When she started on the series, Schmidt Hissrich felt it was important to understand where Sapkowski came from. Her research included going on a two-week trip to Poland and following Polish photographers on Instagram. Among them was Michal Koralewski, whose image of the Old Town in the medieval city of Poznan has been on her wall for a few years now.
“Fantasy is often represented as dire and dour and gray, and it’s all dusty because it’s the worst time in the world,’ ” she said, laughing. “One of the things that I wanted to bring to ‘The Witcher’ is a sense of light and color, so I was immediately attracted to the colors, the buildings, the brightness in the photo.”
Daily Word Challenge
Can you correctly use the word dour 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 dour 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 is something you’re really good at? Consider academics and athletics, of course, but also any offbeat hobbies and talents at which you excel, no matter how slight they seem.
In “Playing Against Type,” Kenneth Sturtz writes about another offbeat competition, one that was popular in the early 20th century and is now being revived:
In the hands of Hunter Shaffer, the sentence you are reading right now would take seven or eight seconds to type. This entire article would be done in just over seven minutes, and a recent Sunday Styles print section of The New York Times would take about 86 minutes.
During a recent online competition, Mr. Shaffer and eight other competitive typists watched as numbers on the screen counted down and gave way to the word “Go.” A leaderboard showed the competitors’ progress, accuracy and words typed per minute.
It was over in about 60 seconds, but Mr. Shaffer’s performance gnawed at him. Normally he would have jockeyed for first place, but nerve problems in his left hand had forced him to type one handed for a while.
Over several hours, Mr. Shaffer repeatedly finished just behind a teenager in the Philippines and a friend from Virginia, despite typing as fast 189 words per minute.
Competitive typing, which peaked in popularity in the first half of the 20th century before fizzling out, has found a new home online. A devoted community has developed around the hobby, which has become increasingly popular with teenagers and 20-somethings.
The article mentions the community that has taken shape around this hobby:
Competitive typing may have become more popular in recent years in part because of the online messaging platform Discord, which offers a simple, convenient way for users to communicate with other typists. But it remains a niche hobby with a tight-knit community.
Kathy Chiang, 29, who lives in Los Angeles, picked up on the uniqueness of the typing community almost immediately, partly because of her career in gaming.
“It’s really interesting to stumble upon a community like that, that I hadn’t been aware of at all,” she said.
An avid video gamer since childhood, Ms. Chiang was studying computer game science at the University of California at Irvine when a co-worker noticed how fast she typed and encouraged her to test herself on a typing website. Ms. Chiang became hooked.
In addition to being one of the fastest typists, she discovered she was one of the few women in the community, but said she was generally welcomed.
Although she eventually withdrew from competitive typing because of wrist injuries, Ms. Chiang said she found the typing community to be a friendlier and less serious environment than the gaming community. Part of that could be because of competitive typing’s relatively small reach.
“So, it’s kind of like a sport or an esport or a video game in the really early stages, where everyone feels like they’re part of this grass-roots movement,” she said. “It seems like this special thing that some people want to keep secret and special and tight-knit.”
Students, read the entire article, then tell us:
How would you do in a competitive typing competition? Why?
What special skills and talents do you have? Are there competitions you could join to test your abilities? If not, should there be? What would this competition look like?
Have you ever discovered, like some of the typists you read about, that you have a hidden talent or special ability that others do not? If so, what is it and how did you find out that you have it? Did someone else point it out?
Have you ever made friends or found a sense of community through a talent or interest, the way these typists have? How does your experience compare with theirs?
Want more writing prompts? You can find all of our questions in our Student Opinion column. Teachers, check out this guide to learn how you can incorporate them into your classroom.
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.
Do you ever notice the many sounds in films that help enhance the mood, atmosphere and tone? Do any films stand out to you for their use of audio?
