Research Tools and Services Discovery

The Microsoft Cognitive Services APIs allow developers to leverage the power of artificial intelligence to create apps that can more effectively understand and interpret the needs of users. In this course, learn how to work with Microsoft Cognitive Services for language. Instructor Sahil Malik explains how to work with the Bing Spell Check API, the Text Analytics API—which you can use to detect language, key phrases, and sentiment—and the Translator Text API. He wraps up the course by taking a deep dive into the exciting Language Understanding (LUIS) service, which allows apps to accept a user's input in natural language.

Videographer, photographer, and post-production expert Nick Harauz has traveled the world with his video gear. In this course, Nick shares practical tips and techniques for planning what to pack and how to pack it. He also shows what to do with your gear when you arrive at your destination, to make your remote video production go as smoothly as possible and help you get your gear back home in one piece. To wrap up, Nick shares some tips that can help you organize all the great footage you captured on your trip.

MySQL is an excellent database for advanced analytics, but few analysts use it that way because they aren't fully aware of its capabilities in this area. Analysts end up writing code to perform common tasks—which can be time-consuming—rather than using MySQL to do the same work. In this course, learn tips and techniques for using MySQL for advanced data analytics. Kumaran Ponnambalam walks through the different stages of analytics, from data ingestion and transformation to generating statistics. In each stage, Kumaran focuses on letting MySQL do the heavy lifting rather than writing code in Java or Python. Discover how to perform data cleansing through MySQL update commands, find peak usage of any resource, perform centering and scaling of data to prepare for machine learning, and more. Plus, Kumaran shows how you can link MySQL with Microsoft Excel to get the best of both worlds.

When it comes to negotiation, shifting your mindset from "a battle to be won" to "a problem-solving conversation" can improve your results dramatically. In this course, leadership coach, negotiation expert, and author Lisa Gates demonstrates the core skills of interest-based negotiation to get win-win outcomes every time. Learn a step-by-step strategy for negotiating everyday workplace issues, from asking for a raise or promotion to pitching ideas and resolving conflict. Lisa covers techniques such as diagnostic questions, anchoring, framing, and labeling, which help you navigate impasse and generate satisfaction on both sides of the bargaining table. Along the way, discover how to prepare for a negotiation, cultivate your influence, get into a zone of agreement even when you have to say "no," and negotiate remotely over phone or email. Lisa also shares her best negotiation tips and tricks and provides worksheets to practice your skills.

Take a deep dive into neural networks and convolutional neural networks, two key concepts in the area of machine learning. In this hands-on course, instructor Jonathan Fernandes covers fundamental neural and convolutional neural network concepts. Jonathan begins by providing an introduction to the components of neural networks, discussing activation functions and backpropagation. He then looks at convolutional neural networks, explaining why they're particularly good at image recognition tasks. He also steps through how to build a neural network model using Keras. Plus, learn about VGG16, the history of the ImageNet challenge, and more.

Node.js apps are known for their blazing-fast speed, but hard-to-find bugs and suboptimal processes can drag performance down. Isolating the problem in the stack can often grind productivity to a halt. In this course, Node.js developer Jon Peck shows how to debug and speed up your site as he walks through how to fix a complete—but flawed—rock-paper-scissors game. Jon shows how to log problems, debug issues, measure performance, implement caching, and continuously optimize your application for performance.

Food packaging has very specific requirements regarding labeling, size, and materials. On top of that, package designs need to tell the story of the brand and leap out at customers from supermarket shelves. Successful food packaging attracts customers, communicates the brand's unique story, stands out on the shelf, and meets all the essential FDA requirements. This course explores the process of designing packaging for food that prints and presents beautifully while safely containing and protecting the contents. Instructor Gerardo Herrera—the packaging design director for Pasadena ArtCenter College of Design—starts by analyzing the requirements: the brand, the product, the target market, and many other factors that will help determine the direction the package should go. Once a concept is developed, he jumps into the design tools, like Adobe Illustrator, and starts building the packaging. By following along with this hands-on project, you can learn how to choose the right packaging forms, messaging, imagery, color, materials, and prototyping tools and think critically about how the user will interact with the product.

Learn the fundamentals of working with type in Adobe Photoshop. In this course, instructor Nigel French distinguishes when it is appropriate to set type in Photoshop rather than InDesign or Illustrator and what makes Photoshop unique for certain type treatments. He demonstrates essential techniques, such as entering and editing text; interacting with type layers; and adjusting the color, transparency, and character formatting of type. Plus, he discusses some evolving technologies in type, including the new frontier of color fonts.

