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Coursera, known for its online courses, also offers hands-on project tutorial s through Coursera Project Network.

Coursera; Alyssa Powell/Business Insider

• I tried out the Coursera Project Network to gain basic Figma skills. 
• Though I learned a lot and earned a certificate, I ran into some technical difficulties.
• The lag and time limit of the split screen technology took away from my experience. 

My first exposure to the software Figma was working as a UX writer intern over the summer. Though I looking at different Figma files everyday, the only thing I knew how to do with 100% certainty was make comments and edit text. 

By working closely with UX designers, I was able to  watch them create incredible products with Figma and I became interested in learning the tool for myself. I wasn’t necessarily starting from scratch, but I knew needed to learn in a way that wasn’t going to overwhelm me. 

Since I’ve had a great past experience using Coursera to learn on my own, I decided to try the Coursera Project Network’s Get Started with Figma course. Just as the title indicates, this course is centered around completing a guided project in Figma that, in theory, I could add to my portfolio. The time commitment was supposed to be 1-2 hours, the course is free, and I would earn a certificate I could share on my LinkedIn. It seemed like a perfect fit.

What is the Coursera Project Network?

A split-screen view of a Coursera Project Network course.

Gareen Puglia/Coursera

Coursera introduced the concept of “guided project” learning in 2020 to provide an opportunity for learners to showcase their skills though sharable projects. What makes these courses distinct from others you might find on Coursera is the smaller time commitment and focus on step-by-step guidance  on a singular project.

Compared to the other Coursera course I took, the time commitment differed from six weeks to a few hours. You can also think of the difference between the Coursera Project Network and other Coursera courses as the difference between reading a chapter versus the whole book.  

The technology of the guided projects is specific to the Coursera Project Network with a split-screen function. These courses are hosted through a cloud desktop workspace, so that the learner can hear and watch the instructions while working on the project at the same time. This means that you do not need to download the software to learn, but also that these courses are not suited for mobile devices.  

Coursera Project Network offers multiple viewing options.

Gareen Puglia/Coursera

Are Coursera Project Network courses free?

Not all Coursera Project Network courses are free. Those that require payment are priced at $9.99. However, you can find free guided project courses easily on the site. 

Will I get a certificate of completion?

Yes. Upon completing the course, you’ll be able to access your certificate — a downloadable PDF you can share on your LinkedIn page for potential employers to see.

My review of Get Started with Figma

I have mixed feelings about my experience with Get Started With Figma. 

I really appreciated how the course made the project digestible: There was an initial brief reading that presented the learning objectives in concise bullet points. The project was broken down into tasks, presented with instructional videos each around five minutes long, and it was clear that I should know the basics of Figma and web page development by the end. The project was broken down into tasks, presented with instructional videos each around five minutes long. 

The instructor also referenced additional resources outside of Coursera so we could understand the layout we were building and continue learning. After completing the project and taking a quiz, I was given a certificate of completion. 

Since this course is beginner level, the initial task the instructor walked through was setting up a Figma account. I already had an account, but it seemed like the Figma I was using was different from the Figma shown in the instructional video, which confused me. For example, the instructor was working on an iPhone 11 frame — I couldn’t even find that template and ended up using one for an iPhone 14. The fact my screen wasn’t 100% identical to my instructor’s threw me off.  

Some discrepancies between my screen and the instructor’s.

Gareen Puglia/Coursera

Initially, I was so excited to try out the split-screen technology of this course. Unfortunately, I was underwhelmed by it. There was a lag that made following along with the pace of the instructor difficult. I could pause the video to catch up, but the lag also impacted how precisely I could move my cursor. 

I also didn’t realize that the cloud desktop space I was using on the left side of my screen had a time limit. I figured this out when, all of a sudden, the space I was working in went blank and would not refresh. This might have been because I had taken a long time to log in to Figma. I could keep watching the videos on the right hand side of my screen, but this defeated the point of the split-screen technology to work and watch in the same space. 

I was unaware of the time limits in the course, which made learning trickier.

