Online courses directory (1728)

The immune system plays a fascinating and vital role in the human body, recognizing outside threats and protecting our bodies against disease. This introductory immunology courses will help you understand the interactions of the immune system, and the jargon scientists use to describe immune function.

This is the second of a two-part course. In the first part we learned about innate immunity and B cell function. This second part covers T cell function and coordination of the immune response.

This immunology course surveys the cells of the immune system and describes how they talk to each other, receive information from the rest of the body and coordinate your defenses.

By presenting complex concepts in innovative, easy-to-understand ways, this course provides a solid introduction to how our immune system keeps us healthy.  

The immune system is very powerful and very versatile. Most people forget it is just as capable of destroying your own cells as it is those of a pathogen.

In this biology and life sciences course, we’ll flip the basic question of, “How does the immune system protect you?” to, “How can your immune system endanger you?”

First, we will look at basic mechanisms that determine whether the immune system is roused to action or instructed to stand down, including the roles of inflammasomes and T regulatory cells and the results of mutation to genes and their importance in producing regulatory proteins. Then, we will apply these insights to explain the etiology and treatment of autoimmune diseases and look at a variety of misdirected immune attacks, including allergies, attacks on red blood cells and cellular responses that can produce damage ranging from rashes to autoimmune cellular destruction. Finally we will discuss the protection of transplants from an immune system that views them as foreign invaders instead of necessary replacements.

Have you wondered how something was manufactured? Do you want to learn what it takes to turn your design into a finished product? This course introduces a wide range of manufacturing processes including machining, injection molding, and 3D printing; and explains the fundamental principles and practices of manufacturing at scale.

For each process, 2.008x explains the underlying physical principles, provides several practical examples and demonstrations, and summarizes design for manufacturing principles. Lectures are also included on cost estimation, quality and variation, robotics, and sustainability. Together, this knowledge will enable you to plan a manufacturing process for a multi-part product, make quantitative estimates of cost and throughput, and recognize important constraints and tradeoffs.

Whether you may be an engineer, entrepreneur, or from another field—by completing 2.008x you will gain the understanding needed to assess a wide variety of manufacturing techniques, identify potential improvements, and confidently pursue the scale-up of innovative products.

Taught by instructors with decades of experience on Wall Street, this economics and finance course provides students with a basic foundation in market structure, market structure science, and market mechanics.

You’ll learn about the major elements and concepts that form a market and determine its development. You’ll also learn about key market participants including market makers, brokers, asset managers, hedge funds and more.

This free course is from the New York Institute of Finance, a highly sought after designation that leading financial services and employers know and trust globally.

This free course is a great introduction to market structure. For a deeper understanding of financial markets and to be qualified to perform in the real world and meet the demanding realities of finance, see the NYIF’s professional certificate course Electronic Trading in Financial Markets.

Are you interested in obtaining a solid background in economics?

This economics course offers a thorough view of markets, including their strengths and failures. You will learn how to view markets from an economist’s perspective to help you better understand the most relevant economic problems.

This course follows a rigorous approach that combines visual arguments with realistic examples to help you connect core economic concepts with your own experience.

At the end of this course, you will be able to answer questions like:

• Why do most people in rich countries have a mortgage and why is it a problem that those in the developing world do not?
• Why is the environment one of the most challenging problems of modern societies?
• How could we estimate the economic impact of cannabis legalization?

The only required knowledge is certain familiarity with graph reading and basic high school mathematics.

Acerca de este curso
¿Estás interesado en obtener una base sólida en economía?

Este curso te ofrece una cuidadosa revisión del funcionamiento de los mercados, incluyendo sus ventajas y debilidades. Aprenderás cómo ver los mercados desde el punto de vista de una economista para tener una mejor visión de los problemas económicos más relevantes.
Este curso sigue un enfoque riguroso que combina argumentos visuales con ejemplos realistas que te permitirán conectar los conceptos económicos principales con tu propia experiencia.

Al finalizar podrás resolver preguntas como:

• ¿Por qué la gente de los países ricos tiene una hipoteca mientras que esto no ocurre en los países en desarrollo? ¿Es esto síntoma de un problema?
• ¿Por qué el medio ambiente es uno de los mayores problemas para las sociedades modernas?
• ¿Cómo podemos calcular el impacto económico de la legalización del cannabis?

El único requisito para este curso es familiaridad con lectura de gráficos y conocimientos básicos de matemáticas de bachillerato. Aunque el curso está en inglés, dispondrás de subtítulos en español para todos los vídeos y una copia de las transparencias usadas en español.

