I have put together a list of potential online learning and culture activities and for the COVID lockdown. It seems that the lockdown will continue to be in place to some degree for some time to come. I hope you find these resources helpful!

Learning Activities for the COVID Lockdown

Being stuck at home during the lockdown is a great time to develop new skills and knowledge. You can learn a skill that you wouldn’t usually have time for, and there is a lot on offer for free at the moment. Here are some remote learning opportunities:

Courses through Universities

• The Open University’s OpenLearn courses are free and online. Many of them are accredited and have a printable certificate once you have finished the course.
• Oxford Home Study is offering some courses for free.
• The University of Edinburgh offers some short courses online for free.
• Open Yale Courses has some free open access introductory courses.  They are available online to make learning accessible to everyone.
• Open Learning at Harvard also has some free and low-cost courses online.
• edX has courses from universities from all over the world, and it’s free to sign up. 
• FutureLearn has some great free and short accredited courses. They are partners with UK universities and have subjects across law, science, language and media.
• You can take some free courses from universities and colleges from around the world with Coursera.

Other Learning Opportunities

• You can learn to code for free from Codecademy.
• BitDegree has loads of online courses free to help people learn new skills during the pandemic.  Their focus is on coding and game design.
• The Rosetta Stone is offering three free months to students. It is a great way to begin or brush up on a language.
• KelbyOne has made some of its online photography courses free.  
• You can get free tips about gardening and activities to do with your younger siblings or nieces and nephews at Playofthewild.
• Fender is currently offering the first 100,000 applicants three moths of free guitar lessons.
• Audible has hundreds of books currently available for free. You can listen through Alexa, phone, tablet or computer. You can also get the regular free 30-day trial.

Cultural Activities

• The National Theatre has full length plays on Youtube. They recently added Frankenstein starring Jonny Lee Miller and Benedict Cumberbatch.
• The Metropolitan Opera is streaming performances for free.
• The Show Must Go On has a new Andrew Lloyd Webber musical on Youtube every week. There are some classics already available such as The Phantom of the Opera.

You can get involved in the #PotatoPete campaign. It’s a great way to engage with others in a fun and creative way online.