So you’re on rear details! We’ve all been there at some point. Whilst some of us might convince ourselves it’s an opportunity to limit empty calorie intake from Christmas beverages, for the most part it can be a rather monotonous experience- regardless of how essential it is. So when if you’re looking for something to do after raising the flag, responding to incoming calls, collecting mail and you’ve churned through the latest Netflix series or Christmas gifted novel quicker than expected – why not try a MOOC?!

What’s a MOOC I hear you say? Massive Open Online Courses surged in popularity about a decade ago. They are free online courses available to anyone with a computer and an internet connection and a great means for professional development- without the same level of commitment as formal tertiary study. It’s easy to see why millions of people engage every year! Learning that is credible, structured, and interesting = Yes please!

The Cove is all about developing our most important asset – YOU! So we’ve put together a list of options for you to consider. Or perhaps, for all those commanders out there who a contemplating what to incorporate into your PME plans for 2022, why not check out some the options below?

Cove+ 

Available by logging on to ADELE-U. Our top unit picks for a deep dive into something you’ve been wanting to try– but haven’t found the time for… until now. See here for a complete list of available Cove+ units.

Art and Science of Thinking

  • Critical Thinking
  • Creative Thinking, Innovation and Problem Solving
  • Psychology of Teams

Art and Science of War

  • Strategy and Security in the Indo Pacific
  • Security Policy Analysis: Current and Emerging Issues
  • Terrorism and political violence in South Asia

Leadership, Ethics and Society

  • Military Ethics
  • Culture to Cultures
  • International Politics

Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM)

  • Information Technology: Artificial Intelligence
  • Information Technology: VR and AR in training

Organisational Management, People and Projects

  • Introduction to Managing People
  • Organisational Behaviour
Coursera

Coursera works with universities and other organisations to offer online courses. Approximately 85 free courses have been identified that may hold relevance to you as across the areas of:

  • Command and Leadership
  • Design and Systems Thinking
  • Literacy
  • Research methods and analysis
  • Military History
  • Ethics and military ethics
  • Artificial Intelligence and Robotics
  • Sports Sciences
  • Numeracy
  • Languages, and
  • Psychology (Critical Thinking)

Courses range from 5 - 33 hours in length. The ADF does not have a paid account, so you may not receive a course completion certificate (though you can screenshot your completion to show a supervisor if required). This does not prevent you from accessing and completing the course materials.

OpenLearn

OpenLearn has free courses that cover a wide range of subjects, from Greek history to renewable energy, and everything in between.

The Army Leader (UK PME)  

See what our friends across the pond are suggesting, with courses in areas such as:

  • Military studies
  • Military reconstruction and war amongst the people
  • Self-awareness and personal development
  • Leadership, command and decision-making 
  • Instructor Skills
Khan Academy

Khan Academy is one of the most popular e-learning resources in the world. The layout and style is very simple, but the teaching quality is first-rate. The site produces hundreds of hours of short lessons in the form of videos along with quizzes to track your learning. Topics include a variety of subjects within the fields of mathematics (from pre-school to university level), science & engineering, arts & humanities, computing and economics & finance.

Crash Course

Concise, entertaining and educational videos on a wide range of educational topics. Videos range from 5 - 15 mins in length.No subscription required.