Nanoelectronic devices are an integral part of our life, including the billion-plus transistors in every smartphone, each of which has an active region that is only a few hundred atoms in length.

This nanotechnology course explains the fundamentals of nanoelectronics and mesoscopic physics.

Even with NO prior background in quantum mechanics, you should learn about cutting-edge developments and concepts that will prepare you for a future in nanotechnology and nanoelectronics.

Indeed we hope you will be excited to join the field and help invent the new devices that will shape the electronics of this century and meet its challenges.

Second in a two part series, this nanotechnology course provides an introduction to more advanced topics, including the Non-Equilibrium Green’s Function (NEGF) method widely used to analyze quantum transport in nanoscale devices. We will explore a number of topics within nanoelectronics, taking a more in depth look at quantum transport, gaining greater insight into the application of the Schrodinger Equation, and learning the basics of spintronics.

“The course was just awesome!”

- Student from Part A

This course is the latest in a series offered by the nanoHUB-U project which is jointly funded by Purdue and the National Science Foundation with the goal of transcending disciplines through short courses accessible to students in any branch of science or engineering. These courses focus on cutting-edge topics distilled into short lectures with quizzes and practice exams.

The modern smartphone is enabled by a billion-plus nanotransistors, each having an active region that is barely a few hundred atoms long. Interestingly the same amazing technology has also led to a deeper understanding of the nature of current flow on an atomic scale and my aim is to make these lessons from nanoelectronics accessible to anyone in any branch of science or engineering. I will assume very little background beyond linear algebra and differential equations, although we will be discussing advanced concepts in non-equilibrium statistical mechanics that should be of interest even to specialists.
 
In the first half of this course (4 weeks) we will introduce a new perspective connecting the quantized conductance of short ballistic conductors to the familiar Ohm's law of long diffusive conductors, along with a brief description of the modern nanotransistor. In the second half (4 weeks) we will address fundamental conceptual issues related to the meaning of resistance on an atomic scale, the interconversion of electricity and heat, the second law of thermodynamics and the fuel value of information.
 
Overall I hope to show that the lessons of nanoelectronics lead naturally to a new viewpoint, one that changes even some basic concepts we all learn in freshman physics. This unique viewpoint not only clarifies many old questions but also provides a powerful approach to new questions at the frontier of modern nanoelectronics, such as how devices can be built to control the spin of electrons.
 
This course was originally offered in 2012 on nanoHUB-U and the accompanying text was subsequently published by World Scientific. I am preparing a second edition for publication in 2015, which will be used for this course. The manuscript will be made available to registered students.
 
Sample comments:
From Roald Hoffmann, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roald_Hoffmann
Cornell University
 "… the pedagogical imperative in research is very important to me, and so I really value a kindred spirit. Your (Datta's) online courses are just wonderful!"
 
From anonymous student in previous offering.
"The course was just awesome .. Prof. Datta's style of delivering lecture is mind-blowing."
 
This course is the latest in a series offered by the nanoHUB-U project which is jointly funded by Purdue and NSF with the goal of transcending disciplines through short courses accessible to students in any branch of science or engineering. These courses focus on cutting-edge topics distilled into short lectures with quizzes and practice exams.

Fundamentals of Neuroscience is a three part course that explores the structure and function of the nervous system -- from the microscopic inner workings of a single nerve cell, to the staggering complexity of the brain, and beyond to the social interactions and societal dynamics that our brains make possible.

In this first module we’ll look at how individual neurons use electricity to transmit information.  We’ll invite you to build up a neuron, piece by piece, using interactive simulations, and we’ll take you on field trips in and around Harvard and Boston, bring you into the lab, and show you how to conduct DIY neuroscience experiments on your own.

Lessons will include video content, interactive content, forum spaces associated with the lessons, and in Lessons 3, labs and lab content.

You can move around within the lessons at your own pace. The only 'graded' part of the course is your final exam. You don't have to get everything correct to 'complete' lessons, you just have to engage with the content! 

Please note that this course is NOT hosted on the edX platform, but can be found at  www.mcb80x.org. To receive a certificate for this course, you must register for the course through EdX and successfully complete the final exam during an established exam period.

HarvardX requires individuals who enroll in its courses on edX to abide by the terms of the edX honor code. HarvardX will take appropriate corrective action in response to violations of the edX honor code, which may include dismissal from the HarvardX course; revocation of any certificates received for the HarvardX course; or other remedies as circumstances warrant. No refunds will be issued in the case of corrective action for such violations. Enrollees who are taking HarvardX courses as part of another program will also be governed by the academic policies of those programs.

