A recent basketball injury and subsequent surgery tied me to the couch for several months making me a connoisseur of online classes. I took free library-sponsored classes, an expensive class from a prestigious university, and a class advertised on Groupon. While I learned a lot, I became most knowledgeable about online classes themselves and am sharing that experience here.
Cryptozoology – Center For Excellence You know a course is reputable when it’s advertised on Groupon, which is how I found this course. The online curriculum featured Bigfoot, the Yeti, El Chupacabra, Thunderbirds, and Mothman. Lesson formats consisted of reading about each cryptid and completing a quiz at the end. There wasn’t a writing component, though there were several online quizzes. This was the easiest course to complete of all listed here. Regardless, I am proud to be a certified cryptozoologist.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion – Cornell University
This two-month certification program was comprised of four two-week classes. The online curriculum included reading, videos, online sharing components, quizzes, and writing assignments. Also, I had to interview others about their work experiences. Instructors took time to respond to submissions personally, and the content was challenging. It wasn’t cheap. Luckily, my employer paid for it. Unfortunately, this certificate became way more controversial than I ever anticipated.
World Art History Certificate – Smithsonian Associates
If you, like me, have an illogical itch to go back to school for a degree in Art History, this is a cost-effective alternative. The Smithsonian Associates program offers a plethora of in-person and online classes and lectures with world-renowned experts. There aren’t any quizzes or writing assignments, so you’re getting credit for buying the class. Nonetheless, I’ve learned a ton, and it took some stick-to-itiveness to complete which makes it feel valuable. I hustled to finish this up before all the money left government-funded education programs.
Following my fun cryptozoology course, I decided to try UFO Studies through Universal Class, a company that offers free courses through the D.C. public library. I thought the class would be a lark, similar to the cryptozoology class. However, much of the online curriculum recounted historical events that were difficult to dismiss. Crop circles, probably a hoax, but Roswell, something definitely went down. If this sounds silly, read Imminent: Inside the Pentagon’s Hunt for UFOs. This book made me proud to be a certified UFOologist. The course also required a surprising amount of writing, and I did receive individualized feedback.
Tex-Mex Cooking 101 – Universal Class
This course will go down in family lore as the most intrusive and aggravating course I’ve taken.* I thought this course would be similar to others: a series of readings and videos that led to quizzes. However, the online curriculum and assignments required that I cook one dish per module and submit photos of the ingredients, the process, and the finished dish as well as a written review about how the dish turned out.
This complicated family dinners, especially since this course leaned heavily into the beef and meat aspect of Tex-Mex, and my household is largely vegetarian and partially gluten-free.
* My wife/editor suggested I add here that this process would have been far less intrusive had I completed this self-paced course less aggressively.
SEO Copywriting – Universal Class
After an intervention of sorts from my daughter after the Tex-Mex class, I signed up for one final online class. This one is something I would actually put on my resumé and is a great addition to my writing degree. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) Copywriting will help me understand how to drive traffic online with my writing. It will also help explain why I get so little traffic on this website. As you might expect, the curriculum requires a lot of writing. In fact, this post is one of my assignments.
So, in summary, if you want to know about online classes, I’m your guy. I’ve enjoyed each of them whether related to my writing pursuits, professional aspirations, or simply in preparation for future alien encounters.