Gareen Puglia/Coursera

I had to finish my Figma project outside of the cloud workspace in a makeshift split-screen function. The problem then was that the video paused every time I left the window (this ended up being a minor inconvenience, as I was doing a lot of pausing anyway).

In the end, I was able to finish the project, though it did take me longer than I anticipated. 

The bottom line

Technical difficulties aside, this course helped solidify my foundation in Figma fairly quickly. My experience with the lag of the split-screen technology and the time limit of the cloud workspace did take away from my experience. But since this was a free course, I would still recommend it to others. 

I think project-based learning was a really effective way for me to strengthen my design skills and the structure and pacing of the course was fantastic. I would be interested in trying out other courses from the Coursera Project Network, especially now that I’m mindful of the time limit of the cloud workspace.

SoulCycle co-founders Elizabeth Cutler (left) and Julie Rice.

Jason Merritt/Getty Images

• SoulCycle co-founders Elizabeth Cutler and Julie Rice are launching their new company this month. 
• Peoplehood, a “guided conversation practice” business, provides 60-minute “gather” sessions. 
• While the company has been in beta mode, Cutler and Rice are not disclosing pricing until launch. 

SoulCycle founders and Elizabeth Cutler and Julie Rice are preparing to launch Peoplehood, their next big venture which they describe as a membership-based “guided conversation practice” business.

Taking a cue from their popular cycling empire, the duo is once again blending community and wellness, this time through discussion rather than exercise. According to its website, Peoplehood is designed as a resource to “talk freely and listen deeply” through practicing “relational fitness, an entirely new concept with one goal: to help you feel better.” 

The company is currently in beta mode and will launch to the public later in January. Rice and Cutler did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment, but told Inc. the company is not disclosing pricing until launch. 

Though Peoplehood does not claim to be group therapy, it appears to operate similarly, with 60-minute “gather” sessions held both virtually and at a studio in New York City. In the sessions, attendees discuss their lives, and participate in breathing or stretching exercises led by a facilitator.

In virtual beta sessions attended separately by Inc. reporter Christine Lagorio-Chafki and New York Times reporter Katherine Rosman — in November and May, respectively — each was instructed to listen without interruption as others spoke, and react only using approved gestures such as snapping or placing your hand over your heart.

Their sessions began with each participant providing a brief introduction, then discussing how they were feeling. Each person spoke for a set amount of time, and afterwards, they moved into small-group sessions where each attendee answered different questions before reconvening to reflect, and participate in breathing or stretching exercises. 

“Everybody wants a place to feel heard,” Rice told Inc. “There’s not a day that goes by that if somebody asked you how you were doing, really, and gave you three minutes to talk about it, you couldn’t fill that time and you wouldn’t feel differently after you had been given that time.” 

Lagorio-Chafkin described her experience as “part AA or support group, but you need an open wallet, not a court order, to be there.” 

Rice told the New York Times in May that the concept was derived from the success of SoulCycle, inspired in part by recognizing “the product we were selling was connection with other people.”

“We realized that connection should be its own product,” Rice told the Times. “We are modern medicine for the loneliness epidemic.”

Despite Peoplehood’s focus on connection, there appears to be no actual conversing or discussion in the sessions. Instead they serve as a venue for people to share their innermost thoughts, uninterrupted.

“There’s a total structure and scaffolding, so there’s no real exchange of dialogue in class. There’s not a whole lot of room for this thing to go off the ramp,” Rice told Inc.

Peoplehood already is raising some eyebrows, including those of licensed therapists and medical professionals who spoke to the Times about the lack of a trained mental health professional. 

“It feels therapeutic, but it’s not therapy,” Rice told the Times in response. “It’s vitamins, not medicine.”

Julie Rice (left) and Elizabeth Cutler

Courtesy of SoulCycle

Similar to SoulCycle, Rice and Cutler also intend to sell Peoplehood merchandise, including apparel, tote bags, and prayer candles, the New York Times reported. 