HarvardX pursues the science of learning. By registering as an online learner in an HX course, you will also participate in research about learning. Read our research statement to learn more.

Harvard University and HarvardX are committed to maintaining a safe and healthy educational and work environment in which no member of the community is excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination or harassment in our program. All members of the HarvardX community are expected to abide by Harvard policies on nondiscrimination, including sexual harassment, and the edX Terms of Service. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact harvardx@harvard.edu and/or report your experience through the edX contact form.

In this second module we will explore how neurons communicate with each other.  We will investigate the collective behavior of neurons in small circuits and ways in which signals between neurons are modulated.

Each lesson will be media and content rich and will challenge you to master material with interactive segments that depend on your feedback to move forward in the lesson. You will be able to use virtual labs simulating neurons and circuitry to test your understanding of the course material. Lessons will also be filled with beautiful animations, exploring the richness and complexity of the brain. Documentaries focusing on cutting-edge topics in neuroscience will take you inside labs, hospitals and research institutions around Harvard, MIT and Boston, and quiz banks will allow you to test your knowledge on your own time.

Please note that this course is NOT hosted on the edX platform, but can be found at www.mcb80x.org. To receive a certificate for this course, you must register for the course through EdX and successfully complete the final exam during an established exam period.

HarvardX requires individuals who enroll in its courses on edX to abide by the terms of the edX honor code. HarvardX will take appropriate corrective action in response to violations of the edX honor code, which may include dismissal from the HarvardX course; revocation of any certificates received for the HarvardX course; or other remedies as circumstances warrant. No refunds will be issued in the case of corrective action for such violations. Enrollees who are taking HarvardX courses as part of another program will also be governed by the academic policies of those programs.

HarvardX pursues the science of learning. By registering as an online learner in an HX course, you will also participate in research about learning. Read our research statement to learn more.

Harvard University and HarvardX are committed to maintaining a safe and healthy educational and work environment in which no member of the community is excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or subjected to discrimination or harassment in our program. All members of the HarvardX community are expected to abide by Harvard policies on nondiscrimination, including sexual harassment, and the edX Terms of Service. If you have any questions or concerns, please contact harvardx@harvard.edu and/or report your experience through the edX contact form.

This course will provide you with a basic introduction to Linux^® skills using Red Hat^® Enterprise Linux 7. It will show you how a Linux system is organized, and will demonstrate introductory system administration tasks, which you will be able to practice on your own.

You will be introduced to reasons why Linux and the open source development model are so important in today's computing environment. Linux systems are used everywhere—the internet, point-of-sale systems, and the world's stock markets. You’ll find Linux running smart TVs, in-flight entertainment systems, and most of the top supercomputers in the world.

There are many reasons why it is valuable for you to learn Linux. If you are looking for new opportunities in IT, Linux skills are in high demand. For example, if you are developing applications, it's likely your application or its runtime is hosted on Linux. If you're working in the cloud, your cloud instances may be based on Linux, and your private or public cloud environment is also probably based on Linux. If you're working with mobile applications or the Internet of Things, it is also likely that the operating system of your device is based on Linux. And, if you use Windows, you'll need to interoperate with Linux.

After completing this course, you will have a solid introduction to working with Linux from the command line, using Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7 as a model. In applying these skills, you will be able to perform fundamental operational tasks, whether your Linux machine is on your desk or on a remote system across the Internet.

Since the introduction of mass production, the concept of “quality” has evolved from simple assembly line inspections to a broad approach to production and management involving an entire corporation. Quality has become a critical driver for long-term success through continuous process improvement and customer satisfaction. Quality Management today concerns the entire value chain, encompassing multi-tiered supplier networks and customer service and returns.

This business and management course balances the quantitative elements of quality engineering with a managerial approach to using quality in an organization to effect change. We cover the statistical basics needed for a Six-Sigma Green Belt certification, following the well-known process-improvement cycle: Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve, and Control. The most important quality methods and techniques are taught, including sampling, statistical process control, process capability, regression analysis, and design of experiments. Quality management is examined, from the viewpoint of quality incorporated into product design, measuring and controlling quality in production and improving quality, using interactive, guided projects and case studies. The course closes with the presentation of a full Six-Sigma project.

The contents of this course are essentially the same as those of the corresponding TUM class (Quality Engineering and Management) and will enable you to immediately understand and apply quality concepts in your work and research.

WHY TAKE THIS COURSE?

