Are you getting ready to take the AP Computer Science A exam? We here at Codecademy are here to help you get your study on with our AP Computer Science A Study Guide!
How do I use Codecademy to study?
One of the resources the College Board produces is the Exam Description. This document describes all of the topics that will be on the AP exam.
Specifically, there is an enormous list of Essential Knowledge. For example,
MOD-1.A.1 — System.out.print and System.out.println display information on the computer monitor.
We’ve mapped every Essential Knowledge from the College Board to a Codecademy lesson. Take a look through the following table. If you see a concept you’re unfamiliar with under the Essential Knowledge column, follow the link placed to the right of it! This will bring you to a free lesson where you can learn more about the topic.
Lessons
Our Codecademy lessons consist of several interactive exercises and are great resources to turn to if you’re unfamiliar with a concept.
A single exercise usually contains a narrative, checkpoints, and a code editor. After reading the narrative’s explanation of a topic, you’ll move onto the checkpoints that verify your understanding by having you use the code editor to perform a specific task related to the narrative. Once your code is satisfactory, you can move on to the next exercise.
Quizzes
Our quizzes test how well you retained the information from a lesson. Each quiz contains both multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions. After completing a quiz, you’ll receive a score about how well you did with the multiple-choice. If you don’t like your score, don’t worry — you can always retake the quiz to improve it.
Projects
You can apply your understanding of a lesson by working on a guided project. Projects on Codecademy are made up of different tasks for a learner to complete. Since projects are open-ended, it may take a while to finish your program. With your accounts, your work is saved to the learning environment so that you can continue working on your projects at a later time.
We also offer several Java-based courses for free learners to help you learn:
Wrapping Up
We hope this resource helps you feel prepared for the AP Computer Science A exam. Here at Codecademy, we’re rooting for you before, during, and after you complete the test. If you’re excited about programming and want to continue learning about how to create cool stuff with code, check out our student resource center.
How much has your fashion style changed during the coronavirus pandemic? Which styles do you think are here to stay and which do you think will be the first to go once the world opens up again?
In this lesson, you’ll travel across the world from India to Italy to see how months of self-isolation, lockdown and working and learning from home have affected what we wear. Then we invite you to report on the pandemic style trends in your community and make predictions about the postpandemic fashion future.
Warm-Up
Have your fashion choices changed during the pandemic? If you’re attending school online, do you still get dressed up? Or do you wear your pajamas all day? Do you miss the routine of picking out what you’re going to wear and getting ready in the morning? Or are you happy to put away the clothes, makeup, hairbrushes and shoes?
If you are returning to school in person, have you had to rethink your wardrobe? How so?
Take a few minutes to respond to these questions in a quick-write. Then share your thoughts about your pandemic style with a partner.
Questions for Writing and Discussion
The featured article explores fashion in seven countries around the world: Italy, Senegal, Brazil, India, France, Japan and Russia. Choose three of these countries and read about them. Then answer the following questions:
1. How much has the pandemic changed what people in these countries wear on a daily basis? What new trends are they seeing? What has remained the same, if anything?
2. In what ways has Covid affected people’s lifestyles in each of these countries? How has that lifestyle transformed their wardrobes?
3. How have the cultural attitudes around fashion influenced people’s pandemic style in each country you read about? Give at least one example for each.
4. How have people in these countries used clothes to push back against some of the malaise that has come with months of disruption and isolation?
5. What effect have the new fashion trends brought on by the pandemic had on the fashion industry in each of the countries you read about? In your opinion, is the effect mostly positive or negative? Why?
6. Compare the fashion in the three countries you read about. In what ways are their pandemic styles similar? In what ways do they differ? Why do you think that is?
7. The article begins by asking the question: “Have months of self-isolation, lockdown and working from home irrevocably changed what we will put on once we go out again?” How might you answer that based on what you read about pandemic fashion in three countries around the world?
Going Further
Option 1: Report on your community’s pandemic fashion choices.
Imagine The New York Times has invited you to report on how working and going to school from home have transformed wardrobes where you live.
Interview your classmates, teachers, friends and family members to find out about their pandemic style. What major changes have they made to their wardrobes over the past year? What have they been wearing and not wearing? If they are beginning to go back to school, work and social events after over a year at home, how has their fashion changed?
