Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many of us are social distancing or living in quarantine. To help you stay busy and your mind sharp here are several courses you can learn online, for free.
Courses
You can learn new skills, pursue your interests, or advance your career with short online courses founded on sites such as The Open University and Udemy.
1. Write your own fiction
The Open University
Get started with your own fictional writing classes. Create your own characters with a hands-on course designed for beginners. On this online course, established writers – including Tim Pears, Patricia Duncker, etc… – will talk about how they started writing. You’ll consider the rituals of writing and keeping; a journal; learn how to develop your ideas; reflect on your own writing and editing.
Cost: Free
Duration: 8 weeks – 3 hours per week study
2. Introduction to Dutch
The University of Groningen
Learn to speak, write and understand basic Dutch using this free 3-week introductory foreign language course.
Cost: Free
Duration: 3 weeks – 3 hours per week
3. Discovering Science: Science Writing
University of Leeds
This course is part of the Discovering science program, which enables you to learn about the extraordinary world of everyday chemistry and earn academic credits for the University of Leeds.
Cost: Free
Duration: 2 weeks – 5 hours per week study
4. Mindfulness through meditation – A beginner’s guide
Udemy
Meditation is a very relaxing activity that will help reduce stress and anxiety. Meditation has also been proven to be associated with many other health benefits. Take some time out for yourself and relax, release, and re-energise your mind, body, and soul with this free course whilst living in quarantine.
Cost: Free
Duration: 1 hour 30 minutes
5. How to make a poem
Manchester Metropolitan University
Learn how to write poetry by exploring the vast poetic techniques and styles out there. Don’t worry if you’ve never written a word of poetry before. This course is designed to provide a positive environment in which you can begin writing and sharing your work with others online.
Cost: Free
Duration: 3 weeks – 3 hours per week
6. Master the art of origami
Paper Kawaii – Origami Tutorial
This YouTube channel (with over 400k subscribers) is dedicated to providing beginners with the skills they need to master the art of origami. Students will learn the elementary level of origami crafts and by the end of it, they would be able to master how to craft several patterns of airplanes, animals, boats, ornaments, and decorations.
Cost: Free
Duration: 50+ video
7. The history of the Tudors
The University of Roehampton
Take a trip down the history books and learn about the dramatic rule of the Tudor monarchs and religious change of the 16th-century reformation. The Tudor period was one of the most eventful in British history. The reigns of the five monarchs during the late 15th – 17th century has enthralled historians, students, and media outlets alike.
Cost: Free
Duration: 6 weeks – 5 hours per week study
8. Learn a new language
Duolingo
Duolingo is the most popular language-learning platform and the most downloaded education app in the world, with more than 300 million users. Using this app you can learn a wide range of languages through personalised learning, an immediate grading system, and through fun interactive games. This is the perfect app to use during quarantine where you have a lot of free time to develop a skill that will help you with numerous avenues in life.
Cost: Free
Duration: Completion depends on the individual and the language you are learning. A study shows that 34 hours of Duolingo is equal to 1 university semester of language courses.
9. Digital Wellbeing
University of York
What is the impact of digital technology on our health, relationships and society? How do we ensure our own digital wellbeing? Explore answers to these questions and much more with this course. Explore the concepts of society, health, relationships in the digital age.
Cost: Free
Duration: 3 weeks – 3 hours per week study
10. Learn new culinary skills
Skills Share
Learning to cook will help you understand world cultures, customers, and flavours. You will also learn life skills like eating healthy, budgeting your money and cleaning. This new video-based course will allow you to broaden your skill-set in cooking and learn new skills such as gardening with a raised bed garden and learning the secret to perfect dough kneading.
Cost: 2 months free membership then £15 per month after
Duration: 40+ videos
The importance of continuous learning
People learn new skills for a variety of reasons. Sometimes you need a new skill to progress your career to keep up with technological advances or to take advantage of newly developed techniques. Whether it’s because you need to develop a skill for your professional career or due to the fact that you are bored in quarantine, learning a new skill has benefits that go way beyond the actual skill learned. They possess numerous mental health benefits that will help improve your quality of life.
Learning a new skill in quarantine will help you process information quicker?
An example of a health benefit that is associated with learning a new skill is that it helps you learn things faster over time. By stimulating neurons in the brain, more neural pathways are formed and electrical impulses travel faster across them in order to process new information. It has in the past been established that the more pathways that are formed, the faster impulses can travel.
What’s a new skill you will be learning?
Useful links:
The Open University free courses
Future Learn online courses
Udemy
Are you interested in helping the Trafford community during these tough times? Learn about how to become a carer for Trafford’s only ‘Outstanding’ rated care provider.