• Quality issues appear everywhere and affect the entire organisation.
• You'll quickly master quality concepts so that you can apply quality tools and drive quality programs within your own organisation.
• You'll gain the fundamentals for a Six-Sigma Green Belt in a manageable and positive learning environment, along with the chance to discuss with staff and fellow learners worldwide.

Este curso está destinado a estudiantes universitarios de la rama de las Tecnologías de la Información y las Comunicaciones que quieran conocer los mecanismos fundamentales de las comunicaciones por fibra óptica. También es adecuado para profesionales relacionados con las instalaciones de fibra óptica que deseen comprender aspectos fundamentales sobre la generación, propagación y detección de la señal óptica.

En él aprenderás los conceptos básicos relacionados con las comunicaciones ópticas. Tras comprender la importancia de las redes ópticas en la actualidad atendiendo a la evolución de la demanda y los servicios, se explicarán los fundamentos del guiado de la luz en la fibra óptica, así como las características de los modos propagados por fibras multimodo y monomodo. A continuación se estudiarán la atenuación y la dispersión, como efectos fundamentales de propagación en la fibra óptica, así como las limitaciones que éstos suponen en alcance y capacidad máxima. También se explicará la generación de señal óptica en LEDs y láseres, así como la detección y recuperación de la información transmitida por la fibra. Finalmente, el último capítulo permitirá al alumno realizar los cálculos necesarios para diseñar un sistema de comunicaciones ópticas, con la posibilidad de emplear técnicas multicanal WDM o SCM en estos sistemas.

En este curso se investigan las causas y se definen las leyes de la interacción electromagnética. Esta interacción es una de las más importantes que caracterizan nuestra vida diaria, ya que muchos de los fenómenos que se observan a nuestro alrededor, incluidos los químicos y biológicos, son debidos a la interacción electromagnética entre átomos y moléculas. Este curso se centra en analizar el origen de esta interacción y describir las leyes físicas que la gobiernan. 

Se aborda el estudio del universo físico analizando objetos en movimiento. Se definen y analizan todas las magnitudes y leyes físicas que permiten describir geométrica y causalmente el movimiento de cuerpos representados por un punto.

Trataremos:

• Magnitudes físicas y álgebra vectorial
• Fundamentos de cinemática del punto
• Tipos de movimiento
• Dinámica del punto
• Trabajo y potencia
• Energía mecánica

Understanding a city as a whole, its people, components, functions, scales and dynamics, is crucial for the appropriate design and management of the urban system. While the development of cities in different parts of the world is moving in diverse directions, all estimations show that cities worldwide will change and grow strongly in the coming years. Especially in the tropics over the next 3 decades, it is expected that the number of new urban residents will increase by 3 times the population of Europe today. Yet already now, there is an extreme shortage of designers and urban planners able to understand the functioning of a city as a system, and to plan a sustainable and resilient city. To answer questions like: Which methods can contribute to the sustainable performance of a city, and how can we teach this to the next generations, the ETH Future Cities Laboratory in Singapore has produced over the last 3 years many necessary research results. “Future Cities” aims to bring these latest results to the places where they are needed most.

The only way to better understand the city is by going beyond the physical appearance and by focusing on different representations, properties and impact factors of the urban system. For that reason, in this course we will explore the city as the most complex human-made “organism” with a metabolism that can be modeled in terms of stocks and flows. We will open a holistic view on existing and new cities, with a focus on Asia. Data-driven approaches for the development of the future city will be studied, based on crowdsourcing and sensing. At first, we will give an overview of the components and dynamics of the future cities, and we will show the importance of information and information architecture for the cities of the future. The course will cover the origins, state-of-the-art and applications of information architecture and simulation. “Future Cities” will provide the basis to understand, shape, plan, design, build, manage and continually adapt a city. You will learn to see the consequences of citizen science and the merging of Architecture and information space. You will be up-to-date on the latest research and development on how to better understand, create and manage the future cities for a more resilient urban world.

Feeding nine billion in 2050 without exhausting the planetary reserves is perhaps the greatest challenge mankind has ever faced. This course will examine the principles of production ecology and the ‘availability pillar’ of global food security that lie at the heart of food production. They can be applied to both crops and animal production. This course on the basics of crop production will discuss why yields in some parts of the world are lagging behind and identify the agro-ecological drivers that shape the wide diversity of production systems.

Furthermore, key issues relating to closing of yield gaps and how these link to different visions of sustainability will be explored.

