fbpx
Home Blog Page 889

Coursera university partners rise in new US college rankings as focus shifts to outcomes 

By
onlinefreecourse
-
0
Coursera university partners rise in new US college rankings as focus shifts to outcomes 

By Marni Baker Stein, Chief Content Officer at Coursera

For over a decade, the best universities have partnered with Coursera to help reshape higher education by expanding access and outcomes for learners worldwide. The latest U.S. college rankings reflect this commitment and account for social mobility, educational equity, and student outcomes.

I want to congratulate our partners who were overwhelmingly represented across three leading U.S. college rankings recently released: U.S. News 2024 Best Colleges, Wall Street Journal/College Pulse 2024 Best Colleges in the U.S., and New York Times College-Access Index. 

2023 U.S. college ranking highlights

  • 59 partners were featured in the 2024 U.S. News 2024 Best Colleges Ranking, with 55% of partners in the top 50.
  • 59 partners featured in the latest WSJ ranking, with 32% of partners in the top 50.
  • 50 partners featured in New York Times’ new College-Access Index, 14% in the top 50.

Our U.S. partners ranked highly in the top 20 of both the U.S. News and WSJ rankings. Princeton University topped both lists, while Stanford University and Yale University placed in the top five. Columbia University rounded off the top 5 in WSJ’s list of best colleges. Several institutions made major gains against the new criteria, further solidifying their groundbreaking progress.

Prioritizing student outcomes

As more students weigh the value and ROI of a college education, this year’s rankings rebalanced key factors. WSJ placed greater emphasis on outcomes, including graduation rates and graduate salaries. 

Advancing social mobility

The latest U.S. News rankings emphasized social mobility and outcomes by measuring first-generation graduation rates, graduate rates across all socioeconomic backgrounds, and increased earning potential. Many of our partners saw significant jumps in the U.S. national university rankings.  

Increasing access for diverse students

Several partners are featured in the New York Times’ College-Access Index, which ranked the most selective U.S. colleges on economic diversity. The ranking analyzed the share of students receiving Pell Grants, federal aid given to students in financial need. 

We are so proud of our partners’ rankings this year, which reflect their incredible work expanding access and increasing attainment in higher education. Together, we’ve empowered more than 129 million learners — from all walks of life and nearly every country in the world — to transform their lives by learning from the best universities. 

Word of the Day: sentience

By
onlinefreecourse
-
0
Word of the Day: sentience

The word sentience has appeared in 22 articles on NYTimes.com in the past year, including on July 15 in “Can A.I. Invent?” by Steve Lohr:

Dr. Thaler’s patented system has some ingredients similar to those in generative A.I. models like ChatGPT, and others that are not. He describes his system as having the machine equivalent of feelings. It becomes digitally excited, producing a surge of simulated neurotransmitters, when it recognizes useful ideas, setting off “a ripening process, and the most salient ideas survive.”

Dr. Thaler said the ability to recognize and react in that way amounted to sentience, and his generative A.I. system is called DABUS, for Device for the Autonomous Bootstrapping of Unified Sentience.

Can you correctly use the word sentience 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 sentience 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.

The Word of the Day is provided by Vocabulary.com. Learn more and see usage examples across a range of subjects in the Vocabulary.com Dictionary. See every Word of the Day in this column.

Our Own Language

By
onlinefreecourse
-
0
Our Own Language

A recent article from the Style section reports:

The word for a TV remote is marote; for chicken, it’s chimpken, and for the Aperol Spritz cocktail it’s app-a-ball spitz-ee. Shrimp is swimps, hair ties are hair gigglies and Starbucks is Starbonks.

All of these are examples of so-called marriage language, the weird and oftentimes embarrassing dialects people in long-term relationships develop to communicate with their partners.

It’s typically a mishmash of inside jokes (giving friends and family members nicknames) and purposeful malapropisms (slipping up and mispronouncing bird as birb), plus faux abbreviations (a shower is a show show, spinach becomes spinch) and code words for cruder terms (every couple seems to have their own word for passing gas).

Does your family or group of friends have its own language — made-up words, abbreviations, codes or nicknames that only you know and use with one another? If so, tell us about one of those terms and how it came to be.

