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How to take advantage of free online lessons while you’re social distancing

Abby Evans, lifestyles staff writer Apr 18, 2020

Bored in the house? In the house bored? If you’re tired of sitting through online lectures during quarantine and itching for something new to try, there are a bunch of websites offering free lessons on practically anything you’d like to learn.

For those who want to learn a string instrument, look no further than Fender Play, which currently offers three months of bass, ukulele and guitar lessons for free. Even if you’re already an experienced musician, there are some new tricks and helpful hints in these lessons. Musicians old and new can choose a training plan, which features paths such as folk, rock, blues, country and pop. Each selection of lessons tailors the music to your liking, making it more fun to learn.

If your study abroad trip got canceled, and if you still have time in the future to go on the trip, now you have the time to learn the language of where you could be going. If you’ve ever been curious about learning a new language, Rosetta Stone is offering three months of free lessons for students. The lessons teach students through immersion, and will teach anyone in school from kindergarten to college students. Rosetta Stone offers immediate feedback on pronunciation, as well as progress data and printable reports to see how you’re coming along. Duolingo also offers a fun and easy way to learn a new language online.

Yale University provides free and wide selection of classes to a variety of online introduction courses for those who have been curious about topics in classes you haven’t had the time to take before,. Courses vary in everything from a history of art to economics. Each course has a full set of lectures, syllabi, suggested readings, exams and problem sets. Not only Yale offers this service — there are as many as 450 online ivy league classes that you can find on just about any subject you’d want to learn. If your current online classes are bringing you down, you might be able to find a free online class to get excited about.

If you’re interested in learning about computer programming, you can learn Python for free online. Microsoft offers Python basics perfect for beginners in computer programming. It offers plenty of practice drills and projects which will take you through all the different skills you need to learn. The time commitment is around three to four hours a week. This can be a valuable skill to employers to see on your resume, depending on the field you’re planning on going into.

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