After your interviews, analyze patterns across their responses. What trends have become ubiquitous over the past year? How have your country or region’s coronavirus restrictions, or lack thereof, influenced these fashion choices? How have your area’s cultural attitudes related to fashion affected what people wear?
You might continue to do more research to see how fashion choices in your country have affected the fashion industry.
Then write up a short report about pandemic fashion in your community, emulating the structure and writing style of the reports featured in the article.
Option 2: Make fashion predictions.
How do you think people will dress when the world opens back up? We asked that question in our Picture Prompt “Fashion Predictions,” and students weighed in.
Sophia from Brooklyn wrote:
I for one am positively stoked about post pandemic fashion because I believe it will be explosive. For the last year, sweatpants and pajamas have become the mind-numbingly boring (if cozy) norm, and it’s getting old. So why wouldn’t people want to dress up? … I think we’ve kind of all been waiting to get out and strut our stuff this summer.
Caianne from Kentucky predicted:
I think fashion will become more outlandish after the pandemic is over. Many will want to show off their new styles along with experimenting more with creating outfits with less “matching” clothes.
And Aurora from Italy said:
I think that fashion is going to fluctuate after the pandemic. Personally, I like to wear cozy clothes but I must admit that I’m pretty tired of it.
What are your predictions? Do you think fancy fashions will return, and we’ll all want to dress up? Or do you think many of us will try to bring the cozy clothes we wore at home into our new work, school and social lives?
How do you want to dress when the world opens back up?
Debate these questions with your class, drawing on what you read in the article, as well as your personal experience, to support your position. Then post your response on our related writing prompt.
About Lesson of the Day
• Find all our Lessons of the Day in this column. • Teachers, watch our on-demand webinar to learn how to use this feature in your classroom.
The holy month of Ramadan began last week. Unlike last year, Ramadan 2021 will allow for communal experiences, uniting family and friends.
Do you celebrate Ramadan? If not, have you ever fasted, for religious or any other reason? What religious or spiritual traditions do you and your family or community observe? What does it mean to you to be able to gather with loved ones for holidays after more than a year of restrictions?
Tell us in the comments, then read the related article to learn more about Ramadan celebrations.
Students 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.
But there, bursting like flowers amid the ashen buildings, they hang in row upon row: piñatas, painted every color, from bright fuchsia to midnight blue to Baby Yoda green. On the sidewalk, a Spiderman piñata stands beside Batman, while Mickey Mouse leans against Sonic the Hedgehog.
And included among the copyright-be-damned cartoon characters, superheros and doe-eyed Disney princesses is a more recent addition to the Mexican piñata repertoire. Painted lime-green with a gold crown, spikes erupting in all directions, the coronavirus glares at passers-by.
… Transforming a deadly virus into a comic effigy might strike some as a risky business move, especially in a country with the world’s third-highest Covid-19 death toll. But Mr. Mena said his customers welcomed a chance to pummel a stand-in for an adversary that has wreaked havoc on the economy and devastated whole communities.
Daily Word Challenge
Can you correctly use the word effigy in a sentence?
Based on the definition and example provided, write a sentence using today’s Word of the Day and share it as a comment on this article. It is most important that your sentence makes sense and demonstrates that you understand the word’s definition, but we also encourage you to be creative and have fun.
Then, read some of the other sentences students have submitted and use the “Recommend” button to vote for two original sentences that stand out to you.
If you want a better idea of how effigy can be used in a sentence, read these usage examples on Vocabulary.com.
Students ages 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, and 16 and older elsewhere, can comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff.
What to do if a hurricane is forecasted? Don’t panic. All in one checklist, find the steps to take before a hurricane, as a hurricane approaches, during a hurricane, and after a hurricane.
If you live in a susceptible area, it’s especially important that you take precautions on how to survive a hurricane with these safety guidelines. All U.S. Atlantic seaboard and Gulf coastal areas are subject to hurricanes or tropical storms. See the 2019 Hurricane Forecast and 2019 Hurricane Names. The below checklist has been developed with tips from National Hurricane Center, FEMA, and the American Red Cross.
What is a Hurricane? A hurricane is a type of tropical cyclone that can cause torrential rains, high winds, storm surges, and flooding for 2 weeks or more over open water and can follow a path across the entire length of the eastern seaboard, its coastal areas, and barrier islands. According to the National Hurricane Center, a hurricane is primarily defined by its wind speeds, which must be 74 mph or greater (anything less, and the cyclone is classified as a tropical storm).
