After living a routine of waking up and going to work every day for a long time, life in retirement can be a breath of fresh air for your older loved ones. After they stop working, they will have more time to try new things and pursue new interests.

For instance, if your parents and grandparents are extroverted, they may become interested in travelling to new places and cities. Others may fancy acquiring extra knowledge to broaden their scope and learn about new subjects.

Fortunately, several higher institutions in Canada take the enlightenment of older adults seriously, providing a wide variety of informative and exciting courses that they will find helpful. With so many materials on the web, finding the best free online courses for your older folks can be challenging.

On this page, Seasons Retirement has helped compile a list of the best free online courses for your older ones to study. This reputed retirement home in Canada encourages its residents to acquire new skills and information by taking relevant classes.

This article aims to highlight 4 Canadian universities that offer free online classes for older adults, and they include:

1.  University of British Columbia

The University of British Columbia, the province’s oldest University, is an institution of higher learning and research with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna – both in British Columbia. It is ranked among the top 20 public universities in the world.

The University offers different free online courses for seniors, and your older ones can take advantage of this learning opportunity at any time of their choosing. Some of the free courses offered by the University include:

a.   How to Code: Simple Data Program

This is a course delivered on EdX by the University of British Columbia. It will teach your older ones how to write beginner programs to set the foundation for learning other programming languages.

b.   Business Foundation Course

If your loved one is looking to venture into the business world, this course may be a great option. It teaches one to discover how businesses operate while breaking down business’s different components and how they function. It also exposes one to the basics of competitive industry dynamics.

2.  University of Alberta

The University of Alberta, situated in Edmonton, Canada, is one of the best universities in the country. An acclaimed CARU (Comprehensive Academic and Research University), this institution is one of Canada’s best public research universities.

The University of Alberta offers a wide range of academic programs, some of which are available on the internet. Also, the school has an exciting array of online studies that your loved ones would enjoy partaking in. The following are a few free online courses offered by the University of Alberta:

a.   Indigenous Canada

This is a Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) run by the University’s Faculty of Native Studies. Basically, this 12-lesson course discusses Canada’s indigenous past and present-day concerns. It also outlines the essential issues affecting the indigenous Canadian people today, analyzing these problems from a historical perspective.

b.   Dinosaur 101

This is another 12-lesson class offered by the University of Alberta. It will teach your older ones about the non-avian dinosaurs while providing a unique insight into paleontology – a branch of biology that deals with fossil animals and plants. This study’s syllabus covers topics like anatomy, feeding, movement, development, environmental and behavioural adaptations, lineages, and extinction.

c.   Mountains 101

It is a course that studies the physical, biological, and human aspects of mountains in Alberta, Canada, and throughout the world. Your older ones will learn the geological origins of various mountains, their contributions to biodiversity, their importance to different cultures, the changes they are going through today, and the transformations they may experience in the near future.

3.  University of Toronto

Another public research institution in Canada with free online courses that older adults can study is the University of Toronto. Highly rated worldwide, this academy is the first institution of higher learning in Ontario.

The school is famous for its influence on literary and communication studies. Nevertheless, it offers several other programs, including online classes for older adults. Below are some of the free online courses offered at the University of Toronto, Canada:

a.   The Arts and Science of Relationships: Understanding Human Needs

This study explains the basic principles of The Strategies and Skills Learning and Development System (SSLD) and their applications in real-life situations. It also teaches some essential SSLD practice ideas and methodologies and how they have been used to manage certain relationships in the past.

b.   The City and You: Find Your Best Place

This is a course that your older ones may find exciting. It primarily focuses on what different cities do, their contribution to the global community, the forces influencing urbanization, and how to choose a suitable place to stay.

4.  The University of Winnipeg

The University of Winnipeg has shown some bias towards older adults in Canada. Although it offers a lot of programs to undergraduate students, the University of Winnipeg also provides a wide variety of courses for seniors.

Situated in Manitoba province in Canada, the University of Winnipeg is among the very best higher institutions in the country, and the school is quite famous for its long years of academic excellence. Below is a University of Winnipeg course that your older relatives can sign up for online without paying a dime.

a.   Human Resource Management Program

This is one of the best courses for older adults, and it provides a certificate award at the end of the program. Basically, it involves conventional human resource management aspects with business and communication necessities. The course runs for a period of three weeks.

Conclusion

Suppose your parents and grandparents are interested in expanding their knowledge and learning new subjects in retirement. In that case, they can take up any of the free online courses mentioned in this article. After the study, they may even be awarded an academic certificate.

Seasons Retirement prioritizes the growth and development of its residents and ensures that their residents, who fancy taking up online classes, find the right ones to participate in.