This online course will be of great interest to international students and those with varied educational backgrounds, both professionally and culturally, to enrich their views and action perspectives related to global food security and food systems. Prof. Ken E. Giller will introduce you to crop production and underlying bio-physical principles in order to identify constraining factors in yield formation. He will explain how to assess yield gaps at the level of fields and production systems around the world, contributing to efficient resource management. Wageningen University and Research, through its unique systems-based approach to food systems, adds the phase of primary production to the broad context of global food security. 

Some video game designers are programmers in their own right, and may have even come from that background to a designer’s role. Others have a less formal background. All video game designers should have a solid understanding of what programmers can and cannot do, how assets interact with code, what algorithmic thinking is and how to take advantage of the capabilities of different engines and tools.

¿Es el ADN un microchip que nos guía por la vida? ¿Somos los seres humanos parte de la evolución?¿Por qué no hay dos personas iguales? Este curso ofrece una aproximación cercana y comprensible a las disciplinas de la genética y la evolución, para exponer la importancia de conceptos como ADN, gen, cromosoma, mutación, o selección natural, revelando cómo se interrelacionan de forma accesible cualquier persona interesada. Para ello se emplean ejemplos y demostraciones que facilitan la comprensión de todos los aspectos relevantes, así como permiten que el estudiante detecte la importancia de estas disciplinas en su propio entorno.

El curso analiza en detalle los mecanismos evolutivos, la especiación y el origen de la vida y de toda la variedad de especies de bacterias, hongos, plantas y animales que existen en la Tierra. También analiza el futuro de la diversidad y del planeta, y explica lo que tenemos en común todos los seres vivos, y qué nos diferencia de los seres inertes. A lo largo de las lecciones, se explican las características del ADN y cómo almacena la información para crear vida. El origen de los distintos genes y de las distintas variantes de cada gen, así como las consecuencias que tiene su existencia: desde la determinación del grupo sanguíneo hasta el origen de enfermedades. Con especial énfasis en cómo afecta la genética a nuestra especie: hasta qué punto es responsable de nuestro comportamiento, o de la expresión de algunas de las enfermedades genéticas, del origen de algunos tipos de cáncer o de las enfermedades víricas. También propone un enfoque descriptivo de otros aspectos sorprendentes de la biología, desde cómo trabajan las hormonas hasta cómo el cerebro se encarga de recordarnos que debemos alimentarnos para sobrevivir.

En este curso adquirirás una sólida perspectiva sobre el grado de importancia de la genética en tu vida personal, en tu entorno y en nuestra sociedad. Así como alcanza un firme punto de vista sobre el papel de la evolución en el origen, mantenimiento y diversidad de especies. La formación ofrecida en las disciplinas de la genética y la evolución ofrece aptitudes complementarias para los campos de conocimiento de la biomedicina, la biotecnología o la psicología. Así como una formación global muy adecuada para estudiantes inquietos de cualquier disciplina que quieran consolidar un conocimiento sobre nuestro genoma, nuestra especie, nuestro planeta y los seres que lo habitamos.

While the advances in genomics promise to usher a new era in medical practice and create a major paradigm shift in patient care, the ethical, legal and social impact of genomic medicine will be equally significant. The information and potential use of genomic discoveries are no longer issues left for scientists and medical professionals to handle, but have become ones for the public at large. Rarely a day passes without a genomics-related story reported in the media. By the end of this course, students will be able to better understand the field of genomics; be familiar with various online databases and resources; and understand and appreciate the medical, social, ethical, and legal issues associated with the availability of personal genomic information.

Given the diversity of the topics and the specific expertise required to cover each, this is a unique cross-disciplinary course where faculty from different disciplines including genetics, computational sciences, bioinformatics, genetic counseling, bioethics, law, and business will participate in lecturing. We have assembled a team of experts from various departments at Georgetown University and other institutions, to teach this comprehensive online genomics course.

For a detailed description of the weekly topics, see the course outline.

Are you fascinated by Geosciences and willing to take the challenge of predicting the nature and behavior of the Earth subsurface? This is your course!

In a voyage through the Earth, Geoscience: the Earth and its Resources will explore the Earth interior and the processes forming mountains and sedimentary basins. You will understand how the sediments are formed, transported, deposited and deformed.

You will develop knowledge on the behavior of petroleum and water resources.

The course has an innovative approach focusing on key fundamental processes, exploring their nature and quantitative interactions. It will be shown how this acquired knowledge is used to predict the nature and behavior of the Earth subsurface.

This is your ideal first step as a future Geoscientists or professional to upgrade your knowledge in the domain of Earth Sciences.