Safety Guidelines for Hurricanes Before a Hurricane: – Secure your property. Permanent storm shutters offer the best protection for windows and doors. A second option is to board up windows with ?” marine plywood—cut to fit and ready to install. Tape does not prevent windows from breaking. Install straps or additional clips to securely fasten your roof to the frame structure. This will reduce roof damage. Trim trees and shrubs around your home to minimize the risk of broken branches and debris. Clear loose and clogged rain gutters and downspouts to prevent misdirected flooding. Determine how and where to secure your boat. Consider building a safe room. Keep articles in your basement elevated to avoid damage from even minor flooding. Buy a fire extinguisher. Make sure all pets have ID tags.
– Keep a well-stocked Emergency Survival Kit in case you lose power. Find all local emergency shelters. Know your evacuation route. Have a “to go” bag ready if needed. Fill plastic bottles with drinking water. Think about what you might need if you are isolated for a number of days and must endure a power outage. Fully fuel your vehicles. Download the Red Cross Emergency App for iPhone or Android. Or text: ”GETCANE” to 90999 As a Hurricane Approaches.
If a hurricane is likely in your area, you should: Stay informed by monitoring the storm via local radio, NOAA radio, TV, and internet. Secure your home and close storm shutters. Even awnings can be broken and picked up by strong winds and potentially become a projectile. Bring all lawn furniture, trash barrels, hanging plants, toys, and gardening tools inside. Turn off utilities if instructed by authorities to do so. Otherwise, turn the refrigerator thermostat to its coldest setting and keep its doors closed. Turn off propane tanks. Cell phone and charges. But avoid using the phone, except for serious emergencies. Have a certain amount of cash available. If power is lost, ATMs may not be working. Moor your boat if time permits. Ensure a supply of water for sanitary purposes such as cleaning and flushing toilets. Fill the bathtub and other large containers with water.
Have on hand: fire extinguisher, emergency/first aid kit, prescription medicines, flashlight/batteries, blankets/sleeping bags, cooking/eating utensils, canned foods, water bottles, jumper cables, paper maps, GPS, toilet paper, toiletries, rain gear, stay inside. You should evacuate under the following conditions: If you are directed by local authorities to do so. Be sure to follow their instructions. If you live in a mobile home or temporary structure—such shelters are particularly hazardous during hurricanes (no matter how well fastened to the ground). If you live in a high-rise building—hurricane winds are stronger at higher elevations. If you live on the coast, on a floodplain, near a river, or on an inland waterway.
If you feel that you are in danger, only return once the authorities declare it is safe. Avoid all flood waters! Never drive or walk on flooded roads. During a Hurricane, if you have not evacuated, go to your safe room. If you do not have a safe room, follow these guidelines: Stay indoors and away from windows and glass doors. Close all interior doors—secure and brace external doors. Keep curtains and blinds closed. Do not be fooled if there is a lull; it could be the eye of the storm—winds will pick up again. Take refuge in a small interior room, closet, or hallway on the lowest level. Lie on the floor under a table or another sturdy object.
Recovering from a disaster is usually a gradual process. Safety is a primary issue, as are mental and physical well-being. Let your friends and family know that you are safe. Document any damage with photos. Do NOT drink tap water unless authorized to do so.
Author : DARITZA YSLA Degree : Bachelor Major : Accounting Country : United States Language : English
Build career-ready skills in data science by crafting a personalized learning journey with stackable courses and self-paced study. Plus, with performance-based admissions, you can earn acceptance into the program by demonstrating your skills, as opposed to going through a formal application process.
Anyone who completes a “Pathway Specialization” with a 3.0 GPA (B grade) or better can join the degree. A pathway is a series of 3 one-credit courses in either statistics or computer science. All the courses in these pathways are part of the core degree curriculum, so your progress will count towards completing your full degree.
As a student enrolled in CU Boulder’s new Master of Science in Data Science, you’ll have the opportunity to learn from top-tier faculty with decades of experience in statistics, computer science, information science, machine learning, and more. You will gain access to real-world big data sets, participate in hands-on projects that utilize cloud-based programming environments and Jupyter notebooks, and design and implement your own statistical models.