“We joked that we knew we could take the bikes out of SoulCycle and put tambourines on the floor or bean bags around the room, and most people were still probably going to come,” Rice told Inc. of the transition from cycling to group discussions. “It was about people finding a space to be together in a very supportive way.”

Cutler and Rice, along with fellow co-founder Ruth Zukerman, opened the first SoulCycle location in New York City in 2006. The upscale cycling studio quickly became a favorite of celebrities like Lady Gaga and the Kardashians, and developed a cult following. 

Though Zukerman left in 2009, Cutler and Rice stayed on until 2016. The two stepped down from their roles as co-chief creative officers, and sold their company shares for $90 million to Equinox, which acquired a majority stake of the company in 2011. 

Snow blanketed the east side of Buffalo, New York, in late December.

Joed Viera/AFP

• Chaz Teplin spent $30,000 to electrify his home and tracked what happened during the winter storm.
• Teplin estimated his home was 50% more energy efficient than a neighbor’s home with gas appliances.
• The Inflation Reduction Act should make it cheaper for homeowners to electrify their houses.

This article is part of Insider’s weekly newsletter on sustainability, written by Catherine Boudreau, senior sustainability reporter. Sign up here.

The winter storm that blanketed much of the US in late December put Chaz Teplin’s green-home renovation to the test. 

Teplin, a principal within the Carbon-Free Electricity program at the think tank RMI, electrified his 2,400-square-foot townhouse in Boulder, Colorado, last year by replacing a gas-powered air conditioner, furnace, and water heater with heat pumps. The upgrades required new electrical wiring for higher-voltage outlets. The total price tag: $30,000.

When temperatures dropped to -10 degrees Fahrenheit before Christmas in Boulder, Teplin monitored what happened on a smart electric panel.

“My system performed great! But did use lots of power,” he tweeted.

While most people won’t nerd out on heat pumps like Teplin — a climate hawk personally and professionally — the benefits of installing them are becoming hard to ignore. Shifts in policy and reputation are removing old barriers, such as high up-front costs and concerns that heat pumps won’t work during frigid weather, which limited their adoption to mostly warmer states.

Modern heat pumps can keep homes warm from snowy Colorado to chilly Maine and come with a fail-safe known as electric-resistance heating. Despite the name, heat pumps both warm and cool a home by circulating heat from indoors to outdoors and back again. Moving heat is more energy efficient than making heat like a furnace does. 

The efficiency means homeowners can save hundreds of dollars each year on their utility bills and reduce greenhouse-gas emissions by burning fewer fossil fuels. According to a study by the nonprofit Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, models designed for colder areas in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions of the country saved homeowners around $948 a year compared with fuel-oil systems. 

The Inflation Reduction Act, which became law last summer, authorized a rebate program for low- and medium-income households to claim up to $8,000 toward heat pumps for heating and cooling, and up to $1,750 for a water heater. States expect to roll out rebates later this year. The law also includes tax credits of up to $2,000 for homeowners of any income level. A tool built by Rewiring America, an electrification-advocacy group, shows what people might qualify for. 

“My advice is don’t wait, especially if you have an old gas furnace or air conditioner,” Teplin told Insider. “Research contractors that are familiar with heat pumps.”

If homeowners wait until existing appliances fail, it will be a mad dash to replace them, and heat pumps aren’t the default choice for many contractors, Teplin said. 

After the winter storm, Teplin said he compared notes with a neighbor who has a gas-powered system. Teplin and his neighbor estimated the heat pumps operated with about 50% more energy efficiency on the coldest days. 

Even though Colorado’s electricity supply isn’t 100% renewable today, a heat pump is still more climate friendly because it uses less energy. Colorado is aiming for a completely renewable power grid by 2040. 

Teplin said a mix of coal, gas, wind, and solar all provided his electricity during the storm, but he can see a future where renewables and battery storage could meet all the demand.

The world’s glaciers are shrinking and disappearing faster than scientists thought, with two-thirds of them projected to melt out of existence by the end of the century at current climate change trends, according to a new study.

