UC Irvine Extension Unveils 5 New Online Specializations

University of California, Irvine Extension has launched five new online specializations in partnership with the open online education platform, Coursera.

The new specializations include The Internet of Things, Academic English Writing, OptoBotics, iOS Programming and Conflict Management. UC Irvine now offers a total of eight specializations through Coursera. The others include Project Management Principles and Practices, Career Success and the Virtual Teacher Program. To earn a specialization certificate, students must successfully complete a series of courses followed by a capstone project.

The Internet of Things (IoT) specialization includes five courses covering topics such as the Arduino and Raspberry Pi platforms, the C and Python programming languages, the role of IoT in society, current components of IoT devices and future trends.

The Academic English: Writing specialization is intended for English as a second language (ESL) students who are planning to attend an American university. It includes courses on grammar and punctuation, essay writing, advanced writing and research for essay writing.

The iOS Programming specialization is for students who want to learn how to develop applications for iPhones and iPads. It includes courses on Objective-C app development; networking and security in iOS applications; iOS user interface design; and games, sensors and media.

The OptoBotics specialization teaches how to create an optical system for robots or drones. It includes five courses covering topics such as optics for robots and drones, robotic motion systems, histories and futures of light and OptoBotics application. For the capstone project, students design and build an optical system and integrate it into a robot.

The Conflict Management specialization includes three courses covering types of conflict, conflict resolution skills and intercultural communication and conflict resolution.

Further information about UC Irvine's online specializations and courses can be found on Coursera's site.

About the Author

Leila Meyer is a technology writer based in British Columbia. She can be reached at [email protected].

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