“This program teaches students how to understand and analyze data so they can summarize and predict behaviors,” said Jane Wall, the Faculty Director of Data Science Programs at University of Colorado Boulder. “Just as important, it teaches students how to communicate those results with their non-technical colleagues.”
CU Boulder is a pioneer in the field of online education; learners have been benefiting from the flexibility afforded by their innovative model since the launch of their first online graduate degree on Coursera. Last year, CU Boulder launched its groundbreaking online Master of Science in Electrical Engineering (MS-EE) program on Coursera, as part of the university’s commitment to expanding high quality education access to anyone, anywhere. The MS-EE program emerged from a partnership between the university’s Office of Academic and Learning Innovation and Electrical, Computer & Energy Engineering Department.
“Having that full control of your education was way more valuable,” said Matthew Daiter, the MS-EE program’s first graduate, about the performance-based admissions model. “You can choose your own path, you can set your own rules, and you can just go into these niche areas that you really want to explore and then just dive in.”
Ranked top-60 in Best Global Universities by U.S. News & World Report, the University of Colorado Boulder is proud to include five Nobel Laureates, five National Medal of Science winners, and 51 Fulbright fellows among its many outstanding graduates. We’re honored to expand our partnership with innovators like the University of Colorado Boulder and reach even more learners across the globe.
CU Boulder welcomes students for the Master of Science in Data Science (MS-DS) to enroll starting April 19, 2021. For-credit classes will begin on May 3, 2021, but you can start learning right away in the non-credit versions available on Coursera.
A guest post written by Arlette Hernandez – Instructor, Sara Bodinson – Teaching Staff, and The Black Reconstruction Collective
In 1937, Paul Revere Williams, one of the first Black architects in America, published an essay in American Magazine entitled “I Am a Negro.” In it, he wrote: “I came to realize that I was being condemned, not by lack of ability, but by my color.”
More than 60 years later, these issues persist, and the numbers paint a somber picture. In 2020, the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) reported that only two percent of licensed architects in the United States are Black; and the percentage of Black women architects is even lower (0.4% of 2%). But the problem of representation extends beyond architecture.
Whether in film and television, music and literature, or cultural institutions like museums, Black artists are continually under-represented and under-celebrated. For example, a 2019 study found that across 18 of the largest art museums in the United States, less than 2% of artists in the permanent collection are Black.
Reconstructions: Architecture and Blackness in America is not only the first exhibition in the history of The Museum of Modern Art to explore the intersection of Blackness and the built environment; it is also one of the few instances in which the Museum has displayed the work of Black designers. As architect V. Mitch McEwen states in an interview with the New York Times, “MoMA created an effectively White Only architecture archive and department, by design,” having only ever collected the work of two Black designers throughout its 92-year history.
With such histories embedded in our cultural institutions, it’s no wonder that the path for emerging creatives feels obscured, or more often, non-existent.
A key component of Reimagining Blackness and Architecture, The Museum of Modern Art’s tenth online course on Coursera, is highlighting the contributions of Black makers from past and present. Not only as a way of exploring how Black artists have shaped the world around us but also as a way of sharing stories and advice with emerging creatives so that they might be able to find inspiration for their own practices or find ways to carve their own paths.
With this goal in mind, we asked the architects featured in the course, who have formed the Black Reconstruction Collective, to share advice for emerging creatives and people looking to enter the arts. Their answers encourage individuals from all backgrounds to look for and build their own communities, to create the types of spaces they need, and most importantly, to dare to dream. Though some answers are specific to the field of architecture, at the heart of their words is advice that can apply to any field.
Emanuel Admassu, Assistant Professor at Columbia University and Co-Founder of AD–WO: The only advice I would give a young Black architect is to make sure that you identify or build a community around yourself that allows you to think through the things that you are extremely passionate about. And to value that work by making sure you’re surrounding yourself with an audience that is as passionate about that work as you are. We need to keep making spaces that allow people of color to value themselves and the ideas that they are bringing into the world.
Germane Barnes, Assistant Professor at University of Miami and Founder of Studio Barnes: The advice that I would have for emerging architects and creatives is different depending on your skin color—and I’m just going to be honest. If you’re a Black emerging architect or designer, you’re going to have to work five times as hard as your non-Black counterpart. You’re going to have to find your own resources and reach out to your own mentors.