Whether you're a teacher working on a presentation or a student tackling an assignment, you'll likely need to use images to explain concepts. And while students, educators, and instructional designers don't necessarily need to be Photoshop power users, understanding how to work with the core tools in the powerful image-editing software can both empower individuals and help them produce more compelling images. In this course, join Chris Mattia as he shares key techniques that can help you successfully use Photoshop for teaching and learning. Chris helps you get started with Photoshop, demonstrating how to navigate the user interface, use actions for repetitive tasks, and create clean image compositions. He also shares how to fix common image problems, prepare images for presentations, work with time-lapse videos, and more.

Once you've done the work of capturing landscape portraits, you're ready to start making subtle improvements that can make your images truly stand out. In this edition of Portrait Projects, Chris Orwig shows how to develop striking landscape portraits in post-production using Photoshop and Lightroom. Chris walks through the post-production workflow, explaining how to find the keepers from your shoot and bring your favorite images to life. He shares tips that can help you enhance your photos, correct underexposure, improve backlit photos, and more.

Get a quick introduction to software-defined networking (SDN) and OpenFlow, the SDN communications protocol. This quick-start guide was created for cloud administrators that don't have a lot of time, but who want to leverage an SDN to centralize and automate network provisioning and maintenance. Instructor David Bombal introduces SDN terms and definitions, and reviews core related technologies such as Docker, Open vSwitch (OVS), and OpenDaylight (ODL). David also walks you through a number of hands-on examples: using OpenFlow controllers as programmable patch panels, incorporating an HP Enterprise VAN SDN controller and OVS, working with Linux and Docker containers, and managing OpenFlow packet capture with Wireshark.

Note: This course uses GNS3 for all demonstrations.

Running a company is inherently a risky business. But with a cohesive risk management program, you can reduce financial liability, protect your property and your people, and make sure you stay open for business—no matter what happens. This course offers practical and implementation-ready solutions to protect organizational knowledge and valuation while reducing financial risk for businesses of all sizes and industries. It is designed for business owners, executives, and risk managers who want to protect digital, intellectual, and physical assets; keep employees safe; and guard against cyber threats as well as natural and man-made disasters. Business continuity expert Dan Weedin first reviews the risk management process, from identifying exposures to implementing and monitoring a risk management program. Then he shows how to protect your company by building a strong team that keeps organizational knowledge in-house and operational. Plus, learn how to plan for risks that are unique to the digital age, such as IP theft and cyberattacks, and buy insurance to mitigate financial loss in the worst-case scenario.

Python is hugely popular, boasts an elegant syntax, and has played a notable role in the rise of the open-source community. While this highly readable language can add value to any developer's toolkit, it can be of particular help to C# developers who want to better grasp how .NET is shifting to embrace the open-source community. In this course, Reynald Adolphe helps to acquaint C# developers with Python by helping them leverage what they already know. Throughout the course, Reynald highlights the similarities and differences between Python and C# as he goes over key concepts such as functions, conditional statements, and how to create and work with classes. He also demonstrates the four pillars of object-oriented programming—abstraction, polymorphism, inheritance, and encapsulation—as he walks through the creation of a salary calculator.

You don't have to start from scratch with React. This super popular JavaScript framework can make your existing websites and apps even better, with very little overhead. Learn practical ways to incorporate React in real-world web designs, in this course with Joe Chellman. Joe introduces three small projects that benefit from React: a product manager that showcases React state, props, and events; an employee directory using React forms and animation; and a status board that uses React to make external API calls. Each project demonstrates what makes React most interesting and useful to web designers and provides solutions for dealing with the few unique challenges, such as working without a build tool.

React has been taking the world of front-end development by storm. It helps you write even the most complicated, dynamic interfaces—making simple things faster and difficult things achievable. But even the best cooks need reliable recipes. This course provides tested, easy-to-follow instructions to solve the most common challenges that React developers face every day. Instructor Diego Muracciole dives straight into the most important React concepts as well as the latest features to help you solve your daily development problems. Learn to build complex React components and discover techniques to introduce React into your existing codebase. Find solutions to state and data management issues with Redux, and learn about testing and integrating React with other tools that takes your web app to the next level. In addition to these basics, Diego covers UI animations, rendering, and routing logic.

MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) design is one of the major components of the BIM chain—and Revit is the design tool of choice for many MEP engineers. This course focuses on the MEP features of the 2019 version of Revit for users who prefer to work in imperial units (inches and feet).

You can dive into a specific trade, or take the entire course to learn about all aspects of the vast Revit MEP ecosystem. Upon completion, you'll know how to create basic floor plans, design electric circuits and lighting systems, tackle a mechanical project, create plumbing plans, design sprinkler systems, and document your designs for construction and fabrication.

MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) design is one of the major components of the BIM chain—and Revit is the design tool of choice for many MEP engineers. This course focuses on the MEP features of the 2019 version of Revit for users who prefer to work in metric units (meters, centimeters, etc.).

