7 Free Online Courses in August

You may think August means you’re in the middle of your summer break, but with every day the shadow of the upcoming school year grows more and more menacing. That’s why I thought you could use a short course that will help you prepare for the challenges. So, this time I found a batch of free courses that will encourage you to take care of your mental health and review some important teaching skills – so that all those back to school vibes won’t make you (overly) sad.

1. Attention and Autism by the University of Birmingham

Start date: self-paced
Duration:  4 weeks
For whom: teaching staff as well as anyone working with individuals with autism
You will learn:

• about key areas of difficulties for autistic people and the uniqueness of each individual
• how attention can be taught
• about the unique ways attention is presented in autistic people

2. Introduction to ADHD: What it is and How it’s Treated by Universidad de Palermo

Start date: self-paced
Duration:  4 weeks
For whom: anyone interested in learning about ADHD symptoms and effective treatments
You will learn:

• about the differences between common attention problems and ADHD
• how to recognize and differentiate other neurodevelopmental disorders and ADHD
• about the different types of attention and which ones are affected in ADHD

3. Workplace Wellbeing: How to Build Confidence and Manage Stress by the Luleå University of Technology

Start date: self-paced
Duration:  2 weeks
For whom: people who face challenges of stress or low self-esteem at work
You will learn:

• helpful strategies and tactics to use in order to reduce stress and to improve your wellbeing at the workplace
• how to identify undesired personal reactions to typical workplace situations
• how certain behavior affects others and learn how to use this understanding to improve work relations and your own situation at the workplace

4. Demystifying Mindfulness by Leiden University

Start date: self-paced
Duration:  8 weeks
For whom: people interested in interested in mindfulness – beginners and professionals, academics and non-academics
You will learn:

• about popular conceptions and misconceptions about mindfulness
• how to interpret your own experiences of mindfulness practices
• about the social and political significance of mindfulness

5. Unlocking The Creative Brain: Develop and Teach Skills For Creative Thinking by CQUniversity

Start date: self-paced
Duration:  2 weeks
For whom: managers, consultants, educators, and project leaders that want to cultivate creativity as a core skill in themselves and their teams
You will learn:

• about the concept of creativity
• how to apply insights from neuroscience to be more creative and foster creativity in others
• about the four steps of the classically defined creative process

6. Overcoming Imposter Syndrome: Identify the Patterns Undermining Your Confidence by University of Southern Queensland

Start date: self-paced
Duration:  3 weeks
For whom: people who struggle with feelings of inadequacy in their workplace
You will learn:

• about the psychology behind Imposter Syndrome
• how to identify your own behaviours and feelings in order to improve them
• about concepts of integrity in professional interactions

7. The Science of Sleep and Dreams by the New Scientist

Start date: self-paced
Duration:  3 weeks
For whom: people interested in research into sleep science, or those who wish to improve their sleep
You will learn:

• about the importance of sleep and dreams
• how we can engineer our sleep to reduce cognitive decline, increase memory reactivation and to decouple emotions from memories
• about what happens when we sleep and the various stages of sleep and dreaming

I think I might be particularly interested in the last course – I think I could do some sleeping exercises, nap tests and so on 🙂

Enjoy!