Open Courses

iversity Open Courses make open educational resources and public domain content interactive, collaborative and social. Browse through the material, add what you feel is relevant and discuss with other learners. Join now - it's free!

Introduction to Computer Science and Programming

with Prof. Eric Grimsom & Prof. John Guttag (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

This subject is aimed at students with little or no programming experience. It aims to provide students with an understanding of the role computation can play in solving problems. It also aims to help students, regardless of their major, to feel justifiably confident of their ability to write small programs that allow them to accomplish useful goals. The class will use the Python™ programming language. http://ocw.mit.edu/terms/ Source: http://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/ more…
Introduction to Ancient Greek History

with Prof. Donald Kagan (Yale University)

This is an introductory course in Greek history tracing the development of Greek civilization as manifested in political, intellectual, and creative achievements from the Bronze Age to the end of the classical period. Students read original sources in translation as well as the works of modern scholars. Donald Kagan, Introduction to Ancient Greek History (Yale University: Open Yale Courses), http://oyc.yale.edu (Accessed November 8, 2011). License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/). The original version can be found here: http://oyc.yale.edu/classics/introduction-to-ancient-greek-history/. more…
The Poetry of John Milton

with Prof. John Rogers (Yale University)

This class is a study of Milton's poetry, with attention paid to his literary sources, his contemporaries, his controversial prose, and his decisive influence on the course of English poetry. Throughout the course, Professor Rogers explores the advantages and limitations of a diverse range of interpretive techniques and theoretical concerns in Milton scholarship and criticism. Lectures include close readings of lyric and epic poetry, prose, and letters; biographical inquiries; examinations of historical and political contexts; and engagement with critical debates. John Rogers, The Poetry of John Milton (Yale University: Open Yale Courses), http://oyc.yale.edu (Accessed November 8, 2011). License: Creative Commons BY-NC-SA (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/). The original version can be found here: http://oyc.yale.edu/english/milton/ more…
Physics II: Electricity and Magnetism

with Prof. Walter Lewin (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

In addition to the basic concepts of Electromagnetism, a vast variety of interesting topics are covered in this course: Lightning, Pacemakers, Electric Shock Treatment, Electrocardiograms, Metal Detectors, Musical Instruments, Magnetic Levitation, Bullet Trains, Electric Motors, Radios, TV, Car Coils, Superconductivity, Aurora Borealis, Rainbows, Radio Telescopes, Interferometers, Particle Accelerators (a.k.a. Atom Smashers or Colliders), Mass Spectrometers, Red Sunsets, Blue Skies, Haloes around Sun and Moon, Color Perception, Doppler Effect, Big-Bang Cosmology. http://ocw.mit.edu/terms/ Source: http://ocw.mit.edu/index.htm License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/ more…
Justice: What's the Right Thing to Do?

with Prof. Michael Sandel (Harvard University)

In this course, Sandel challenges us with difficult moral dilemmas and asks our opinion about the right thing to do. He then asks us to examine our answers in the light of new scenarios. The results are often surprising, revealing that important moral questions are never black and white. This course also addresses the hot topics of our day—affirmative action, same-sex marriage, patriotism and rights—and Sandel shows us that we can revisit familiar controversies with a fresh perspective. Source: http://harvard.edu License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/us/ more…
19th Century English Literature

Literature at a time of significant social changes

The 19th century was literary period that dealt with the dynamics of the French Revolution, the Industrial Revolution and the expansion of the British Empire. 19th century England produced two major literary genres: Romanticism and Victorian literature. Besides drama and poetry, the social problem novel and the gothic novel arose as categories in their own right. more…
Modern Political Thought

Political philosophy from Hobbes to Nietzsche

This course is an introduction to the major works of some of the greatest modern political thinkers. The course covers a number of key concepts necessary to understand the complex relationship between individuals and sovereign power, such as Locke's Social Contract, Rousseau's General Will and J. S. Mill's Harm Principle.This compilation of thinkers and their works is by no means exhaustive, and a number of other great philosophers should, and perhaps will, be added to it in the future. Nevertheless, their ideas were pivotal to the the formation of the modern state and the type of relationship formed between the individual and the sovereign. It contains, amongst other things, video lectures with Prof. Steven Smith (Yale), the thinker's major works available for annotation and a further bibliography. more…
Introductory Probability and Statistics for Business

with Prof. Fletcher H. Ibser (UC Berkeley)

Statistics 21 is a service course designed primarily for Business students. The beginning of the course introduces reasoning and logic; there is a more mathematical treatment of logic in the middle of the course. The middle of the course involves a fair amount of combinatorics—counting. The emphasis of the course is critical thinking about quantitative evidence. Topics include reasoning and fallacies, descriptive statistics, association, correlation, regression, elements of probability, set theory, propositional logic, chance variability, random variables, expectation, standard error, sampling, hypothesis tests, confidence intervals, experiments and observational studies, as well as common techniques of presenting data in misleading ways. more…
Italian Renaissance and Baroque Art

Italian art from the 13th to the 17th century

The Italian Renaissance, a period of marked cultural change and achievement, is considered by many scholars to be a cardinal point in Western Civilization. This course will explore the artistic movements in Italy spanning nearly 500 years -- from the beginnings of the Renaissance to the Baroque -- featuring artists such as Giotto, Duccio, Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Raphael, Botticelli, Caravaggio, Titian, and more. http://www.oercommons.org/ Source: http://smarthistory.khanacademy.org/ License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ more…
Best of TED

A selection of particularly inspiring "ideas worth spreading"

TED (Technology Entertainment and Design) is a global set of conferences owned by the private non-profit Sapling Foundation, formed to disseminate "ideas worth spreading". Since releasing the first TED-talks in the form of online video, TED talks have become an iconic format to disseminate breakthrough ideas to a global audience of thought leaders. TED has thus sparked an entire movement that places renewed emphasis on the importance of narrative and rhetoric to get a message across that goes way beyond merely reporting the 'facts'. more…
Understanding the Financial Crisis

A broad introduction to the financial crisis

This course draws on a number of resources such as lecture videos, info graphics and essential readings that help learners grapple with the complexity of the global financial system. Hear what nobel prize-winning economists have to say about what got us into this mess and discuss with others about what should best be done now. The course looks at the current Financial Crisis (2007 - today), gives some historical and theoretical background on previous financial crises as well as an outlook on future developments. more…
The Work of William Shakespeare

Learn more about a selection of Shakespeare's masterpieces

William Shakespeare's plays have the reputation of being among the greatest in the English language and in Western literature in general. This discussion group features a selection covering all genres from tragedy, to history and comedy. Ten of Shakespeare's most powerful plays feature all turmoil of the human condition: love and hate, laughter and fear, birth and death. Learn about Hamlet's trials and tribulations, Romeo & Juliet's romance, and Macbeth's hubris. more…
Open Courses

A discussion group on iversity's Open Courses

This group is for all those who like iversity's open courses and would either like to contribute by building a new course, becoming an administrator of a course or have ideas for existing or future courses. Thank you for your input! more…
The University in the 21st Century

Higher Education at the Dawn of the Digital Age

We share ideas online. We “hang out” online. We learn online. Everyday. And everywhere … except in the classroom. In recent years the Internet has increasingly become a place for social interaction. Yet in our universities we still work with “blackboards”. It is time for a digital revolution on campus. This class will cover the trends that make the adoption of technology a necessity (e.g. to increase access in India and Brazil) as well as the opportunities associated with the new forms of teaching and learning that currently emerge (e.g. NCAT, Open Educational Resources, Online Social Networks). more…