Why do you think we tend to communicate in this unique way with the people close to us? What does it mean to you to have a special language with your friends or family?

Tell us in the comments, then read the related article to learn more about “marriage language.”

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, 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 and may appear in print.

Find more Picture Prompts here.

Breaking

By
onlinefreecourse
-
0
Breaking

Breaking — the dizzying athletic dance style that accompanied the rise of hip-hop — is debuting as an Olympic sport at the Paris Games in 2024. Some breakers are excited about what the international spotlight may bring, while others say “breaking is an art form, not a sport.”

Have you ever watched or participated in a breaking competition, whether formal or informal? What do you think of the dance’s inclusion in the official Olympic program? What do think it might mean for the future of breaking?

What other sports would you like to see in the Olympics, and why?

Tell us in the comments, then read the related article to see how breakers are grappling with their big moment.

Students 13 and older in the United States and Britain, 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 and may appear in print.

Find more Picture Prompts here.

Coursera announces access for Business, Government, and Campus learners to over 4,000 AI translated courses in 7 of the world’s most popular languages

By
onlinefreecourse
-
0
Coursera announces access for Business, Government, and Campus learners to over 4,000 AI translated courses in 7 of the world’s most popular languages

By Leah Belsky, Chief Revenue Officer 

For much of the world, access to educational opportunities is often limited to only those who speak English. As emerging technologies create new skills requirements and the education and work landscape becomes more globalized, language barriers create impediments to collaboration, productivity, and economic opportunity. 

AI has now allowed us to bridge the language and learning divide for millions around the world. We are excited to announce access to over 4,000 AI translated courses in seven of the world’s most widely spoken languages for business, government, and campus customers and their learners.  

Now native speakers of Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese (Brazil), French, German, Bahasa Indonesia, and Thai gain unparalleled access to the world’s best educators, empowering them with skills to thrive in a digital and AI-first world. The newly translated courses include translations that cover lecture video subtitles, course readings, quizzes, assessments, assignments, instructions, discussion prompts, course descriptions, and syllabi. 

With in-demand skills training now available in local languages, businesses can boost employee engagement and productivity and governments can help job seekers unlock new career opportunities in the digital economy. Data science teams in Indonesia can Create Machine Learning Models with Microsoft Azure in Bahasa Indonesia while their regional counterparts in Europe take the same course in German and French. Unemployed Brazilians in the Espiritu Santo workforce development program can take Introduction to Project Management from IBM in Brazilian Portuguese.

Higher education institutions can address enrollment and curriculum gaps by integrating online courses from leading global experts in their local language, including in key areas such as STEM and digital skills. University students in the UAE can now take Cloud Computing Foundations from Duke University in Arabic while students in Mexico can learn Introduction to Machine Learning from Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Spanish. 

With the toggle experience, learners have the option to practice skills in their local language or use subtitles for English courses to advance their English language proficiency in specific workplace skills. 

Learners can now access top courses in their local language including:

There are currently over 33.1 million registered learners on Coursera based in countries that speak one of the seven translated languages as their official language. In the coming months, we plan to expand access to several additional languages. 

We are excited to share additional improvements that will transform the learner experience:

  • Clips on Program Home and Skill Pages: Bite-sized content recommendations have been added to program home and skill pages to help kickstart learning. 
  • Clips in Collections: Add bite-sized content to collections to help support your learning objectives. Directs learners to the most relevant Clips, which expand to deeper learning and skill development.
  • Skill Progress Over Time: Visualize skill progress for your learner population all in one place. View skill progress in aggregate for learners from quarter to quarter, with detailed information on how individual learners are advancing in a specific skill. 

To see the full list of translated Coursera courses currently available, click here. 

For more information on how to leverage this new functionality to achieve your organization’s learning goals, visit our Help Center articles or reach out to your Coursera account manager. 