You can dive into a specific trade, or take the entire course to learn about all aspects of the vast Revit MEP ecosystem. Upon completion, you'll know how to create basic floor plans, design electric circuits and lighting systems, tackle a mechanical project, create plumbing plans, design sprinkler systems, and document your designs for construction and fabrication.

Are you underutilizing your 3D models? Would you like to showcase architecture and engineering by transforming your Revit files into virtual reality experiences? Join Logan Smith and explore strategic export methods for Revit files. Logan covers how to get Revit files ready for export, use the export views, link to a model, and reassign mapping. Then, he shows how to import files into Unity and set up scenes. He also demonstrates how to begin visualization processes and prepare for more advanced Unity work that is covered in other courses.

Revit, 3ds Max, and Unreal are major players in the architecture, visualization, and virtual reality worlds. These technologies allow you to immerse yourself in designs—before you ever build them. Find out how to make these tools play well together to bring your own models to life. Instructor Simon Manning shows how to prepare your Revit projects for export, import them in Unreal, and use the Datasmith Product Viewer template to leverage prebuilt interactive elements such as furniture and lights. Then find out how to create and apply custom materials and adjust the lighting of your model. Simon also shows how to add interactions with Blueprint scripting and package your visualizations for display on VR headsets or mobile devices. Using these tutorials, you can polish your Revit models into interactive presentations that you can't wait to share with clients.

Financial services sales representatives face a set of unique challenges. They sell intangible products or services that involve an element of risk. To succeed, you need to build trust and connect your services with your clients' needs—and their dreams. This course helps you approach the financial services sale in a way that inspires your client's confidence and helps them realize their goals. Learn how to understand the importance of your role, engage financially active customers, and match products to their needs. Business strategist and instructor Meridith Elliott Powell also helps you have great sales conversations and create relationships that last a lifetime.

Discover how to work smarter in Salesforce, the hugely popular customer relationship management (CRM) solution. In this course, Christine Pereira shares practical tips and tricks that can help you customize Salesforce to suit your unique needs and leverage Salesforce features in your day-to-day operations. Christine shows how to keep your data clean by using the right naming conventions, discusses how to use follow-up reminders and tasks to get you closer to closing a deal, and shares strategies for connecting with the Salesforce community.

Manufacturing is a vital, constantly changing industry. The effects of technological advancements, regulations, and other factors present a unique set of challenges to sales professionals. In this course, business strategist and instructor Meridith Elliott Powell provides you with skills and strategies that can help you clearly communicate your value—and close more deals—in this challenging vertical. Meridith highlights key industry trends, shares how to avoid being seen as a commodity, teaches you to leverage stories and case studies to establish credibility, and more.

Enhance your ability to work with the SharePoint Framework (SPFx), the development methodology for Office 365 and SharePoint on premises. This course demonstrates how you can leverage external third-party libraries in your SPFx solutions. Discover how to add third-party libraries into your project, and explore the out-of-the-box behavior for React, Knockout, Angular, and jQuery web parts. Plus, review some advanced scenarios, including how to download libraries programmatically and conditionally, integrate Bootstrap in SPFx, and externalize scripts using externalize and config.json.

Sketch is one of the most popular UX design tools around. This course can help designers of all skill levels be productive with its focused, comprehensive workflow. Follow along with Chris Converse and learn the ins and outs of the Sketch interface, and how to design modern user experiences with Sketch, starting with project setup and working through to interactive prototyping. Chris shows how to create custom shared libraries, draw icons, work with imagery and typography, and share your designs across the web using the Sketch Cloud service. Finally, see how to export your work for developers or project teams for integration into their workflows. By the end of the course, you'll be able to use artboards, share libraries, draw icons, create prototypes, and export assets to high-definition PNGs, JPEGs, and PDFs.

CAD software like SOLIDWORKS makes sheet metal design quick and cost effective. This course gets you up to speed with the sheet metal tools in SOLIDWORKS, and takes you on a trip to the factory floor to see the final manufactured results. Instructor Gabriel Corbett shows what goes on behind the scenes and provides tips on designing parts for the real world.

First, review the sheet metal tools in SOLIDWORKS and the properties that make sheet metal unique: bend radius, K-factor, bend deduction, gauge thickness, and more. Then learn how to create basic parts, with base features, flanges, and bends that add strength and connections. Find out how to flatten parts and add holes, cuts, and corners that are manufacturing ready, and use the Convert to Sheet Metal command to convert imported geometry into native sheet metal parts. Gabriel also shows you how to create assemblies from multiple parts, use the Pattern and Mirrors tools to effortlessly duplicate existing work, and then document your designs with detailed sheet metal drawings. Watch the bonus videos to learn about the different machinery and processes that occur during manufacturing.