But if the world can limit future warming to just a few more tenths of a degree and fulfill international goals — technically possible but unlikely according to many scientists — then slightly less than half the globe’s glaciers will disappear, said the same study. Mostly small but well-known glaciers are marching to extinction, study authors said.

In an also unlikely worst-case scenario of several degrees of warming, 83% of the world’s glaciers would likely disappear by the year 2100, study authors said.

[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

The study in Thursday’s journal Science examined all of the globe’s 215,000 land-based glaciers — not counting those on ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica — in a more comprehensive way than past studies. Scientists then used computer simulations to calculate, using different levels of warming, how many glaciers would disappear, how many trillions of tons of ice would melt, and how much it would contribute to sea level rise.

The world is now on track for a 2.7-degree Celsius (4.9 degrees Fahrenheit) temperature rise since pre-industrial times, which by the year 2100 means losing 32% of the world’s glacier mass, or 48.5 trillion metric tons of ice as well as 68% of the glaciers disappearing. That would increase sea level rise by 4.5 inches (115 millimeters) in addition to seas already getting larger from melting ice sheets and warmer water, said study lead author David Rounce.

“No matter what, we’re going to lose a lot of the glaciers,” Rounce, a glaciologist and engineering professor at Carnegie Mellon University, said. “But we have the ability to make a difference by limiting how many glaciers we lose.”

“For many small glaciers it is too late,” said study co-author Regine Hock, a glaciologist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks and the University of Oslo in Norway. “However, globally our results clearly show that every degree of global temperature matters to keep as much ice as possible locked up in the glaciers.”

Projected ice loss by 2100 ranges from 38.7 trillion metric tons to 64.4 trillion tons, depending on how much the globe warms and how much coal, oil and gas is burned, according to the study.

The study calculates that all that melting ice will add anywhere from 3.5 inches (90 millimeters) in the best case to 6.5 inches (166 millimeters) in the worst case to the world’s sea level, 4% to 14% more than previous projections.

That 4.5 inches of sea level rise from glaciers would mean more than 10 million people around the world — and more than 100,000 people in the United States — would be living below the high tide line, who otherwise would be above it, said sea level rise researcher Ben Strauss, CEO of Climate Central. Twentieth-century sea level rise from climate change added about 4 inches to the surge from 2012 Superstorm Sandy costing about $8 billion in damage just in itself, he said.

Scientists say future sea level rise will be driven more by melting ice sheets than glaciers.

But the loss of glaciers is about more than rising seas. It means shrinking water supplies for a big chunk of the world’s population, more risk from flood events from melting glaciers and about losing historic ice-covered spots from Alaska to the Alps to even near Mount Everest’s base camp, several scientists told The Associated Press.

“For places like the Alps or Iceland… glaciers are part of what makes these landscapes so special,” said National Snow and Ice Data Center Director Mark Serreze, who wasn’t part of the study but praised it. “As they lose their ice in a sense they also lose their soul.”

Hock pointed to Vernagtferner glacier in the Austrian Alps, which is one of the best-studied glaciers in the world, but said “the glacier will be gone.”

The Columbia Glacier in Alaska had 216 billion tons of ice in 2015, but with just a few more tenths of a degree of warming, Rounce calculated it will be half that size. If there’s 4 degrees Celsius (7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming since pre-industrial times, an unlikely worst-case scenario, it will lose two-thirds of its mass, he said.

“It’s definitely a hard one to look at and not drop your jaw at,” Rounce said.

Glaciers are crucial to people’s lives in much of the world, said National Snow and Ice Center Deputy Lead Scientist Twila Moon, who wasn’t part of the study.

“Glaciers provide drinking water, agricultural water, hydropower, and other services that support billions (yes, billions!) of people,” Moon said in an email.

Moon said the study “represents significant advances in projecting how the world’s glaciers may change over the next 80 years due to human-created climate change.”

That’s because the study includes factors in glacier changes that previous studies didn’t and is more detailed, said Ruth Mottram and Martin Stendel, climate scientists at the Danish Meteorological Institute who weren’t part of the research.