Coursera announces access for business, government, and campus learners to over 4,000 AI translated courses in 7 of the world’s most popular languages

By
onlinefreecourse
-
0
Coursera announces access for business, government, and campus learners to over 4,000 AI translated courses in 7 of the world’s most popular languages

By Leah Belsky, Chief Revenue Officer 

For much of the world, access to educational opportunities is often limited to only those who speak English. As emerging technologies create new skills requirements and the education and work landscape becomes more globalized, language barriers create impediments to collaboration, productivity, and economic opportunity. 

AI has now allowed us to bridge the language and learning divide for millions around the world. We are excited to announce access to over 4,000 AI translated courses in seven of the world’s most widely spoken languages for business, government, and campus customers and their learners.  

Now native speakers of Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese (Brazil), French, German, Bahasa Indonesia, and Thai gain unparalleled access to the world’s best educators, empowering them with skills to thrive in a digital and AI-first world. The newly translated courses include translations that cover lecture video subtitles, course readings, quizzes, assessments, assignments, instructions, discussion prompts, course descriptions, and syllabi. 

With in-demand skills training now available in local languages, businesses can boost employee engagement and productivity and governments can help job seekers unlock new career opportunities in the digital economy. Data science teams in Indonesia can Create Machine Learning Models with Microsoft Azure in Bahasa Indonesia while their regional counterparts in Europe take the same course in German and French. Unemployed Brazilians in the Espiritu Santo workforce development program can take Introduction to Project Management from IBM in Brazilian Portuguese.

Higher education institutions can address enrollment and curriculum gaps by integrating online courses from leading global experts in their local language, including in key areas such as STEM and digital skills. University students in the UAE can now take Cloud Computing Foundations from Duke University in Arabic while students in Mexico can learn Introduction to Machine Learning from Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Spanish. 

With the toggle experience, learners have the option to practice skills in their local language or use subtitles for English courses to advance their English language proficiency in specific workplace skills. 

Learners can now access top courses in their local language including:

There are currently over 33.1 million registered learners on Coursera based in countries that speak one of the seven translated languages as their official language. In the coming months, we plan to expand access to several additional languages. 

We are excited to share additional improvements that will transform the learner experience:

  • Clips on Program Home and Skill Pages: Bite-sized content recommendations have been added to program home and skill pages to help kickstart learning. 
  • Clips in Collections: Add bite-sized content to collections to help support your learning objectives. Directs learners to the most relevant Clips, which expand to deeper learning and skill development.
  • Skill Progress Over Time: Visualize skill progress for your learner population all in one place. View skill progress in aggregate for learners from quarter to quarter, with detailed information on how individual learners are advancing in a specific skill. 

To see the full list of translated Coursera courses currently available, click here. 

For more information on how to leverage this new functionality to achieve your organization’s learning goals, visit our Help Center articles or reach out to your Coursera account manager. 

Want to be a Freelance Web Designer? Here’s What You Need to Know 

By
onlinefreecourse
-
0
Want to be a Freelance Web Designer? Here’s What You Need to Know 

Freelancing is a great way to bolster your resume and income, and all you need to start designing websites are two languages: HTML and CSS. You can pick up all of these languages and skills in our path Build a Website with HTML, CSS, and GitHub Pages.  

On top of your basic programming skills, there are lots of AI tools and useful web development frameworks that can help you go from a hobbyist to a freelance professional. “With a lot of the website builders that exist today, you don’t have to be insanely good at [coding],” says Rebecca Richard, senior digital content and design strategist at Cyber Collective and freelance web and UX designer. 

Still, you’ll need more than programming skills to be a successful freelancer, and ahead, Rebecca shares a few tips that can help you succeed as a freelance web designer.

Learn something new for free

Handle your business like a pro 

Running your own business means you’ll need a mix of soft skills and entrepreneurial skills to find clients, build rapport and relationships, and get paid for your hard work. 

Rebecca provides her clients with welcome and handoff documents that outline their projects and the resources they need to maintain their new websites. She also uses software to streamline proposals and payments and facilitates all interactions in a client portal. This helps keep everything in the same place and everyone on the same page. “It’s really easy to take on a project and just spend as much time as you need on it because you’re having fun and nobody’s tracking what you’re doing,” Rebecca says. “But you kind of lose track of how much you really need or how much you spent on things.” 

