It's Never Too Late to Learn with These Senior-Friendly Online Classes

About Brookdale Senior Living

Brookdale Senior Living offers multiple care levels for seniors in more than 600 communities nationwide. Brookdale helps you find the right care plan for yourself or your loved one. With amenities such as transportation services, salons and private dining rooms and activities such as gardening, fitness classes and trivia nights Brookdale caters to a wide range of interests and needs.

Senior couple following a virtual cooking class.

Learning doesn’t just happen in a classroom. It may have been years since you were last a student, but today, there are plenty of options for you to continue your education. In fact, a study has shown that continuing education has a positive impact on cognitive abilities as we age and can even help improve memory. Luckily, thanks to online courses, discovering a new passion or diving into an interest you've always wondered about can be as easy as sitting down in front of a computer or scrolling on a tablet or smartphone.

Many of these courses include video lessons, quizzes, games and hands-on learning tools to make sure you’re getting everything you want out of them. If you don’t know where to start, we’ve compiled a list of some easy and free online classes.

Coursera

Imagine going back to college from the comfort of your home. That’s what Coursera is like. This site offers over 3,900 classes, more than 13 professional certificates, and more than 20 degrees and MasterTrack™ certificates. While degree programs aren’t free, classes for casual learners are. Explore topics like philosophy, nutrition, psychology, economics and art at your own pace with quizzes and hands-on projects.

Khan Academy

Khan Academy was started with the mission to provide free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. Classes are structured by grade and topic, but aren’t restricted by age. If you’re so inclined, you can brush up on your algebra and U.S. history, or take more general classes like personal finance and storytelling.

YouTube

YouTube can be one of the easiest, most helpful tools when it comes to continued learning. If you need to know how to do something, chances are a subject matter expert has made a free, detailed video with tips and tricks and uploaded it to YouTube. All you have to do is search. If you’re looking for more structured classes, there are even some YouTube accounts dedicated to teaching with directional video series. Here are a few:

DuoLingo

Learning a new language has been made easier thanks to Duolingo. With over 40 languages to choose from, these free classes make picking up a new language as simple as playing a game. You can take the classes at a beginner or advanced level to suit your pace. There are even audio stories, a translation dictionary and an app so you can practice and learn on your smartphone.

Aprons Cooking School

If you dream of becoming a master cook or just want to try your hand at new meals, the Aprons Cooking School from Publix is a great place to start. The free classes are taught by chefs and range from lessons in plant-based cooking to baking workshops. If you want to binge-watch the lessons, you can also access them all on Apron Cooking School’s YouTube playlist.

Want more senior-friendly tech advice? Take a look at our Tech for Seniors blog posts.