In this lesson, you will learn how far Denis Villeneuve, the film director, and his Oscar-winning sound team went to achieve a powerful and memorable aural experience for the sci-fi blockbuster film “Dune.” In a Going Further activity, we invite you to act as a sound designer to create your own sounds for common activities like walking and running, as well as more fantastical ones like an alien spaceship flying and landing.
Part 1: Watch a scene from Dune.
Did you see the new version of “Dune”? What did you think? Did you notice the sound design?
First, watch a scene from the film above, “Sardaukar Eaten By Sandworm” — but TURN OFF the sound. Then, write down your reactions:
What was the experience like without sound? How engaged were you as a viewer?
How easy or difficult was it to follow the story the scene told? Could you tell what was happening?
What emotions did you feel as you watched? Was the scene suspenseful?
Next, watch the scene again, this time with the SOUND ON:
How was the second viewing experience different? What did you notice? Wonder?
What specific sounds did you hear? How did they enhance your experience?
Does watching the scene a second time with the audio make you appreciate the role of sound in movies more?
Finally, time for conjecture: How do you think the filmmakers recorded the many sounds in this scene?
Part 2: Watch a video on the art of sound design.
Now, find out how filmmakers record the sounds used to help create the mood and feeling of a scene by watching the seven-minute video “The Magic of Making Sound,” above, by Great Big Story. Then, share your responses to the following prompts through writing or discussion with a partner:
What are two things you learned about sound design?
What was the coolest or most surprising “foley” sound in the video?
What is one question you have about sound design or the job of a sound designer?
1. What role did Rice Krispies play in “Dune”? What does their use tell us about the job of a sound designer on a movie?
2. Look closely at the photos: What story do they tell about the sound designers? Which image stands out and why? Do you think being a sound designer is a fun job?
3. What was Villeneuve’s vision for his cinematic adaptation of the Frank Herbert novel, according to the article? How does the sound design fit that vision?
4. The article states that “Dune” features 3200 “bespoke” sounds but only four were made with electronic equipment. Why was it important to the sound editors Mark Mangini and Theo Green to record real life and natural sounds and noises? Which of the sound-gathering techniques described in the article were most fascinating or memorable? Would you want to be a sound designer?
5. Revisit your conjecture from the warm-up activity about how the sounds in the film were created. Did you imagine any of the actual efforts required to achieve the powerful aural landscape? What’s your reaction to the story of how the sound team created the movements and maw of the sandworm?
6. What did you learn about movie making from the article? What surprised you most? What was most fascinating? Did it make you appreciate the role and power of sound more? Do you think you will pay more attention to sound and sound design in films in the future?
Going Further
Now it’s your turn. Take on the role of sound designer andcreate and record Foley sounds for at least five of the following things: (Feel free to add your own items.)
Waking
Running
Water
Wind
Thunder and lightning
Two people fighting (punching, kicking or wrestling)
A futuristic weapon being used or fired
A spaceship flying or landing
The first steps on a strange new planet
A sandworm (or other sci-fi creature)
Be creative. And remember, you can’t use the actual sound for this activity. Use what you learned about the creativity of the “Dune” sound team as inspiration. Also, keep in mind Villeneuve’s words for why he brought on his sound team early in the process of making the film: “I wanted Theo and Mark to have the proper time to investigate and explore and make mistakes.”
Try to be as specific as they were for each sound you create. For example, for the sound of someone walking, think about who’s walking, where and why? Is it a small child, who weighs very little and who has a very distinctive gait? A teenager? A grown up? What kind of surface are they traversing: A hardwood floor? A cement playground, snow-covered ground or a sandy beach? Experiment with each sound and the placement of your microphone. Consider the mood or feeling you are hoping to evoke with the sound.
Excited about sound? Want another challenge? Submit a podcast to our Fifth Annual Student Podcast Contest and creatively design sounds to engage and excite listening audiences. The contest runs from April 6 to May 18.
Additional Opportunities for Teaching and Learning:
Want more Lessons of the Day? You can find them all here.
