Courses - Softonic English

4 free online courses for learning how to code

Boost your resume by learning to code. Here’s how you can do it for free!

There are so many reasons you might want to learn how to code. Maybe you want to learn a new skill to put on your resume, or perhaps your job demands that you expand your coding knowledge beyond the basics. Whatever the reason, you’ll find plenty of free coding courses online that you can begin immediately.

Below are four free courses you can take now to learn how to code.

4 free online courses for learning how to code

1. Codecademy

Codecademy is widely considered to be one of the best free coding resources online. With Codecademy, you can learn to code according to subject or language. Example subjects include web development, design, and data science. Depending on the subject (or your personal coding goals) you’ll likely start with learning the basics of HTML and CSS.

As a bonus, if you’re not happy with the free version, you can also upgrade to Pro to receive additional resources. That version offers more in-depth knowledge on building a successful website with your coding skills.

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2. freeCodeCamp

freeCodeCamp is a nonprofit organization that wants you to be able to learn how to code for free. It offers more than 8,000 courses, videos, and resources that are all free to use. Most of the certifications take about 300 hours to complete. For example, you can learn all of the basics of web design and HTML5 with their Responsive Web Design Certification.

The organization also offers far more complex courses in JavaScript, Databases, and Git & GitHub, among many others. Once you learn the skills you need, freeCodeCamp will help you gain actual coding experience by coding for other nonprofits.

3. BitDegree

BitDegree offers a huge selection of free classes in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, SQL, and beyond. If you’re looking for some more in-depth coding courses, give BitDegree a shot.

You can also use their Code Editor to put your knowledge to the test, test your code, and learn more about coding by gaining more hands-on experience.

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4. Khan Academy

This is another nonprofit organization that wants you to have access to the knowledge you need. Khan Academy offers several courses on intro-level and advanced coding, from learning HTML or SQL to learning how to use JavaScript to make games and simulations.

Additionally, you can supplement your coding courses with intro-level classes in computer science such as How Computers Work or Internet 101. The organization offers courses far beyond coding too, so check out the Khan Academy site if you want to learn any additional skills.

Increase your employability with Alison Diploma Courses

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Or maybe master multiple concepts at once?

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Top 3 Picks – FREE COURSES

Diploma in Statistics ENROL NOW FOR FREE

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Know about the important concepts of C Programming, including functions, methods and routines.

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How to create professional music mixes (the easy way)

Music has changed a lot over the years. I remember taping my favourite tracks on the radio as a child, clicking the red button on the tape recorder just before the DJ started talking. Aside from revealing my prehistoric age, it’s an example of how difficult it was to get the music we wanted, when we wanted it. Back then, music came from physical media – records, CDs, and cassettes, if you could afford them, the radio if not.

Now, it’s Spotify, iTunes, and Beatport. All the music you could ever want with just a few taps on your smartphone. It’s incredible, really. A small part of me still misses browsing record stores to buy a new album, and then listening to each track while gazing at the artwork. But enough of my nostalgia. Times have changed, and it’s now easier to listen, share, and create music than ever before.

Ashampoo Music Studio 7 - $19.99

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DJs have it particularly good. In the past, you needed to lug around flight cases full of vinyl or CDs. Now all you need is a laptop and a decent piece of music software. Streaming services like Spotify are fine to queue tracks or make simple playlists, but if you want to play at parties, weddings, or other important events, using a virtual studio like Ashampoo Music Studio 7 will make you sound like a pro.

If you’ve ever DJ’d with decks and a mixer, you’ll know how difficult it is to beat match your music. Every track has its own BPM (beats per minute), and if you don’t match them perfectly, your mix will sound like two washing machines having a fight: noisy, industrial, and extremely unpleasant. Music Studio 7 perfectly synchronises BPMs by analysing the speed of each track, and choosing the best moment to start blending them together, so you get the perfect mix, every time.

Creating a playlist is easy; making it your own is tough. The engineers over at Ashampoo understand that if you want to stand out, you need your own style. They’ve included a comprehensive set of editing tools in Music Studio 7 which can turn a mediocre setlist into something really special – including a triple track mixing desk, fader, equaliser, and pause detection for splitting live recordings and then mixing them with other sounds.

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When designing your musical journey, you’ll need to work with a range of different files, from MP3s to FLACs, and Ashampoo Music Studio 7 supports them all. You can play, convert, or save in any file system you want, including playlist files, so your mixes can be listened to on any digital platform or device. You can also extract audio from video files, so if you fancy dropping in a sample or two from your favourite movies, you can. Music Studio 7 will even convert them into ringtones for you.

If you plan on publishing your mixes, use Music Studio 7 to create the album covers, and then upload the cover with your mix online. Or if you’re old school, burn your mix with the included burner and print the CD inlay – useful if you’ve got an aunt somewhere in the sticks who loves your techno remix of Jingle Bells (best Christmas gift ever?).

