.

These are not new problems. According to Leonardo da Vinci, the study of art should include the following topics:

• A knowledge of materials
• The chemistry of colors
• The mathematics of composition
• The laws of perspective
• The illusions of chiaroscuro

As the briefest study of Leonardo's life shows, he was clearly ahead of his time in wanting to understand the reasons for a vast array of natural and artificial phenomena. Even so, a thorough understanding of those subjects listed above still escapes us today – but, progress has been made and that progress is at once the subject matter and the goal of this course.

Course banner painting: Unknown (previously attributed to Vincent van Gogh), Poppies, c.1886-c.1887, oil on canvas, Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Bequest of Anne Parrish Titzell, 1957.617

In part 3 of the How to Code – Systematic Program Design series, you will design programs that even experienced developers would find challenging. The design method you have been learning since How To Code - Systematic Program Design Part 1 will really deliver here, because you will be able to crank out these programs with relative ease.

By learning how to capture common data and control structures using abstraction, your programs will get shorter and better tested.

In this part of the course we will learn how to design search programs. You will design a program to solve Sudoku puzzles, and will be able to design many other puzzle solvers as well.

This course is part of the How to Code - Systematic Program Design XSeries Program: 

• How to Code: Systematic Program Design - Part 1
• How to Code: Systematic Program Design - Part 2

Learn practical research tools and how to leverage them to obtain customer understanding and insight. Learning will center on emerging areas of market research such as ethnography where customers are observed in their “home environments”, and where deep insights in their consumption behaviors can be developed. Unlike conventional survey or quantitative research, qualitative approaches provide insight into why customers make the decisions they do.

Qualitative research methods can help to uncover unmet wants and needs that customers sometimes cannot express in a traditional survey approach. This can be very useful in the early stages of innovation development where organizations are often dealing with “unknown unknowns.”

Participants will be taken through a systematic approach to designing different types of qualitative research that can help to uncover deep customer insights. After completing the course you will be able to effectively leverage these methods to facilitate success in early stages of the innovation process of an organization.

You will earn a professional certificate from the University of British Columbia and edX upon successful completion of this course. Certificates can be uploaded directly to your LinkedIn profile.

The Beauty and Joy of Computing (BJC) is a computer science principles course developed at the University of California, Berkeley, intended to broaden participation in computing to non-traditional groups. Computing has profoundly changed the world, opening up wonderful new ways for people to connect, design, research, play, create, and express themselves. However, just using a computer is only a small part of the picture. The real transformative and empowering experience comes when one learns how to program the computer, to translate ideas into code.

This course teaches students how to do exactly that, using Snap! (based on Scratch), one of the friendliest programming languages ever invented. It's purely graphical, which means programming involves simply dragging blocks around, and building bigger blocks out of smaller blocks. But this course is far more than just learning to program. We focus on seven big ideas (creativity, abstraction, data and information, algorithms, programming, the Internet, and global impact), and six computational thinking practices (connecting computing, creating computational artifacts, abstracting, analyzing problems and artifacts, communicating, and collaborating). Throughout the course, relevance is emphasized: relevance to the student and to society. This fun, introductory course is not just for computer science majors, it’s for everyone… join us!

Learn more about our High School and AP Courses

Have you ever wondered how information is transmitted using your mobile phone or a WiFi hotspot? This introductory course seeks to enable you to understand the basic engineering tools used and tradeoffs encountered in the design of these communication systems.  
 
This course is divided into three parts. In Part 1, we examine the point-to-point link, which communicates information from a single transmitter to a single receiver. Part 2 examines how multiple transmitters can share the same physical channel. Part 3 discusses how information can be transmitted reliably from one station to another over a network that connects multiple stations. Online interactive exercises are included to help build your intuition.

This course was inspired by and built upon the course 6.02 Digital Communication Systems developed at MIT, which Prof Bertram Shi worked on during his sabbatical in 2009.

Learn the core legal concepts underlying business compliance – the new paradigm in corporate accountability and risk management – in this four-part course designed for law firms seeking to expand their services for international clients and in-house counsel helping their companies go global. Hear top academics and practitioners explain the impact on transnational business operations, and the steps that enterprises can take to mitigate risk of civil and criminal liability.

Registration is available at a 50% discount for qualified students and those eligible to claim financial hardship. For more information please contact lawmooc@bu.edu.