This new study better factors in how the glaciers’ ice melts not just from warmer air, but water both below and at the edges of glaciers and how debris can slow melt, Stendel and Mottram said. Previous studies concentrated on large glaciers and made regional estimates instead of calculations for each individual glacier.

In most cases, the estimated loss figures Rounce’s team came up with are slightly more dire than earlier estimates.

If the world can somehow limit warming to the global goal of 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) of warming since pre-industrial times — the world is already at 1.1 degrees (2 degrees Fahrenheit) — Earth will likely lose 26% of total glacial mass by the end of the century, which is 38.7 trillion metric tons of ice melting. Previous best estimates had that level of warming melting translating to only 18% of total mass loss.

“I have worked on glaciers in the Alps and Norway which are really rapidly disappearing,” Mottram said in an email. “It’s kind of devastating to see.”

Damar Hamlin showed “remarkable improvement” over the past 24 hours but remains critically ill, the Buffalo Bills said on Thursday, after the 24-year-old safety suffered cardiac arrest on the field during a game Monday against the Cincinnati Bengals.

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Michael Burry.

Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images

• “Big Short” investor Michael Burry is surprised Salesforce stock didn’t drop on job cut news. 
• “CRM should have been down 25% on those job cuts. Job cuts are so not the reason to own that,” he tweeted. 
• Salesforce announced labor force cuts on Wednesday and saw its stock climb 3.6%. 

“Big Short” investor Michael Burry thinks Salesforce stock should have seen a steep decline after announcing job cuts on Wednesday. 

“CRM should have been down 25% on those job cuts. Job cuts are so not the reason to own that,” Burry tweeted.

Salesforce stock rose 3.6% after the announced cut to its labor force on Wednesday. Shares slipped 2% on Thursday and has tumbled more than 40% from a year ago.

The Scion Asset Management founder, whose billion-dollar bet against the housing bubble was immortalized in the book and the movie “The Big Short,” has been warning of an overall stock market crash and a looming recession. 

Meanwhile, Salesforce will trim its workforce by 10% in an effort to strengthen profit margins. CEO Marc Benioff told employees in a letter that Salesforce had been to aggressive with hiring during the pandemic.

“The environment remains challenging and our customers are taking a more measured approach to their purchasing decisions,” he wrote, adding that “the market doesn’t fully appreciate how committed we are to growth and margins.”

The enterprise software giant had about 80,000 employees worldwide as of October 31, up from more than 49,000 on January 31, 2020.

Salesforce is the latest tech company to employ major cost cutting efforts in response to a decline in demand and a more challenging macroeconomic environment.

Facebook parent Meta has said it will cut 13% of its staff, Twitter plans a 50% reduction, Snap has announced a 20% cut, and most recently Amazon said it would slash payroll by more than 18,000.

But Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote on Thursday that cuts at Salesforce and Amazon represent the first necessary step in staging a turnaround for the technology sector, doubling down on his call that it could deliver 20% returns in 2023.

Despite criticism and jokes about the open job position, over 200 applicants have applied to be Southwest’s PR advisor.

Seth Herald/Getty Images

• Southwest Airlines is hiring a new PR rep, according to LinkedIn.
• Social media users are calling out the ad in the wake of the airline’s holiday travel meltdown.
• “I hear Hell is looking for a PR director too. Probably an easier job,” one Facebook user wrote.

Southwest Airlines is looking for a new public relations advisor, but many social media users aren’t ready to look past how the company bungled its 2022 holiday travel schedule. 

Facebook users were quick to comment and joke about the ad, which the Dallas-based airline published on LinkedIn Tuesday. Many comments pointed out Southwest’s widespread cancellations during December that caused much backlash from affected passengers.

“If anyone is looking to spice up their New Year, Southwest is looking for a Public Relations Advisor,” one user captioned a link to the ad.

“I hear Hell is looking for a PR director too. Probably an easier job,” one Facebook user commented, according to the New York Post.

Another user commented: “What kind of thrillseeker do you have to be to apply for this?” 