We love Ashampoo Music Studio 7, and at just $19.99 it’s worth buying for the mixing features alone. You might not need to prowl record stores anymore, or heave boxes of vinyl to your latest gig, but you still have to work on your playlists. So get Ashampoo Music Studio 7 today and discover your inner DJ.

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English Learning Hub! Free Courses

Whether you’re taking those first few steps in learning English as a second language, brushing up on your business English, or just someone looking to improve your English language skills, Alison has the best courses for you.

With more than 60 English language courses to choose from, join over 2 Million students worldwide who have studied English and certified on Alison.

Master the most widely spoken language in the world with Alison’s English Learning Hub, a comprehensive suite of free online English courses. All their English language courses are written by experts, and align with internationally recognised exams such as IELTS and Cambridge. What’s more, their courses follow the levels distinguished by the CEFR.

No matter what your reason is for learning or improving your English. Choose your courses based on your level of fluency, or focus on a skill you want to improve. With their extensive range of English language courses, you’ll never need to go anywhere else to learn English!

Choose your level

Beginner Level START LEARNING NOW FOR FREE

At Beginner level, you are able to use very simple, everyday expressions and talk about yourself in a basic way. You are able to have a conversation if the other person talks slowly and clearly.

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If you are at Elementary level, you can understand sentences and commonly used expressions. You can talk about simple things on familiar topics, such as yourself, your family, your job, and where you live.

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At Intermediate level, you can deal with most situations when travelling, describe your experiences, events, dreams, hopes and ambitions. You’re able to give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans.

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If you’re able to talk to native speakers with a degree of fluency and spontaneity, you are at Upper-Intermediate level. You’re able to talk clearly and in detail on a wide range of subjects, and explain your view on a topical issue.

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At Advanced level, you can express yourself fluently. You use language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional conversations. You produce well-structured and detailed text on complex subjects.

5 Core Skills For Personal and Professional Development

Are you interested in personal development? Do you wish to better yourself by becoming a more effective, organized, and thoughtful person? If so, you will enjoy these courses in personal development. If you are attempting to re-enter the workforce after a long period of time, learn how to plan an appropriate job search based on your skills, and how to write up a suitable cover letter and résumé. Take a course to learn about achieving personal success, and how achieving personal success depends on implementing good, healthy mental habits. Learn time management, decision making, creative thinking and setting – and achieving – strategic goals with Alison’s free, online personal development courses.

Propelling yourself into the unknown is never going to be easy, but the rewards for being courageous are endless!

Get started today with a top selection of Personal Development courses and become your best self.

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I want to Discover, Learn and Progress.

From: Alison

Become my best self

Tips for Career Development

So many people are in jobs or careers that they’re not content with, simply because the unknown can be scary.

There are many steps you would need to take to unlock that dream career. So what are they, and where do you start?

Take those first important steps with Alison! All the courses are FREE

How to Plan Your Career Path Start now for FREE

This course will be of interest to business professionals, students and, indeed, anyone looking for advice on planning their career path. You will learn the art of negotiation and relationship management and how to handle salary and job negotiations.

Introduction to Job Search Skills Start now for FREE

Introduction to Job Search Skills is a course which is designed for anyone who is beginning or is actively involved in a job search. The course covers different scenarios from students looking for internships or entering the workforce for the first time, to experienced professionals re-entering the workforce, changing industry/role or relocating. This course breaks down each scenario and describes what you should do to ensure that you secure your ideal job.

Preparing Your Résumé and Cover Letter Start now for FREE

Preparing Your Résumé and Cover Letter is a course which is designed for anyone who wants to undertake a job application campaign to successfully acquire a new job. The course breaks down the job application process, so you can ensure that you can identify and apply for your ideal job. This course describes ways of identifying your ideal job target by focusing on a specific industry, function, and geography to ensure that the job will suit your personal requirements.

Study Skills Start now for FREE

Study Skills is a course that provides detailed information on a variety of techniques you can use to greatly improve your study skills. The course also has advice on how you can identify and overcome common study problems, how you can manage your study workload and how you can develop good time management skills.

Communication Skills - Group Work and Networking Start now for FREE

Gain a better understanding of the most effective ways to work in a group, including theories on group dynamics by studying the course Communication Skills - Group Work and Networking. The course will look at how you deal with conflict, and how you network.

The 4 Types of Photographers – Which one are you?

We all take photographs to remind us of a holiday, a great night or a beautiful sunset – but when we look at them later we often wished we had taken a better shot – not cropping you friends head off and mistakenly having the Leaning Tower of Pisa straight. Regardless of what level you are get the most out of your camera by learning how to use it correctly by with one of these courses in photography.

Introduction to Digital Photography Start the course for FREE

With this Alison course, Introduction to Digital Photography, you'll learn everything you need to know to master the art and craft of great digital photography. You'll become better acquainted with the basic features of digital cameras and learn how each plays a role in creating great photographs.