(BTW, if you need a refresher on how to use Microsoft Excel to organize your freelance business, try our free course Learn Microsoft Excel for Data Analysis.) 

Talk to the people around you 

If you live in a metropolitan area with a lot of small businesses, you might be able to find work in your local community. Rebecca suggests pitching face-to-face when you can. “If you can go speak with somebody in person, that’s definitely the way to do it,” she says. “People feel better about hiring you when they see you’re a real person.” 

Try coming up with a quick elevator pitch and keep an eye out for opportunities. Rebecca’s first clients were a yoga studio and car racing company in her hometown. She found another job for a restaurant owner while having brunch with her husband. “It’s uncomfortable and super awkward, but business owners love working with other business owners,” Rebecca says. “Especially with a skill like this; a lot of people need your help.” 

And if you can’t any clients IRL, try digital networking. Having a strong personal brand is a great way to get your name out there, and you can share content about your work to showcase what you can do. Rebecca shares peeks into the freelancing world on TikTok, and several clients have reached out to her directly from the platform. 

Use subcontractors and AI 

As we mentioned, freelancing requires a lot of different skills, and you might occasionally come across a task that’s outside your area of expertise. And while we’re big proponents of picking up new skills or filling your knowledge gaps, sometimesw2qol it’s easier to just let someone (or something) else handle it. 

For example, if you only know HTML and CSS but your client wants you to design a website with a database, you could hire a back-end developer as a subcontractor. That way you can take some work off your plate and better focus on the work you actually enjoy. “You don’t have to be able to do everything, sometimes it’s better to just focus on what you do best,” Rebecca says. “Get really good at that, then ask for help or outsource when it’s needed.” 

And in some cases, you can have AI do most of the hard work for you. “I’m not a huge copywriter; I don’t enjoy that part of web design,” Rebecca says. “But now I can compensate with all of these AI tools.” Here’s a quick writeup on how you can use AI tools to round out your skills. 

Find someone to learn from 

Figuring out how to get to the next level can be difficult as a freelancer because you’ll generally lack the mentorship opportunities that come with many full-time roles. And it’s especially nerve-wracking when you have to learn something on the fly and immediately test it out on a project with your name attached, Rebecca says. 

That’s why she suggests connecting with other designers and developers in digital communities where you can ask for advice or feedback on your work. “You can go crazy when you’re working by yourself for a long time, so it’s good to have people that you can level and share experiences with,” she says. 

If you haven’t already, try networking with other developers in the Codecademy forum, Discord, or your local chapter. And if you don’t have any freelance projects to show off your coding skills, you can pick one from our projects library to build and share with other developers (and learn something new in the process). 

Adjust your title as necessary 

New freelancers might be hesitant to apply to jobs that don’t perfectly align with their roles or specializations. Feelings of impostor syndrome are common, especially for people that taught themselves coding and lack a formal degree. But Rebecca says don’t let impostor syndrome hold you back — if you’re confident that you can complete the job and you’re curious about the work, you can apply. “It never gets less scary,” she says. “That’s fine. It’s normal.” 

Check out our web design courses if you want to learn more about designing and building websites, and if you need more advice for finding work, you can find helpful resources in our Career Center.

Data analysis: where to start and how to build this high-income skill

By
onlinefreecourse
-
0
Data analysis: where to start and how to build this high-income skill

Hello!

We are really excited to share this next series with you, in large part because we saw your excitement with our previous issue on job skills, and because understanding how to curate an impressive portfolio of job skills is one of the most important aspects of driving your career development.

Over the next several issues, we are going to be discussing high-income skills.

High-income skills are skills that tend to be associated with high-paying roles and are in high demand among employers. These skills also tend to be valuable across industries and can be used productively across a wide range of job functions.

We developed our list of high-income skills by combing several job skills studies (from organizations including the World Economic Forum, Pearson, Future Learn, Coursera, and others) and identifying the skills that came up most frequently.

This week, we’re going to talk about data analysis skills.

Data analysis skills are not only valuable for data analysts. Even basic data analysis skills can enhance your daily workflow. Whether you realize it or not, you are receiving and interpreting data all the time. The first lecture video in Google’s Data Analytics Professional Certificate explains this really nicely. (We recommend watching the entire video, but if you’re pressed for time, skip to the 1:45 mark to learn how data may show up in your daily life.)