After graduating with her bachelor’s in psychology, Mattison Hineline moved to Málaga, Spain, to teach English. During the pandemic, she started taking programming classes online and became increasingly intrigued by the stats and graphs being used to track COVID-19’s impact. As her interest in data and programming grew, Mattison began to think about the possibilities of a career in data science.
She determined that she wanted to earn her master’s, but was concerned about cost, her lack of data science experience, and the challenges of relocating back to the US from Spain. So she began to look at online options.
Mattison was familiar with Coursera already, having taken the Introduction to Calculus course. After two months of research, she concluded that the Master of Science in Data Science (MS-DS) program from the University of Colorado Boulder on Coursera offered the right opportunity for her.
The program was flexible, affordable, and the performance-based admissions structure meant she didn’t have to worry about things like transcripts, GPA, or GRE scores–she’d just need to demonstrate she could do the work, and she’d be accepted. Determined to pursue a new career in data science, she successfully enrolled in the Master of Science in Data Science (MS-DS) program from the University of Colorado Boulder on Coursera!
“I would not have had an opportunity to get my data science master’s if I didn’t find the MS-DS program on Coursera.”
After having had initial reservations about her lack of experience, she found she was able to get the support she needed whenever she ran into obstacles:
“I struggled with my second statistics course and went to office hours a lot. The course facilitator really helped explain the material and make sure I wasn’t just passing the class but understanding the concepts. The information you learn is important to your future projects, courses, and jobs. Understanding the content is just as important as passing the course.”
Mattison has also been able to network with other students. She and her fellow learners connect via a shared Slack channel, and students even organize remote study groups to talk through coursework. Recently, she secured her first data science internship, and she’s currently planning to graduate in 2023 and move right into a data science role—ideally at a startup.
Her biggest tip for new students? Start with a non-credit course first to get used to the course material and online learning format. She also recommends being active on Slack, attending office hours, and reaching out to peers. “Being communicative,” she says, “equals success!”
If you’re interested in pursuing a data science career and want to follow Mattison’s advice and try a course yourself, we recommend the Vital Skills for Data Science Specialization as a great starting point for beginners. It’s a great way to master data science fundamentals, and once you’ve completed the non-credit version of the course, you can transfer your work into the paid, for-credit version that will count towards your degree.
This fully online Master of Science in Data Science (MS-DS) from the University of Colorado Boulder is an ideal choice for career-focused learners eager to benefit from a comprehensive, multi-disciplinary approach. This program leverages unparalleled faculty expertise across statistics, data science, computer science, natural language processing, information science, and more.
Since 2020, our world has seen extraordinary change. Technology has created new skills requirements in the workforce, with 149 million new digital jobs expected globally by 2025. However, students and workers need access to flexible, affordable, and fast-tracked learning and career pathways to take advantage of these unprecedented career opportunities.
Today at our 10th annual Coursera Conference, leaders across higher education, business, and government are working together to address the pressing issues and opportunities shaping the future of learning and work. As we celebrate reaching more than 100 million learners, I’m excited to share a number of new offerings designed to help communities around the world unlock their full potential in the digital economy.
Introducing Career Academy for institutions
I’m thrilled to launch Career Academy for institutions, a new career training academy that enables any business, government, or academic institution the ability to give individuals – even those with no college degree or prior work experience – the opportunity to learn the skills to enter a high-demand, entry-level digital job. Professional Certificates and Guided Projects, created by the world’s leading companies and industry experts, enable learners to explore careers, develop knowledge and skills, build a portfolio of hands-on projects using tools of the trade, and earn industry credentials to help them land good jobs.
With Career Academy, higher education institutions, governments, and businesses can upskill and reskill entire populations of students, workers, and employees for new economy careers at unprecedented speed and scale.
Students can explore in-demand roles across job categories, review each role’s skill requirements, and enroll in the entry-level Professional Certificates and Guided Projects mapped to each role.
