You’re never too old to learn new things, and the internet opens up a broad spectrum of learning opportunities for older students. The first acronym you’ll need to know about lifelong learning for seniors is MOOC, which stands for “massive open online course.” A MOOC is an online course designed for open access via the web. Because it is open access, you can start any time you like and go at your own pace. Best of all, it’s free.
Coursera is a well-known MOOC provider with more than 800 courses from over 100 institutions. Fans of poetry will love Penn’s ModPo (Modern & Contemporary Poetry) course on Coursera. The course is open but each year it is supplemented with live webcasts and in-person events at Penn.
MIT also offers OpenCourseWare (OCW), which includes free lecture notes, exams, and videos. No registration is required. While you’ll find expected topics such as mechanical engineering, you’ll also find courses on sexual and gender identities, Black studies, feminist thought, and bestsellers. Categories range from entrepreneurship to environment & sustainability to transportation.
Always wanted to attend an Ivy League institution? You can, with Harvard’s free online courses. Harvard offers courses in programming, education & teaching, science, the humanities, social science, computer science, business, health & medicine, mathematics, art & design and more.
Academic Earth serves up a smorgasbord of courses, from 25 universities. In addition to MIT (232 courses!) and Harvard, there are offerings from Berklee College of Music, Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, Dartmouth, NYU, Princeton, Stanford (161 courses!), GWU, Notre Dame, Oxford, Yale and others. These aren’t just college classes for seniors — they are open to students of any age.
Udemy offers a wide range of free courses. However, many libraries offer their patrons access to Udemy’s full-price courses at no cost. Some libraries also offer free passes to museums, which provide experiential learning. The Lansdale Public Library offers free passes to over a dozen area museums and attractions, including the Academy of Arts and Sciences, National Liberty Museum, Longwood Gardens, the Museum of the American Revolution, and National Constitution Center.
Lifelong learning for seniors comes in many forms. If you’re preparing to travel or simply want to learn a new language, check out The Open University. Free language courses include Chinese, French, German, Italian, Spanish as well as Arabic, Tamil, Gaelic, and Welsh.
Is fitness your thing? Silver Sneakers provides free access to online or in-person classes to individuals 65 and older through select Medicare plans. Local classes include Zumba gold, core conditioning, and PiYo (Pilates and yoga).
Want to flex your creative muscle? Iowa University, home of the famed Iowa Writer’s Workshop, offers MOOC-packs on several writing topics. Explore fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and plays. The Princeton University Art Museum has over 50 free online drawing classes. Try your hand with colored pencils, watercolors, pastels or mediums such as collage.
Let’s not forget YouTube. It’s a lifeline when it comes to lifelong learning for seniors. The class central website lists 1,000-plus free classes on YouTube in personal development alone. Options include stress/anxiety management, body language, and conflict resolution.
Senior Planet is a hub of continuing education for seniors, featuring free classes for those 60 and older. Unlike open courses, these are offered on specific dates/times. Offerings include LGBTQ+ discussion groups; fitness classes such as tai chi, stretching, stronger bones, and Feldenkrais; drum circle; and instructional classes on Zoom and AI.
Of course, for those who prefer in-person learning there are additional opportunities locally. Let’s start right here at Meadowood. One of Meadowell’s seven dimensions of wellness is intellectual. Choose from intellectually stimulating book groups, discussions, lectures, healthy brain classes, and Saturday salons. No wonder we refer to our community as a campus!
Meadowood is a Curiosity U (formerly One Day University) campus, and that access to that platform is free for Meadowood residents. We also host a Second Saturday Salon each month, where we watch a Curiosity U lecture at home and meet to discuss it. Topics range from history and fine arts to space, science, mathematics, and psychology.
If you want to venture beyond the Meadowood campus, on Mondays at 6:30 p.m. in Lansdale there’s a free guided meditation class. Sahaja yoga meditation is designed to calm the mind and achieve thoughtless awareness without any visions or colors, sounds, or strange sensations.
Montgomery County Community College (Montco) offers senior education programs. Students 65 and up can register for classes starting at $57 per credit (vs. the standard $166 fee). Courses are available online, on campus, and in hybrid format.
Want to improve your driving skills? Take a PENNDot approved Basic Mature Driver Improvement Course. While there may be a fee associated with these courses, under Pennsylvania law, drivers 55 and older are eligible to receive a 5 percent discount on their vehicle insurance upon course completion. To maintain the discount, you’ll need to take the Refresher Mature Driver Improvement Course every three years. Check with your insurance carrier for details.
There’s no lack of choices for those who want to expand their mind and their horizons. You’ll find a world of opportunity right at your fingertips, or right in your on back yard.