With strong data analysis skills, you can be more intentional with the data you receive, the way you interpret it, and the way you share it. Here are three examples of how data analysis skills may show up in your career, job search, or even personal life:

1. Data analysis for highlighting accomplishments on your resume

Supporting your resume bullet points with data can be an effective way to demonstrate your accomplishments to potential employers. Let’s examine how we can use data analysis to improve the following resume point: 

“Successfully launched an advertising campaign that increased website traffic.”

To measure the success of your ad, you might start by recording the average number of website visitors before it was launched. Next, you could collect the average number of website visitors after it was launched. By calculating the percent of increase, you’ll have a compelling statistic to enhance your point:

“Launched an advertising campaign that increased website traffic by 103%.”

2. Data visualization for effective idea pitching

Numbers can help your audience paint a mental picture. At times, an actual picture can be even better. Data visualization skills enable you to represent information in a visually appealing, easily digestible way. 

Using the example above, you might translate your last ad campaign’s 103% increase in website traffic into a line graph with a steep, eye-catching incline. To pitch an idea for a similar campaign, you might even use predictive analytics to forecast future success based on past successes.

3. Data interpretation for expert insights about anything

The ability to recognize patterns in data is a core aspect of data analysis. When you interpret data, you can use it to make data-informed decisions, which can ultimately lead you to results that are more likely to align with your desired outcomes. For example, interpreting data about high-income skills enabled us to develop this list, which you can use to move toward your desired career outcomes.

Where to begin

If you’re new to data analysis, a good place to start is with the first course in the Google Data Analytics Professional Certificate, Foundations: Data, Data, Everywhere. This course is a nice introduction to data analytics, and if you enjoy it, you can continue advancing through the rest of the certificate program.

If you’d like to learn more specific data analysis skills, here are some additional recommendations:

  • Excel Skills for Business Specialization from Macquarie University: Excel is a powerful tool for data analysis when you’re working with smaller, less complex data sets. Learning Excel (or Google Sheets, which is similar) is one beginner-friendly way to enhance your analysis capabilities.
  • Introduction to Structured Query Language (SQL) from the University of Michigan: Learning SQL can enable you to analyze large data sets housed in databases. In general, SQL is still considered beginner-friendly, although it may feel a bit more advanced than Excel.
  • Data Analysis and Visualization Foundations Specialization from IBM: Learning data visualization can enable you to effectively share your analyses with others, thus opening up the opportunity for you to use your analytical skills to influence high-level decision-making.

That’s all for this week. Next week, we’ll discuss another high-income skill, project management. Until then, let us know how data analysis skills can enhance your workflow in the comments.

Coursera Announces Access for Business, Government, and Campus Learners to over 4,000 AI Translated Courses in 7 of the World’s Most Popular Languages

By
onlinefreecourse
-
0
Coursera Announces Access for Business, Government, and Campus Learners to over 4,000 AI Translated Courses in 7 of the World’s Most Popular Languages

By Leah Belsky, Chief Revenue Officer 

For much of the world, access to educational opportunities is often limited to only those who speak English. As emerging technologies create new skills requirements and the education and work landscape becomes more globalized, language barriers create impediments to collaboration, productivity, and economic opportunity. 

AI has now allowed us to bridge the language and learning divide for millions around the world. We are excited to announce access to over 4,000 AI translated courses in seven of the world’s most widely spoken languages for business, government, and campus customers and their learners.  

Now native speakers of Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese (Brazil), French, German, Bahasa Indonesia, and Thai gain unparalleled access to the world’s best educators, empowering them with skills to thrive in a digital and AI-first world. The newly translated courses include translations that cover lecture video subtitles, course readings, quizzes, assessments, assignments, instructions, discussion prompts, course descriptions, and syllabi. 