Sekou Cooke, Assistant Professor at Syracuse University and Principal of Sekou Cooke Studio: I think anyone interested in architecture has to be really critical of the things that they see in the world. Critical in terms of always evaluating what they see. Always understanding how what they see came to be, understanding how it’s made up, understanding how or what caused it, where it came from. And then find ways of describing that, find ways of documenting that.
J. Yolande Daniels, Assistant Professor at the University of Southern California and Co-Founder of studio SUMO: When I was younger in architecture, I felt silenced a lot. I didn’t see my reality reflected in the institutions that I was in, and that can be silencing. But then I looked in other places, in other fields where work was going on to question the role of Black people. Don’t let yourself be too limited by your immediate surroundings. Explore broadly and look for community in parallel places. One of the things that’s been really helpful for me is looking at other fields. You can take ways of working, ways of thinking, different strategies, and apply them to what you’re interested in doing. Anything can be an inspiration depending on how you see it and what you do with it. You might not necessarily see yourself immediately reflected, but be persistent.
Felecia Davis, Assistant Professor at Pennsylvania State University and Principal of Felecia Davis Studio: It’s important to make space for yourself to dream and not to listen to the negativities from people who say that your ideas are not real and that they’re never going to be built. I would say they’ve got it wrong. That, in fact, a dream is a built thing. It is a real thing. And it’s important to be able to do that to actualize yourself in the world.
Mario Gooden, Associate Professor and Co-Director of the Global Africa Lab at Columbia University and Principal of Huff + Gooden Architects: The Black Reconstruction Collective was formed as a means of visibility and as a means to give support to other Black creatives: designers, architects, artists. In order to be an architect, one has to be able to see oneself within that role, be able to see others in that role. And so, the Black Reconstruction Collective also sees itself as a form of mentorship to others. We can be the visual symbols that enable those who are ready to enter the profession and younger people—like myself, when I was a middle schooler—who may not have ever known an African-American architect, but wondered how to become one.
Walter J. Hood, Professor at University of California, Berkeley and Founder of Hood Design Studio: The advice I would have for emerging designers and creatives is, one: don’t think of yourselves as being in a category. Learn the art, learn the culture in which you want to participate. I think the Black Reconstruction Collective is a way for those of us who have practices to be part of a larger culture. Because the culture right now is so spread out. The second piece of advice would be to claim ownership of your ideas. There’s a power in ideas, and there’s a power in owning those ideas. I think the more conversations we can have around a lot of these issues, the more power we can have, collectively, as a group of creatives and designers.
Olalekan Jeyifous, Visual Artist and Founder of Vigilism: I would simply say, get started. Don’t wait for the perfect opportunity, don’t wait for a particular venue or a particular institution and institutional support. If you are able to, begin your explorations. I think that was an interest of all of us in the Black Reconstruction Collective—the idea of not having to rely on institutions or institutional support to really begin investigating and exploring these ideas and creative practices.
V. Mitch McEwen, Assistant Professor at Princeton University and Co-Principal of Atelier Office: The architecture field in the United States is predominantly white. And what that means is that we have to unlearn a false history and at the same time cobble together the actual history. Part of what we’re doing at the Black Reconstruction Collective is unearthing these stories, because the erasure of Black and brown people, of Indigenous people, from architecture and design—it has nothing to do with us. It’s not because we weren’t there.
Amanda Williams, Visual Artist and Founder of Amanda Williams Studio: I think the best advice I have is probably advice that’s been given a million times in a million different contexts. It sounds cliche, but it’s really true—you have to be who you’re waiting for; you have to create the institutions that you want. The benefit of today is that you have a bunch of me’s that are waiting to help you. And I had a few more me’s than the generation before me, and they had a few more them’s than the generation before them. So it’s really critical that if you’re looking for advice from me about what you need to do, you should be giving advice at the same time for the next person. And then we can all just go do it together, and it’ll get done.
Today, we’re excited to share new innovations that support learner goals, educator efficiency, and skill-based learning within institutions. Learners, educators, and organizations can use these tools on Coursera to develop in-demand skills and scale learning programs in a rapidly changing world.
Improving learner success and accessibility
Of the 77 million learners on Coursera, more than 80% are outside the U.S. To best serve our diverse audience, we’ve focused on tools and features that support an even more inclusive, learner-friendly experience:
REAL-TIME PERSONALIZATION – Whether a learner just joined or has been on Coursera for years, they’ll see real-time, personalized recommendations for Guided Projects, courses, Specializations, MasterTrack®️ Certificates, and degrees, helping them find content that fits their interests and goals. Many aspects of personalization have already launched, with more rolling out over the quarter.