Learners enrolled in an institution’s Career Academy can:
Earn entry-level Professional Certificates from industry leaders including Google, IBM, and Meta to prepare for 18 in-demand careers like Data Analyst, UX Designer, Application Developer, and Social Media Marketer, among others. Each certificate is designed for learners without prior industry experience to complete in 6 to 8 months on average (3-10 hours per week), fully online.
Get real-world experience with Guided Projects to develop skills in under 2 hours and stand out to employers during interviews and on-the-job. With hands-on learning and interactive assessments, learners apply essential skills by working with real-world industry tools. For example, an aspiring Data Analyst can practice SQL, Python, and Tableau, while UX Designers can build projects using Figma and Adobe Creative Cloud.
Explore the right career path with an overview of common job titles, skill requirements, and average regionalized salary (where available). Learners have the flexibility to learn at their own pace fully online across web and mobile.
Higher education institutions can help attract and retain students by offering industry-recognized certifications and skills development that helps graduates enter in-demand careers. Universities and colleges like Hawaii Pacific University, University of North Texas, University of Arizona, North Central Texas College, and Alamo Colleges District, which accounts for five community colleges, have been piloting Career Academy with students.
“Coursera’s Career Academy is helping Hawaii Pacific University fulfill its mission to offer students a practical, innovative, and experiential education, with in-demand skills training and certificates from top companies like Google and IBM that complement our classroom content and offer students pathways to meaningful employment opportunities. As a Dean, I am assured that Career Academy participants are obtaining skills that they desire and that are related to current job openings. The student response has been overwhelmingly positive.”
– Mark S. Rosenbaum, Ph.D., Dean, College of Business at Hawaii Pacific University
“Our partnership with Coursera, and specifically Career Academy, is really a perfect match as it fits into our larger vision on how the Alamo Colleges is innovating and preparing learners of all backgrounds for the future of work. We are excited to have this partnership to offer training for learners to gain the skills needed for high-wage, high-demand jobs across San Antonio.”
– Luke Dowden, Chief Online Learning Officer and Associate Vice Chancellor of Academic Success at Alamo Colleges District
Governments can provide job seekers a path to a better career and help them gain the skills they need to achieve it. Businesses can become a career destination for frontline workers while increasing diversity and internal mobility of their workforce.
“Every girl, everywhere deserves to receive an outstanding education. We are thrilled to be working with Coursera to offer Career Academy – with its emphasis on enabling learners to thrive in the new economy – to ten thousand girls in Bangladesh and Nigeria, to equip them with the high-demand skills and confidence they need to reach their full potential.”
– Helen Grant, the UK Prime Minister’s Special Envoy on Girls’ Education
Guided Projects are in-browser experiences that require no download or configuration.
Launching new entry-level Professional Certificates from Meta and IBM
I’m also thrilled to expand our catalog of entry-level Professional Certificates with six new certificates from two industry leaders, which prepare learners – even those with no college degree or prior experience in the field – for each high-demand role. These certificates are available to all learners and, in the coming months, they will also be available as part of Career Academy:
IBM Technical Support Professional Certificate– This seven-course certificate helps learners prepare for a career in IT and tech support, covering key skills such as hardware and mobile device setup, software configuration, troubleshooting, and cybersecurity fundamentals.
Eight certificates currently on the platform from Google, IBM, and Meta have ACE Credit Recommendation and are also accepted for credit in some of our bachelor’s degrees, including University of North Texas and University of London. We look forward to expanding degree pathways so that learners can earn eligible credit toward an Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree for each entry-level Professional Certificate they complete.
The pandemic has worsened inequality across the world. But the legacy of the pandemic could do the opposite. Online learning has accelerated, and we have been thrust into a new world of remote and hybrid work. With online learning, anyone, anywhere has more equal access to learning opportunities. And with remote work, anyone, anywhere has more equal access to job opportunities.