With in-demand skills training now available in local languages, businesses can boost employee engagement and productivity and governments can help job seekers unlock new career opportunities in the digital economy. Data science teams in Indonesia can Create Machine Learning Models with Microsoft Azure in Bahasa Indonesia while their regional counterparts in Europe take the same course in German and French. Unemployed Brazilians in the Espiritu Santo workforce development program can take Introduction to Project Management from IBM in Brazilian Portuguese.

Higher education institutions can address enrollment and curriculum gaps by integrating online courses from leading global experts in their local language, including in key areas such as STEM and digital skills. University students in the UAE can now take Cloud Computing Foundations from Duke University in Arabic while students in Mexico can learn Introduction to Machine Learning from Amazon Web Services (AWS) in Spanish. 

With the toggle experience, learners have the option to practice skills in their local language or use subtitles for English courses to advance their English language proficiency in specific workplace skills. 

Learners can now access top courses in their local language including:

There are currently over 33.1 million registered learners on Coursera based in countries that speak one of the seven translated languages as their official language. In the coming months, we plan to expand access to several additional languages. 

We are excited to share additional improvements that will transform the learner experience:

  • Clips on Program Home and Skill Pages: Bite-sized content recommendations have been added to program home and skill pages to help kickstart learning. 
  • Clips in Collections: Add bite-sized content to collections to help support your learning objectives. Directs learners to the most relevant Clips, which expand to deeper learning and skill development.
  • Skill Progress Over Time: Visualize skill progress for your learner population all in one place. View skill progress in aggregate for learners from quarter to quarter, with detailed information on how individual learners are advancing in a specific skill. 

To see the full list of translated Coursera courses currently available, click here. 

For more information on how to leverage this new functionality to achieve your organization’s learning goals, visit our Help Center articles or reach out to your Coursera account manager. 

Custom Design Feature | Salisbury Home

By
onlinefreecourse
-
0
Custom Design Feature | Salisbury Home

I just realized that I haven’t shared any of our recent designs with you all. With so many tasks on my plate, like creating tutorials and helping out with blogs, I always seem to push these posts to the back burner. But, I’m finally making it a priority and would like to share with you one of my most recent projects – Salisbury Home.

What we had and what I needed to make

We absolutely love helping clients bring their ideas to life through our custom design service. I work closely with each client to create a unique brand identity that perfectly captures their vision. Usually, I start from scratch and carefully craft every aspect of the branding, including a sleek logo that truly embodies the brand’s essence, carefully chosen fonts that convey the right tone and personality, and eye-catching colors that make the brand stand out. I pay close attention to every detail to ensure that each client receives a one-of-a-kind brand identity that truly sets them apart from the competition.

This time, I was presented with a premade logo, which is completely fine but sometimes can be a little problematic. If the logo was made correctly, you should have it in a vector format (usually .svg, .pdf or .ai) or at least on a transparent background. For this project, I got the following file:

The logo image was not ideal because it was small and had a grey background. Unfortunately, this didn’t match the client’s desired cream background for the website, so using the logo as it is would have looked odd.

I made some changes to the logo to make it more versatile. Specifically, I removed the background and replaced the fonts with similar ones. These adjustments allowed me to use the logo in various design elements while maintaining a cohesive look.

It is the final mood board look with new fonts and colors:

If you are looking for a custom-made design, contact us via our custom design services page. I would love to chat with you and discuss possible options.

Creating the design

After finalizing the mood board and getting the go-ahead from the client, I began creating the design for their website. The client specifically requested a modern and clean look, with the main emphasis being on showcasing their stunning project photos. Due to the majority of the photos being in a vertical format, I opted to use a carousel slider for the homepage. I also utilized a few horizontal images as decorative elements for areas where there was text.

I was thrilled to come up with a design that featured a non-white background. While this isn’t always the most common choice as it may not work well with all sites, I believe it was the perfect option for this particular project.

Here is a full view of the featured design:

visit Salisbury Home

I really like simple designs that focus on content photos. I think they allow for the photos to really stand out and be the main focus of the design. Plus, it makes the overall look very clean and easy to navigate.

What are your thoughts? Let me know what you think in the comments below!

If you are looking for a custom-made design, contact us via our custom design services page. I would love to chat with you and discuss possible options.

1...888889890...1,652Page 889 of 1,652

Recent Posts