IN-COURSE SEARCH – Learners will be able to quickly find material inside their course by searching for words or phrases in any video, reading, or supplemental resource. Launching later this quarter.
SUBTITLE TRANSLATIONS – Learners can now choose their preferred language for more courses thanks to machine-generated translations, which created Spanish, French, Portuguese, Russian, German, Italian, Vietnamese, and Arabic subtitles for over 2,000 top courses.
ACCESSIBILITY SUPPORT – To ensure the learner experience across web, mobile, and Guided Projects is accessible to learners of all abilities, we’ve focused on support for screen readers and keyboard navigation, closed captions, visual affordances, and much more.
PERSONALIZED LEARNER DIGEST – Once enrolled in a course, a learner receives an automatic weekly email digest — built on a reinforcement learning model — focused on self-reflection, goal-setting, and planning for the week ahead in their current course.
FORUM RECOMMENDATIONS – Driven by AI models, relevant forum thread recommendations will be visible on programming assignments, helping learners easily find the right guidance and support from the Coursera learner community. Launching later this year.
Creating scalable tools for educators
As more educators move online, they need to be able to author content efficiently and effectively, offer hands-on learning experiences, manage grades and program operations at scale, and monitor student or content performance at any time. With these wide-ranging educator needs in mind, we’ve introduced:
COURSE CONTENT UPLOAD – To upload courses in under one minute while adhering to Coursera’s pedagogical best practices, educators can design and build content directly in a new spreadsheet template from Coursera.
LMS CONTENT INGESTION – More educators will be able to easily migrate content directly from their LMS to Coursera, speeding up the course authoring process with near real-time updates.In fact, during our pilot, the product saved educators an estimated 67% in time building their course on Coursera. Launching later this quarter.
LAB ASSIGNMENTS – With the latest version of lab assignments on Coursera, educators can use the default Jupyter Notebook, VSCode, and RStudio labs to teach data and computer science skills while leveraging a built-in autograder to create hands-on learning experiences at scale.
GRADING INTEROPERABILITY – Educators can leverage industry-standard tools to grade at scale, including Gradescope and Turnitin, with WISEflow coming later this year.
PROGRAM STAFF MANAGEMENT – This self-serve tool enables educators to efficiently manage staff permissions at a program level for their MasterTrack and degree programs.
COURSE INSIGHTS DASHBOARD – This dashboard equips educators with more granular and actionable insights into learner behavior in a course — namely around assessments — including average attempts to pass a particular version of an assessment, number of learners who completed all assessments, and average scores.
MASTERTRACK STUDENT SUCCESS DASHBOARD –This dashboard provides metrics, including grade predictions, based on each student’s performance and engagement in the MasterTrack program. These metrics then enable educators to scale support with tailored student interventions. Launching later this quarter.
MARKETING DASHBOARD – Educators can easily measure the impact of their marketing efforts on learner engagement in their courses, Specializations, and Professional Certificates through a self-serve marketing dashboard.
REVENUE DASHBOARD – This dashboard enables educators to track and analyze the financial performance of their content on Coursera over time, highlighting revenue by business line, product, and product type, with the option to download the data for offline analysis.
Supporting high-quality online and blended learning programs with Coursera for Campus
With universities and colleges creating more for-credit online learning programs, the stakes are higher when it comes to getting online learning right. We’re focused on building tools to support higher ed institutions in creating their own, customized online programs:
PLAGIARISM DETECTION – To further deter academic dishonesty, we enabled a similarity score checker with Turnitin for peer reviews in Coursera for Campus programs, which in its pilot led to a 50% decrease in plagiarized submissions.
FOR-CREDIT LEARNING – With the curriculum builder tool, university decision-makers can pick the right for-credit courses on Coursera for their students. Educators can then use the fixed schedules feature to align the selected online courses with their institution’s academic terms. Launching later this quarter.
PROGRESS MONITORING AND GRADEBOOK – Improvements to the admin feature will help faculty better identify struggling students in need of intervention — an especially critical tool in for-credit programs. Launching later this quarter.