We are offering Career Academy to help realize the promise of this new era, where the combination of online learning and remote work creates greater access to both educational opportunity and economic opportunity. People often say, “Talent is equally distributed, but opportunity is not.” We believe that Career Academy will be a major step in creating more equal opportunity for all.
To learn more about Career Academy, visit the following websites.
By Betty Vandenbosch, Chief Content Officer, Coursera
The global labor market continues to undergo profound change, exacerbated by the pandemic and automation. According to McKinsey, demand for workers in fields including STEM and business is expected to increase even more by 2030 – which presents a meaningful opportunity for people across the globe.
To help learners everywhere participate in the digital economy, we’re introducing new degrees and credentials from leading universities to train people for jobs of the future. We’re also proud to welcome 15 new partners to the platform: key Indian universities such as Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Indian Institute of Management Indore, Indian Institute of Science, and International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore and industry leaders including Accenture, ADP, Campus BBVA, Coinbase, Genentech, Goodwill, Hero Mindmine, HR Certification Institute (HRCI), PwC India, SAP, and TallyEducation will help expand our catalog of high-quality, job-relevant content.
New degrees and pathways from leading universities prepare learners for in-demand careers
As more students prioritize flexibility and employability in their degree education, universities around the world are responding with innovative online programs that teach job-relevant skills. Today, we’re unveiling two new master’s degree programs from top-ranked universities in India:
MSc in Data Science from the International Institute of Information Technology Bangalore — Offered by a top technical institute in India, this is the first data science degree from an Indian university on Coursera. The rigorous program combines high-quality instruction with real-world experience through applied projects. Graduates will be prepared for roles such as data scientist, data architect, and machine learning engineer. The first cohort is expected to begin by the end of the year.
Executive Masters in Business Administrationfrom the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee — Offered by one of the premium institutes in India, this 2-year masters program with features including credit-based payment and flexibility in enrollment is aligned to the needs of Industry 4.0 and designed to develop capable managers skilled in both engineering and business. The program aims to prepare future leaders in high-growth industries. The first cohort is expected to begin in November 2022.
I’m also pleased to share that, for the first time on Coursera, two university partners are collaborating to create degree pathways between institutions: students who graduate from the University of London’s online Bachelor of Science in Marketing or online Bachelor of Science in Business Administration will have a preferred admissions pathway into the University of Illinois’ online Master’s of Management degree – creating a seamless path for lifelong learning. The University of Illinois hopes to expand the pathway to other Gies online graduate programs, including the Master’s of Business Administration, Master’s of Science in Accountancy, and stackable Graduate Certificates.
Postgraduate programs from ISB and Macquarie help learners advance in business and management
Postgraduate programs on Coursera offer a chance to complete graduate-level learning from world-class institutions without committing to a full degree program. We are introducing three business-focused programs today:
Global Management Programme in Operations & Supply ChainandGlobal Management Programme for Infrastructure from the Indian School of Business – The Global Management Programme in Infrastructure will equip learners to develop strategic plans, manage uncertainty and risks, and learn to communicate, market, and negotiate effectively. The Global Management Program in Operations & Supply Chain is designed to meet the increasing demand for techno-business managers for the operations and supply chain sector. The first cohorts are expected to begin in October 2022.
Graduate Certificate of Global Business Practicefrom Macquarie University – Offered by one of Australia’s top-ranked business schools, this program helps professionals master the fundamentals of business, including global operations, international expansion, human resources management, marketing, finance, and more. This program serves as a pathway to the fully online Global MBA from Macquarie. Applications are open now.
University-issued certificates from IIT Guwahati, IIT Roorkee, and CU Boulder teach skills of the future
University certificates generally take six months or less to complete and help learners develop expertise in a specific field. Today we are announcing 10 certificates:
Data Science Graduate Certificate andEngineering Management Graduate Certificate from the University of Colorado Boulder– The Data Science Graduate Certificate will help learners develop interdisciplinary skills in data science with instruction from leading faculty and hands-on projects. With a focus on authentic leadership, project management, and finance, the Engineering Management Graduate Certificate is designed for both engineers who are looking to ascend into leadership roles and current managers preparing to lead technical teams. These certificates can count for credit towards CU Boulder’s fully online Master of Science in Data Science or Master of Engineering in Engineering Management, respectively. Enrollments for both programs are expected to open in August 2022.
