Dino 101: Dinosaur Paleobiology

Dino 101: Dinosaur Paleobiology is a twelve-lesson course from the University of Alberta on non-avian dinosaurs. It starts with appearance and anatomy and how animals die and fossilise, then covers eating, locomotion, birth, growth and reproduction, and attack and defence. The second half turns to the science around dinosaurs: what a species is, evolution, stratigraphy and geologic time, paleogeography and plate tectonics, and finally dinosaur origins and extinction.

Lessons are recorded in museums, fossil-preparation labs and at dig sites, and Coursera estimates them at one to two hours each. The page lists the course at beginner level with no prior experience required on a flexible schedule of one week at ten hours a week, although the course description itself gives an estimated workload of three to five hours a week. Everything is free: the course FAQ says all features are available at no cost, and it states that no certificates, credentials or reports are awarded.