Powering skill-based learning within organizations
According to the World Economic Forum, as in-demand skills continually shift, 94% of business leaders report that they expect employees to pick up new skills on the job. To address this trend, we created skills-focused tools:
SKILL DEVELOPMENT PLATFORM – With Academies, SkillSets, and the Skill Development Dashboard 3.0, organizations can drive digital literacy, upskill teams with critical skills, and reskill talent for in-demand jobs – all while tracking employee skill progress.
DIAGNOSTICS – Employees will be able to assess their proficiency in a SkillSet using diagnostics, then receive recommendations on what courses they should take to increase proficiency. Launching later this quarter.
Keeping up with the dynamic needs of learners, educators, and institutions requires constant product innovation. Whether it’s a new feature for an individual course or a revised authoring flow for MasterTrack Certificates or degree programs, we’re constantly developing tools that help us serve the global learner community and connect anyone, anywhere with high-quality online learning.
By Betty Vandenbosch, Chief Content Officer at Coursera
The world of work is rapidly changing. In the next five years, over 50% of employees will need to reskill for new jobs, and 40% of core skills will change for those who remain in their roles.
Today, I am excited to share that six new MasterTrack®️ Certificates and four new university certificates from leading Indian universities are now live on Coursera. These will help learners reskill and upskill to succeed in high-demand, digital fields. We also offer 1,500 Guided Projects to help learners apply their newly acquired skills.
MasterTrack Certificates provide degree pathways
MasterTrackprograms make degree learning more accessible by splitting degrees into modules that learners complete in 3-12 months. Upon completion, learners earn a university-issued certificate, and the certificate counts as credit if they choose to continue their education and are accepted into the full degree program.
The new MasterTrack Certificates are from leading universities around the globe. They include our first MasterTrack program from an Ivy League university, our first Spanish-language business MasterTrack Certificate, and our first MasterTrack program from Australia:
Health Informaticsfrom Yale University – To foster data-first biomedical, clinical, and public health leaders, this Ivy League program focuses on clinical information systems, clinical research, health data standards, natural language processing, and artificial intelligence. This MasterTrack Certificate serves as a pathway to the Yale School of Public Health MPH or Yale’s Online Executive MPH.
Data Analytics for Managersfrom Tufts University – Experts from Tufts, a leading university known for its unique combination of research and liberal arts, teach students how to apply critical thinking and data analysis to influence product development, operations, marketing, and sales decisions. This certificate counts as four credits if admitted to Tufts Online Master of Science in Engineering Management.
Business Administrationfrom Universidad de Palermo – From one of the top five universities in Latin America, this Spanish-language program teaches students the leadership, HR, digital marketing, and technology management skills needed to run businesses. This MasterTrack Certificate counts as credit for UP’s online MBA.
Global Leadership and Human Resource Managementfrom Macquarie University – Designed to foster adaptable leaders, this MasterTrack program teaches students how to motivate staff, better enable organizations to achieve strategic objectives, and use teamwork to power innovation. The completed program counts as credit if accepted into the fully online Global Master of Business Administration degree, which is ranked the best global online MBA in Australia.
New university certificates from IIM Calcutta and IIT Roorkee teach job-relevant skills
We are also unveiling four certificates from leading Indian universities. With live sessions and networking opportunities, these interactive programs provide learners the practical training needed to advance their careers and prepare for senior roles.
Management Sciencefrom the Indian Institute of Management Calcutta (IIM Calcutta) – Students learn from faculty at one of India’s most prestigious business schools how to use analytics and models to make data-driven decisions that solve real-world business problems.
Supply Chain Analyticsfrom IIM Calcutta – By focusing on real-world problem solving, this program teaches how to optimize supply chains and improve efficiency by using better frameworks, tools, and analytics.
Advanced Machine Learning and AIfrom the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT Roorkee) – From one of India’s top 10 universities, this certificate uses hands-on learning to teach the advanced ML techniques and skills needed to build deep learning models and AI applications. The first cohort is expected to start in 2022.
Data Science and Machine Learningfrom IIT Roorkee – Learn fundamental data science techniques, including Python programming, data analysis, and data visualization, and then apply those skills to create models that solve real-world problems. The first cohort is expected to start in October 2021.
1,500+ Guided Projects provide hands-on learning opportunities
As people learn, they must apply their skills — otherwise, 75% of new information is forgotten. Guided Projects teach job-relevant skills in less than two hours and allow learners to immediately practice their skills using new tools while working alongside expert instruction.