Beginner Digital Photography Start the course for FREE

If you are a photographer who wants to go beyond the Automatic Mode on your camera then Beginner Digital Photography is the ideal course for you. The course begins by teaching you about the function of each of the command modes found on most DSLR cameras. You will learn about the relationship between Shutter Speed, Aperture and ISO and how to use them to get your optimum shot.

Intermediate Digital Photography Start the course for FREE

This course will be of great interest to all learners who would like to go beyond the automatic setting on their camera. Having studied this course you will be more confident in taking manual control of the camera and adjusting the shutter speed, ISO and aperture to get the correct exposure for your photographs.

Advanced Digital Photography Start the course for FREE

Advanced concepts in photography such as bracketing, flash photography, hyperfocal distance, focal length and perspective can be difficult to understand, however, in the course Advanced Digital Photography these concepts are clearly explained in a step-by-step manner with the use of visual aids and diagrams. This course will be of great interest to all learners who would like to go beyond the automatic setting on their camera. Having studied this course you will be more confident in taking manual control of the camera and using advanced photographic techniques to get the correct exposure for your photographs.

Top In-demand Skills for 2018 – Free Courses

Whether you are seeking professional development, new skills, or a new career, these courses can help you broaden your skillset.

1 Python

One of the top most advertised software skills.
Listed among the highly scarce skills in the software industry.
Heavily used in prime industries including Big Data, Data Analytics, and Data Mining.
One of the most in-demand skills with a vast number of job opportunities internationally.

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2 Data Analytics

Data Science and Statistics seem to make way in every workforce possible.
Big players from top sectors like banking and healthcare rely heavily on data for their business decisions.
Data Analytics has become one of the most commonly cited skills in the last few years.

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3. Caregiving

With an increase in global healthcare improvements, there is a huge demand for talent in the Caregiving industry.
Caregiving jobs are expected to gain significant momentum in 2018.

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4. Personal Finance

The expanding investment opportunities are prompting new aspects of saving and investment.
Personal Finance Advisor careers are gaining popularity.
Helping clients with money management, advising on insurance and other forms of investments are some of the key trends in this industry.

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5. Digital Marketing

Research says marketers with digital skills, especially SEO and SEM, are most in-demand.
Some of the other top skills that are in-demand include content creation/curation, content strategy, social media and email marketing.

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6. Network Security

Recent cyber threats like Ransomware and NotPetya have boosted the demand for cybersecurity positions within organisations.
Cybersecurity Specialist happens to be one the most popular job titles in the IT Security industry.

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7 Database Management

Different approaches to efficiently storing data has become a necessity.
Reports say that about 25% of companies aimed to fill Database Management positions in 2017.
One of the top most popular job roles is “Database Administrator”.

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8 Mobile App Development

Mobile App Development roles account for 28% of IT-related advertisements.
Mobile App Development surpassed Web Development skills, which was deemed to be the most popular in past years.

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Mobile App Development Courses

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9 Web Development

JavaScript is the most sought-after skill, followed by Java, C#, Python, and Amazon Web Services.

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Web Development Courses

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Google gets into Podcasts

Google has a brand new podcast app, but it is not like all the other podcast apps out there. In fact, it is only available for Android users and is built into the Google app. If you’re an Android user, you won’t need to download any new apps or software. You’ll just be able to start using Google to listen to your podcasts.

All you have to do to start using the new Google podcast “app” is to search for your chosen podcast using the Google app or Google Assistant. You’ll then find all of the info relating to the podcast, including a list of recent episodes that you can start playing right away by tapping the play button.

Google App Download Now

Once you click on the search result, you’ll be taken to the podcast’s page. Here, you can subscribe to the podcast and download episodes for offline listening. You’ll also find a podcast icon in the top left of the page, which will take you to the Google podcast “home page.”

This homepage resembles more established podcast apps. It allows you to search for podcasts, resume listening to the episodes you haven’t finished, view top and trending podcasts, search through different categories, and keep track of the podcasts you follow. Another cool option is that you can create a home screen icon for the new podcasts app and even create particular icons for individual podcasts.

When you’re playing your podcasts, you can skip forward and back in 10- and 30-second increments. The whole experience is pretty lightweight, but overall, it is straightforward to use and does a great job. If you’re an Android user and you listen to podcasts, it is definitely worth checking out. It’s already on your phone, so it should be easy enough. Even if you’ve never listened to a podcast before this new offering from Google gives a simple and intuitive way to get started.

What are VPNs and why should you use one

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So far, there has been no news from Google about whether or not this will be coming to iOS.

Free Courses – 10 reasons to become a teacher

A rewarding, demanding and consistently popular career path – Teaching is not just a career, but a calling. From influencing students to shaping their future, the role of a teacher is irreplaceable!

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates nearly 8% employment growth for high school teachers, between 2016 and 2026.

Gain the essential skills required to fulfill your calling. If you’re already in this amazing profession, sharpen your teaching skills with Alison courses to give you the edge.