We are honored to partner with some of the world’s best higher education institutions and industry leaders to widen our portfolio of high-quality content and credentials. I look forward to seeing how these new offerings will make learning on Coursera even more rewarding for learners across the globe.
Today, we’re excited to announce new tools and features to support the learning, teaching, and program administration experiences on Coursera. From job-relevant skilling with Career Academy to maximizing content with new authoring features, we are pleased to roll out the following product innovations for our global learner, educator, and enterprise communities.
Boosting learner personalization and motivation
Each of the 100+ million learners on Coursera has a unique learning journey. To best serve each of their needs, we’re introducing tools and features that create an even more personalized, engaging learning experience.
PERSONALIZED SCHEDULES – Learners can input their schedules into a course to automatically receive personalized course deadlines and goals to stay on track. Launching later this quarter.
DATA-DRIVEN DEADLINES – Each item deadline within a course is calculated based on how long it took past completers to finish the item, helping create more realistic deadline suggestions for learners. In beta, launching later this quarter.
SCHEDULE NUDGES – Learners get notified whether they are on track, ahead, or behind in their course with actionable next steps to keep them progressing efficiently. In beta, launching later this quarter.
LECTURE SUMMARIES – ML-generated summaries of key lecture videos provide learners with an easy way to review prior course material, gain a quick understanding of a topic, and progress faster through a course. Launching later this quarter.
ADOBE GUIDED PROJECTS – Learners can now work with real Adobe software in a virtual environment – no installation or license required – to gain hands-on skills, build a portfolio, and prepare for a UX/Design role. Additionally, each learner who completes an Adobe Guided Project will receive a complimentary month of access to Adobe Creative Cloud.
FILE DOWNLOADS IN LABS – With just a few clicks, learners can easily download files from Labs to work locally in their preferred development environment or to preserve their work.
Enabling high-quality content authoring and teaching
University and industry partner program staff are often the backbone of content authoring. The following products were designed to help make the authoring process more flexible for program staff, while still adhering to pedagogical best practices.
ACADEMIC INTEGRITY TOOLS – When creating courses in degree programs, educators can combat academic dishonesty and plagiarism with text similarity scoring within staff-graded assignments across all prompt types.
ITEM VERSION HISTORY – To facilitate better collaboration among course staff, new tools will enable authors to view version history for all item types, examine previously published item versions, and write staff-facing comments about item version changes. In beta, launching later this year.
ACT AS LEARNER FEATURE – Degree and MasterTrack program staff can more easily manage student needs in a course using the Act as Learner feature, which enables them to easily access the student course view and troubleshoot issues.
RICH TEXT EDITOR ENHANCEMENTS – When editing text in a course, educators will now see a view that aligns with the learner view. The new rich text editor includes greater customization and accessibility options, straightforward media renderings, seamless layout adjustments, and a live preview for math equations. Authoring becomes faster and easier with fewer clicks and better responsiveness.
EXTRA CREDIT FEATURES – Course staff can now author quizzes with extra credit questions, allow graders to award extra points on Staff Graded Assignment rubrics, and set item and course grade overrides to over 100%.
COURSERA LABS ENHANCEMENTS – Educators can scalably create learning experiences to prepare learners for real-world technical work environments with Labs sandboxes, assessments, and autograder. Additionally, educators can improve exam rigor in Labs by setting time and attempt limits on programming exams, including a time remaining display and auto-submission when time runs out. Fully launching later this year.
Maximizing educators’ existing content
Knowing that educators are often strapped for time, we focused on streamlining the authoring experience with features that aim to make content creation and management more efficient.