Sustainability, defined by Rice’s Energy and Environment Institute (EEi), is energy security, affordability, and environmental responsibility as the three required foundational pillars.    

We will explore and understand the fundamental principles of energy sustainability from the perspective of the techno/economic framework and maturity of the market in the geography of interest. Global impact and the effects of global commerce will drive investment and the hierarchy of the three fundamentals. With an emphasis on the oil and gas sector, petrochemicals, and power industry, thought leaders will discuss these principles with participants in the context of real-world industry examples and share their personal insights on best practices and future trends.

The four-week course will examine three fundamentals of energy sustainability and their application in today’s dynamic industry landscape in oil and gas (upstream, midstream, downstream), petrochemicals (upstream and downstream), power and energy trading:

1. Available and secure supply of energy. A portfolio of options and interconnections of supply and demand for long-term access and systems analysis of best available options.
2. Affordable and competitive cost of energy. An analysis of economic competitiveness and investment options for not only generation but a systems analysis of total cost impact.
3. Environmental responsibility in the production and consumption of energy. An analysis of technical options and the optimizing of local and international policy and regulations.

Through guest presentations and interviews with business executives and thought leaders, case studies, cutting-edge research and interactive learning experiences, participants will build the relevant knowledge and capabilities to effectively deliver consulting and support services effectively to specific clients and enterprises in the market. Assessment will include methods such as quizzes, written reflections, individual/team projects, etc.

Louv1.2x and its predecessor Louv1.1x together give an introduction to all major programming concepts, techniques, and paradigms in a unified framework. We cover the three main programming paradigms: functional, object-oriented, and declarative dataflow.

The two courses are targeted toward people with a basic knowledge of programming. It will be most useful to beginning programming students, but the unconventional approach should be insightful even to seasoned professionals.

Louv1.1x (Fundamentals) covers functional programming, its techniques and its data structures. You’ll use simple formal semantics for all concepts, and see those concepts illustrated with practical code that runs on the accompanying open-source platform, the Mozart Programming System.

Louv1.2x (Abstraction and Concurrency) covers data abstraction, state, and concurrency. You’ll learn the four ways to do data abstraction and discuss the trade-offs between objects and abstract data types. You’ll be exposed to deterministic dataflow, the most useful paradigm for concurrent programming, and learn how it avoids race conditions.

To learn more about the practical organization of the two courses, watch the introductory video. 

This course will explore Jane Austen’s 1813 novel of manners,  Pride and Prejudice. Although the story of the Bennet sisters takes place at the turn of the 19th century, it still fascinates modern readers. One of the most popular books in the English language, Pride and Prejudice consistently placing near the top of lists of "most loved books." Modern interest in the book has resulted in a number of adaptations for film and stage--since 1940, there have been four TV and movie versions of this book, as well as a plethora of spin-off books, including Bridget Jones' Diary and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.

Participants in this course will read, discuss, and write about the text and its influence. As in most book clubs, the focus will be on lively discussion. Course materials will include background information for understanding the text, as well as vocabulary and language support. Assessment will include quizzes and short writing assignments.

This course explores a variety of electronic applications used in the promotion of healthy behavior, focusing on cases relating to physical health (electronic cigarettes), mental health (apps and wearables), and social health (e-mediation). In each of these areas, experts will share cutting-edge scientific knowledge and demonstrate some of the latest e-applications to boost healthy behavior. The course consists of 3 modules:

1. e-Cigarette: Promoting physical health. In this module, you will learn about the potential implications of e-cigarettes as a Tobacco Harm Reduction Strategy. You will gain contemporary scientific knowledge about the safety, efficacy, and potential health threats of using e-cigarettes.
2. e-Mental Health: Promoting mental health. In this module, you will learn about innovations in online, mobile and wearable tools used in mental healthcare (a rapidly expanding field), as well as their potential advantages and disadvantages.
3. e-Mediation: Promoting social health. In this module, you will learn about the core principles of mediation, and how you can use electronic communication to prevent escalation and promote conflict resolution during the mediation process.

This MOOC consists of knowledge clips, demonstration movies, exercises, discussion, and homework (reading) assignments.

¿Sabías que México fue uno de los últimos países que tuvo una reestructura del sector eléctrico?

El sector eléctrico es muy importante y tiene un fuerte impacto en la competitividad del país. La reforma al sector eléctrico mexicano abre oportunidades para que el estado y la iniciativa privada colaboren entre ellos.