Since launching last year, learners have enrolled in over 2.5 million Guided Projects. We’ve grown the number of Guided Projects by 15x since last April and now offer over 300 projects in Spanish, Arabic, French, Portuguese, and Russian.
We are excited to work with leading university partners around the globe to continually grow our job-relevant catalog and offer pathways to degree programs. Whether learners need to quickly grasp a new skill at work or pursue life-transforming degrees at their own pace, they can achieve their goals through a powerful learning experience on Coursera.
By Betty Vandenbosch, Chief Content Officer at Coursera
I am pleased to announce five new degrees from leading international universities, including the first degree programs on Coursera from universities in Brazil and India. With today’s launch, we now offer 30 degrees from university partners across nine countries.
We are also proud to add ten new university partners to the platform, including Dartmouth College, University of Notre Dame, Parsons School of Design at The New School, Queen Mary University of London, Indian Institute of Management Kozhikode, Sungkyunkwan University, Khalifa University, University of Naples Federico II, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú, and Jordan University of Science & Technology.
The lessons we have learned as a community over the last year are reshaping how education is delivered. As students prioritize flexibility and affordability, we are partnering with leading universities to meet the demand for online degrees. In 2020, 91% more degree students studied on Coursera than in 2019.
We are launching these world-class degrees today:
Bachelor of Science in Marketingfrom the University of London– Leading academics at Royal Holloway, University of London, one of the top 25 universities in the UK, will prepare students for a successful marketing career. The program will equip students with a combination of conceptual and technical marketing skills, ranging from analyzing global markets to developing e-commerce and digital marketing plans within an ethical framework. Applications for the October 2021 cohort will open at the end of June. UoL plans to introduce open courses in June so that students can try a course before applying.
UoL’s Vice-Chancellor, Professor Wendy Thomson, said, “Students in the Computer Science BSc with Coursera have had a life-changing experience, and I am confident that the marketing degree will serve students equally well.”
Master of Business Administration from Fundação Instituto de Administração – Ranked as the No. 2 Executive MBA in Latin America, this English-language degree teaches essential business skills alongside frameworks on how to navigate future shifts and emerging technologies. With weekly live sessions and a curriculum focused on hands-on learning, students will learn how to create business solutions for emerging markets. Applications for the September 2021 cohort are now open, and students can try an open degree course today.
“We are proud to launch FIA’s MBA, one of the best in Brazil and the world, on Coursera. Through our partnership, we will combine the content from our renowned professors with Coursera’s experience in online learning to reach more students across the globe,” said professor Renata Giovinazzo Spers, General Director of Profuturo-FIA.
Master of Business Administration in Business Analytics, Master of Arts in International Relations, Security, and Strategy, and Master of Arts in Public Policy from O.P. Jindal Global University (JGU) – JGU, a leading private university in India, is launching three degrees on Coursera. The MBA in Business Analytics is a specialized program that teaches business professionals how to apply data analytics and data science to identify and solve business problems — preparing them for strategic, managerial, and analyst roles. The M.A. in International Relations, Security, and Strategy program teaches diplomacy, conflict resolution, ethics, and intelligence analysis to help students develop a holistic approach to international affairs. Finally, the M.A. in Public Policy prepares students for leading policy and civil service positions by teaching them to analyze policy, explore real-world policymaking first-hand, and enhance their managerial skills. Students can now apply for the MBA in Business Analytics, M.A. in International Relations, Security and Strategy, and M.A. in Public Policy for the September 2021 cohort.
“With the exciting launch of three online master’s degree programs from O.P. Jindal Global University, we aim to provide knowledge in the fields of business, public policy, and international relations and deliver a transformational, personalized online learning experience through our partnership with Coursera,” said Founding Vice-Chancellor and Professor Dr. C. Raj Kumar of JGU.
We also expanded our MasterTrack portfolio with six new MasterTrack® Certificates that provide direct pathways to degrees. These programs split degree learning into programs that learners can complete in a few months — and can count as degree credit if learners are accepted to the full program.
To further enhance the learner experience on Coursera and make it easier for educators to create in-demand content, our product team has introduced a number of new product innovations.
We are honored to work with leading university partners to expand the selection of high-quality, affordable, and flexible degrees. By increasing access to job-relevant programs, we hope to prepare a whole new generation of students for a promising future.
