This course uses a number of interactive features to help you learn the material.

Throughout the course, you will find multiple-choice quizzes and hands-on exercises. These learning checks will allow you to assess what you have learned and, if necessary, what to go back and review.

Whenever you see this graphic within the course, an applet that explains or dissects some element of a UML diagram will follow. Move your mouse cursor over the parts of the image outlined in red to display pop-up explanations.

The SlideShow Widget presents a series of images that you can flip through, either forward or backward.
In this course, we will be using Slide Show to illustrate some of the UML elements and diagrams.

This course presents each concept in the UML specification with an introduction that assumes no prior knowledge and progresses through a complete description of its advanced application, while pointing out the changes from UML 1.4 to UML 2.0. For example, the Class diagram includes a number of modeling elements and each element is explained from the basics to the complete specification. Next, the entire Class diagram is explained, using the individual modeling elements together to build a complete example.
Many concepts at times come together, as in the relationships between Class diagrams and Sequence diagrams. Furthermore, the course presents an introduction to the basic relationships and their consequences and proceeds with a complete description of how those relationships might play out in your software modeling process.
The first few modules provide an introduction and later modules cover more advanced topics. I believe that you will find the approach in "UML Fundamentals" most effective for this particular subject. You will quickly be able to recognize the presentation pattern. As you become accustomed to the approach, you can choose to skip over sections that you might already be familiar with and focus on the new material that is most useful to you. This course will provide you with both an appreciation for the usefulness of the software modeling resources of UML and a working knowledge of the potential that these tools and concepts have for improving the way you build software.

Many of the terms used in the course are defined in a JavaScript glossary. The terms appear in the lesson text in the individual modules. Clicking a glossary term opens a small window with the definition. At that time, you can also choose to view the entire course glossary. In addition, glossary links for key terms appear in each module conclusion lesson.
In the next lesson, you will learn how to create and submit course exercises.