SELF-SERVE LMS IMPORT – With this new self-serve ingestion tool, educators can easily reuse and repurpose their existing content on Canvas in their courses on Coursera, significantly reducing the time to author.
EDX INGESTION –Educators can also migrate their existing content on edX and Open edX to their courses on Coursera, all via the self-serve edX content ingestion tool. Through this tool, university partner Dartmouth seamlessly moved 30+ courses to Coursera with minimal work for its program staff.
ITEM LINKING ENHANCEMENTS – The new UX will provide educators with a more comprehensive view of all locations where an item is linked, to power efficient authoring of stackable programs through content syncing. Educators will have even more control over where changes are applied – including to live and upcoming sessions – without affecting archived or ended sessions. In beta, launching later this year.
UPLOAD-BASED AUTHORING IN BULK – Educators will be able to efficiently export and update course outlines in bulk, as well as re-import changes, while still adhering to high course quality standards. Launching later this month.
Powering streamlined, job-relevant learning for institutions
Today we announced Career Academy to help enterprises give individuals – even those with no college degree or prior work experience – the opportunity to learn the skills to enter a high-demand, entry-level digital job. We’re also excited to announce the following products and features to further help organizations target the right skills and reach their goals.
SKILLSET INTEGRATIONS – Coursera SkillSets are now even easier for learners to access within their organization’s centralized learning platform of choice.
CUSTOM SKILLSET CREATION – Customers will be able to customize skills within SkillSets based on the organization’s unique needs and context, choosing from a variety of skills and setting proficiency targets to establish measurable learning goals. Launching later this quarter.
NEW LEVELSETS – 60+ new LevelSet assessments across Data Science, Technology, Marketing, and Finance can assess learner skills proficiency to establish a baseline and personalize content recommendations.
LEADERSHIP ACADEMY – With the new Leadership Academy’s 42 SkillSets for all levels that teach 35+ in-demand human skills, organizations can help employees grow as leaders, drive productivity, adapt, and innovate in a rapidly changing world.
CLIPS – Learners will be able to address their in-the-moment learning needs with direct access to thousands of short videos and lessons from top companies and universities. Available to customers later this quarter.
SELF-SERVE PROGRAM MANAGEMENT – Coursera for Campus institutions can independently build and manage the learning programs and curations they need for each new term using flexible tools to add the right content and structure to match their needs for each program.
We are excited to share a preview of what’s live and in development at Coursera. Planned launch dates referenced here are subject to change and purchasing decisions should not be made on the basis of forthcoming features.
As the needs of learners, educators, and institutions evolve, so does our approach to the Coursera platform. We remain dedicated to product iteration to best serve the global learner community and enable anyone, anywhere to transform their life through learning.
Setting yourself up for success while working remotely is a process, whether you’re a WFH evangelist or have been itching to return to an office since March 2020. One of the toughest parts is figuring out how to establish clear boundaries between work and life when you live where you work and vice versa.
Prioritizing boundaries will help you develop a sustainable routine and prevent burnout in the long run. And it’s worth it, because remote work is here to stay; roughly 60% of the U.S. is working from home all the time, a 2022 Pew survey found.
Of course, boundaries are about more than just saying “no” more often or keeping regular working hours (although, those things definitely help). So, we asked members of Codecademy’s remote-friendly team what they do to keep the lines between work and life clear. Here are six tips to try if you WFH and want to set better boundaries.
Normalize camera-off meetings
Most people understand when you need to take a virtual meeting without your camera turned on. But you might feel like you owe your teammates an explanation each time you do it so that you don’t seem rude or disengaged.
A handy trick that helps communicate that you’re staying off-camera: Change your Zoom profile picture to an image with text that says something like, “Camera-off meeting, thanks!” or “I’m keeping my camera off today.” Zoom automatically displays your profile photo when you select “stop camera” on a call. This way, the other people on the call will see your message without you needing to give a spiel every time you log into a meeting.