La reestructura del sector eléctrico estimula la inversión en el desarrollo de la infraestructura de gasoductos, la modernización del parque de generación, dando prioridad a las energías limpias y la expansión de las redes eléctricas.

Este curso es una oportunidad única que te ayudará a comprender la situación previa a la reforma, la situación actual y los retos y oportunidades de negocio en el sector eléctrico.

This course will explore in depth Charles Dickens’ 1843 novella, “A Christmas Carol,” which has an important place in English language literature. It has given us enduring characters, such as Scrooge and Tiny Tim, and common sayings, like “Bah! Humbug!”. Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, you will find that this book offers important themes, including generosity, poverty, and social injustice.
 
Participants in this course will read, discuss, and write about the text and its influence. As in most book clubs, the focus will be on lively discussion. Course materials will include background information for understanding the text, as well as vocabulary and language support. Assessment will include quizzes and short writing assignments.
 
This is the first part of the BerkeleyX Book Club offerings.

How long should the handle of your spoon be so that your fingers do not burn while mixing chocolate fondue? Can you find a shape that has finite volume, but infinite surface area? How does the weight of the rider change the trajectory of a zip line ride? These and many other questions can be answered by harnessing the power of the integral. 

But what is an integral? You will learn to interpret it geometrically as an area under a graph, and discover its connection to the derivative.  You will encounter functions that you cannot integrate without a computer and develop a big bag of tricks to attack the functions that you can integrate by hand. The integral is vital in engineering design, scientific analysis, probability and statistics. You will use integrals to find centers of mass, the stress on a beam during construction, the power exerted by a motor, and the distance traveled by a rocket.

1. Modeling the Integral

1. Differentials and Antiderivatives
2. Differential Equations
3. Separation of Variables

2. Theory of Integration

1. Mean Value Theorem
2. Definition of the Integral and the First Fundamental Theorem
3. Second Fundamental Theorem

3. Applications

1. Areas and Volumes
2. Average Value and Probability
3. Arc Length and Surface Area

4. Techniques of Integration

1. Numerical Integration
2. Trigonometric Powers, Trig Substitutions, Completing the Square
3. Partial Fractions, Integration by Parts

This course, in combination with Part 1, covers the AP* Calculus AB curriculum.

This course, in combination with Parts 1 and 3, covers the AP* Calculus BC curriculum.

This course was funded in part by the Wertheimer Fund.

Learn more about our High School and AP* Exam Preparation Courses

Calculus 1A: Differentiation

Calculus 1C: Coordinate Systems & Infinite Series

*Advanced Placement and AP are registered trademarks of the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, these offerings.

The Beauty and Joy of Computing (BJC) is a computer science principles course developed at the University of California, Berkeley, intended to broaden participation in computing to non-traditional groups. Computing has profoundly changed the world, opening up wonderful new ways for people to connect, design, research, play, create, and express themselves. However, just using a computer is only a small part of the picture. The real transformative and empowering experience comes when one learns how to program the computer, to translate ideas into code.

This course teaches students how to do exactly that, using Snap! (based on Scratch), one of the friendliest programming languages ever invented. It's purely graphical, which means programming involves simply dragging blocks around, and building bigger blocks out of smaller blocks. But this course is far more than just learning to program. We focus on seven big ideas (creativity, abstraction, data and information, algorithms, programming, the Internet, and global impact), and six computational thinking practices (connecting computing, creating computational artifacts, abstracting, analyzing problems and artifacts, communicating, and collaborating). Throughout the course, relevance is emphasized: relevance to the student and to society. This fun, introductory course is not just for computer science majors, it’s for everyone… join us!

Learn more about our High School and AP* Exam Preparation Courses

Jane Eyre is a novel by English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published in 1847 under her pen name, Currer Bell.

Jane Eyre is often referred to as a bildungsroman, or coming-of-age story. It follows the feelings and experiences of the protagonist and title character, Jane Eyre, from youth to adulthood.  The story has both elements of social criticism as well as a strong moral core. Many critics have considered this book to be ahead of its time, mostly due to Jane’s individualism, as well as story themes that include classism, sexuality, religion, and feminism.

Participants in this course will read, discuss, and write about the text and its influence. As in most book clubs, the focus will be on lively discussion. Course materials will include background information for understanding the text, as well as vocabulary and language support. Assessment will include quizzes and short writing assignments.