Despite the mocking, the full-time, mid-senior level position has over 200 applicants as of Thursday afternoon and comes with the perk of flying for free, according to the posting. Communications employees at Southwest make an average of about $104,ooo per year, according to career site Glassdoor.

The user’s post in a private PR-related Facebook group garnered hundreds of likes and reactions from its members, NY Post reported. Despite the high number of applicants, most commenters didn’t seem interested in the wake of Southwest’s travel meltdown.

“Couldn’t pay me enough, not even in free flights,” one comment read.

Southwest canceled thousands of flights during the busy holiday weekend, leaving many passengers stranded and alone for Christmas and New Years. Frustrated employees of the budget airline said the debacle was caused by Southwest’s outdated scheduling software, according to Insider’s Taylor Rains.

The company has since apologized to affected passengers and offered refunds, reimbursements, travel vouchers, and 25,000 frequent flier points to those whose reservations were canceled or significantly delayed.

 

Troopers with 3rd Armored Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division firing the 25mm canon on a Bradley fighting vehicle in order to zero the vehicles weapons systems at a range in Poland on August 18, 2022. .

US military photo by Staff Sgt. Charles Porter

• The US, Germany, and France are sending Ukraine Western-made armored vehicles for the first time.
• Ukrainian forces will be trained by the US and Germany on how to use their respective systems. 
• The move would give Ukraine a significant ground combat capability boost for offensive operations.

Western-made armored vehicles from the US, Germany, and France will be heading to Ukraine for the first time since Russia started a deadly and destructive war with its neighbor 10 months ago, and they are expected to give Kyiv a significant firepower and ground combat capability boost. 

The White House announced in a joint press statement on Thursday that the US intends to provide Kyiv with Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, while Germany plans to send Marder infantry fighting vehicles.

Ukrainian forces will be trained by both countries on how to use their respective systems, which are capable of carrying troops into battle and also providing them with fire support.

A Marder armored vehicle

Klaus-Dietmar Gabbert/picture alliance via Getty Images

President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made the decision public after speaking on the phone Thursday, when the two leaders discussed military, diplomatic, humanitarian, and financial support for Ukraine. Earlier, both countries had hinted that Western armored vehicles could be included among future military aid. 

The joint press statement from the US and Germany came just one day after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron, who decided to “transfer light tanks and Bastion APCs” to Kyiv. Zelenskyy did not specify which light vehicles he was referring to, though French politician Benjamin Haddad later confirmed that they are AMX-10 RC armored fighting vehicles. 

The AMX-10 RC is French-made armored combat and reconnaissance vehicle designed in 1970 and has seen decades of service in places like western Africa, the Middle East, and Afghanistan. The Bastion is a more modern French armored personnel carrier.

An AMX-10RC armored vehicle during a training exercise.

US Marine Corps

“Agreed with [Emmanuel Macron] on further cooperation to significantly strengthen [Ukrainian] air defense and other defense capabilities,” Zelenskyy said. “We also agreed to work on the implementation of #PeaceFormula. Thank you friend! Your leadership brings our victory closer.”

Ukraine’s defense ministry said on Thursday, before the announcement from the US and Germany, that Macron’s decision will move Ukraine closer to victory, “especially when the AMX-10 RCs are joined by their American and, we believe, German peers.”

Ukraine has repeatedly requested tanks and other armored vehicles from Western countries. Although the infantry fighting vehicles won’t necessarily deliver the same effects as heavy tanks, they still provide valuable transport and mobile firepower capabilities for Ukrainian offensive operations.

The news that France, Germany, and the US plan to send armored vehicles comes ahead of the anticipated start of a 36-hour-long ceasefire that was announced earlier on Thursday by Russian President Vladimir Putin for the upcoming Orthodox Christmas holiday. If it is implemented, the ceasefire would be the first major truce of the war, but Kyiv has not been very receptive of the proposal.

“After 10 months of genocide, after hundreds of destroyed Ukrainian churches, isn’t it too late for the kremlin to think of God?” the Ukrainian defense ministry said on social media.