And a helpful reminder if you’re in charge of scheduling meetings: There are times when a meeting can be a phone call, email, or Slack message instead.
Set your status
Think back to the days of AOL instant messenger: When you left your computer to do something, you’d post an away message so people knew what you were up to (or the lyrics to your favorite emo song). Nowadays, smartphones and workplace instant messaging platforms like Slack or Microsoft Teams make us feel like we need to be active and available all the time.
A good way to stop feeling “always on” is to keep your status updated, whether you’re in a meeting, going to a doctor’s appointment, eating lunch, or picking up your kid from daycare. In Slack, for example, there’s an option to sync your status with your digital calendar of choice (like Google Calendar or the Clockwise app) so people can see how long you’ll be away from the computer. There’s even a feature that pauses your Slack notifications while you’re in meetings.
Carve out “me time”
Time boundaries tend to get blurred in the remote workplace. If you’re expected to participate in lots of meetings, it can be easy to work into the evening because you didn’t have enough time to put your head down and focus during the actual work day.
Sarai Fernandez, Curriculum Manager at Codecademy, sets a one-hour “focus time” event on her Google Calendar each morning that simply says, “Please ask before scheduling.” This ensures she has a reliable chunk of time for uninterrupted quiet work. There’s even an option to automatically decline any invites you get during a specific timeframe.
Have a power-down routine
Taking an action to signal that your workday is over can help you transition out of “work mode.” It doesn’t even have to be elaborate. For example, Sarai closes out all of her web browser tabs and clears her download folder when her work day is over. Maybe you could go on a walk, change out of your work clothes, or simply clear your desk and put your laptop away. Research has shown that keeping a routine like this allows you to psychologically detach and separate from one role to the next.
Set the tone
An upside to working remotely is having the flexibility to adjust your schedule and get your work done when you’re most productive. But everyone has different preferences; you might be a night owl while your colleague is most productive first thing in the morning. (Not to mention, you might have remote colleagues who live in different time zones as you.)
For example, an email sent at 3 a.m. without context could come across as urgent or time-sensitive to the recipient — even if you were just sending it at that time because that’s when it was convenient for you. Consider using an extension like Boomerang for Gmail, which allows you to draft an email and schedule it to send at a later date or time. Or make a point to communicate when the recipient needs to respond to or take action on an email. One way to do that is adding a line to your email signature, like: “Please respond to this email during your regular work hours.”
You can also enable “working hours” on Google Calendar, which will let people know when you’re officially on the clock. If someone tries to put a meeting on your calendar outside of those hours, Google Cal will give a heads up that you might not be available.
Tonia Blair, Senior Software Engineer at Codecademy, tries not to send Slack messages after hours unless it’s an emergency. “This is a small thing, but it really helps prevent a ‘working late at night’ culture I think,” she says. This is particularly true for folks who are in management positions. Ask yourself: What kind of behaviors or boundaries do you want to model?
It can often feel like you’re siloed when working remotely, but remember that your habits can have an impact on the way that your team works and help build a realistic and healthy work-life balance for everyone.
Still searching for a remote position in tech? Check out our career center for interview advice, portfolio projects, and more tips that will give you an edge in the job-search process. And if you’re not sure what types of roles you can do remotely, here’s a guide to finding freelance or full-time remote positions in tech.
Perhaps the most controversial move Mr. Zelensky made was to combine the six television newsrooms into one channel with a single report. Omitted from the group was the main opposition television station, Channel 5, affiliated with Mr. Poroshenko.
Mr. Zelensky positioned the move as necessary for national security. Opponents viewed it as a troubling instance of the government suppressing dissent.
“I do hope that wisdom will prevail, and the intention is not to use this to keep political competitors down,” said Volodymyr Ariev, a member in Mr. Poroshenko’s Solidarity political party.
Daily Word Challenge
Can you correctly use the word dissent 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 dissent 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.