Have you ever wondered how information is transmitted using your mobile phone or a WiFi hotspot? Gain an understanding of the basic engineering tools used and tradeoffs encountered in the design of these communication systems.  

This course is divided into three parts. In Part 1, we examine the point-to-point link, which communicates information from a single transmitter to a single receiver. Part 2 examines how multiple transmitters can share the same physical channel. Part 3 discusses how information can be transmitted reliably from one station to another over a network that connects multiple stations. Online interactive exercises are included to help build your intuition.

This course was inspired by and built upon the course 6.02 Digital Communication Systems developed at MIT, which Prof Bertram Shi worked on during his sabbatical in 2009.

Level Up! covers the complete Advanced Placement* Computer Science A course in unique and engaging ways. It's a significant change of pace from other online introductory programming courses. While you will rigorously learn the art of programming in Java, you will spend much of your time designing and writing games and simulations.  This course has no textbook because all the materials are online.  You’ll be reading; checking your understanding with self-tests; analyzing, modifying, and debugging code as well as writing it; and working with your fellow students to come to common understandings.  You’ll work with sounds and pictures (what do you sound like speaking backwards?), write adventure games and “smart” board games, and spend time trying to understand whole programs rather than just little pieces.
 
We’ve designed this course to help high-school students prepare for the Advanced Placement Computer Science test, and we’ll cover everything you need to know. It has been successfully used in classrooms for several years, and now its available for anyone, in school or not, through EdX. If you are an adult or a student who isn’t going to take the AP test, you are more than welcome to join!  We go beyond the minimum required by the AP committee, introducing graphics, mouse commands, and other tools for real programmers.
 
We based this course on the principles of “lab-centric” instruction, in which lectures are replaced by hands-on activities.  We won’t include long, fact-filled videos, and the webpages in this course will be your “textbook”.

Learn more about our High School and AP* Exam Preparation Courses

* Advanced Placement and AP are registered trademarks of the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, these offerings.

Global Health is a new field within public health sciences that integrates the knowledge from fields such as epidemiology, medicine, economy and the behavioral sciences. The main aim of the course, An Introduction to Global Health, is to describe and analyze variation in health between and within countries. This will provide an understanding of causes of the variation. The course will include measurements and determinants of health. Further, the course offers a public health perspective of the global burden of diseases. The course will specifically address: Maternal and Child Health; Sexual reproductive health and rights; Major infectious disease - malaria, TB, HIV, pneumonia; Non communicable disease; Mental health; Disasters; Injuries; Health systems and financing; and Health policy. Analysis will be done from a gender and equity perspective.

The course combines different teaching methods: lectures, self-study, and exercises using gapminder tools (Gapminder.org) to analyze indicators. An added value is that the course is open to participants from different parts of the world, which creates an intercultural learning and teaching environment.

By the end of this course, you should have a good idea of how these key global health challenges are approached by different stakeholders. You will have developed an understanding of what kind of solutions exist today and hopefully you will be curious as to how to make positive difference in the world.

Level Up! covers the complete Advanced Placement* Computer Science A course in unique and engaging ways. It's a significant change of pace from other online introductory programming courses. While you will rigorously learn the art of programming in Java, you will spend much of your time designing and writing games and simulations.  This course has no textbook because all the materials are online.  You’ll be reading; checking your understanding with self-tests; analyzing, modifying, and debugging code as well as writing it; and working with your fellow students to come to common understandings.  You’ll work with sounds and pictures (what do you sound like speaking backwards?), write adventure games and “smart” board games, and spend time trying to understand whole programs rather than just little pieces.
 
We’ve designed this course to help high-school students prepare for the Advanced Placement Computer Science test, and we’ll cover everything you need to know. It has been successfully used in classrooms for several years, and now its available for anyone, in school or not, through EdX. If you are an adult or a student who isn’t going to take the AP test, you are more than welcome to join!  We go beyond the minimum required by the AP committee, introducing graphics, mouse commands, and other tools for real programmers.
 
We based this course on the principles of “lab-centric” instruction, in which lectures are replaced by hands-on activities.  We won’t include long, fact-filled videos, and the webpages in this course will be your “textbook”.

Learn more about our High School and AP* Exam Preparation Courses

* Advanced Placement and AP are registered trademarks of the College Board, which was not involved in the production of, and does not endorse, these offerings.