Taking Advantage of the

Let’s be honest. We were all going stir crazy within a week of the beginning of all this Coronavirus-craziness. And by the time April hits, we’ve made a serious dent in our binge-watching on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Disney +, and all the other streaming services. The kids are probably bouncing off the walls with cabin fever as well.

But one of the great things about our current technological capabilities is that with this chaos comes a unique opportunity. Something that previous generations have not been able to access. There’s a rapidly expanding pool of online resources that all you to turn your at-home time into fantastic opportunities for self-improvement and education.

Here are just a few of those opportunities (most are FREE!) to get you started. This is just scratching the surface, folks. More opportunities are being added daily…so if you don’t find something that interests you, use Google to see what else is available. updated with videos about computer coding for kids and adults, gardening tips, embroidering tutorials, and book chats. More content is on the way. Here are both sites:

Main site: PioneerLibrarySystem.org YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/user/normanlibrary/featured

STUDY AT AN IVY LEAGUE SCHOOL

Would you like to audit some courses at Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Columbia, or Penn? That’s right! The Ivy League is at your fingertips. These are all free courses you can take online across multiple platforms. The courses are split into the following subjects: Computer Science, Data Science, Programming, Humanities, Business, Art & Design, Science, Social Sciences, Health & Medicine, Engineering, Education & Teaching, Mathematics, and Personal Development.

ClassCentral.com

PIONEER LIBRARY SYSTEM

Whether you have a library card or not (and if you don’t…what ARE you thinking?), the Pioneer Library system has resources for you. With a card you can download eBooks and access streaming services through the PLS website. You don’t need a card to access the library’s YouTube page which is being regularly

FREE E-BOOKS

OK, you’re not going to find Harry Potter or 50 Shades of Whatever Nonsense in this list. But Project Gutenbergy has more than 60,000 free eBooks available for download or online reading. This includes a wide selection of classics like Pride and Prejudice, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Little Women, Moby Dick, Heart of Darkness, Dracula, Adventures of Huckleberry Fin, Peter Pan, and Wuthering Heights. Talk about the perfect time to tackle some literary classics! If that’s not your cup of tea, you’ll also find odd collections like some of the great science fiction anthologies of the 1930’s and 1940’s.

Reading free ebooks, learning to code, and virtually visiting zoos are some of the many free activities that can be done while practicing social distancing.

LEARN AT HOME

With schools closing their buildings for the remainder of the year, parents might be looking for some resources to augment the distance learning options being offered by school districts. Khan Academy for Kids is one of those sites that can help. It features lessons dozens of videos and thousands of interactive activities for children ages two to seven. The site is free, but does accept donations.

KhanAcademy.org

PHILOSOPHY LECTURES

So, all of this chaos has lead you to dig into the meaning behind life. You’re in luck. There’s a free Google Documents spread sheet that has a comprehensive list of philosophy lectures from some of the world’s leading professors. You’ll find hundreds of video lectures here covering topics from The Problem of Evil to Nietzche.

bit.ly/Philosophy_Lectures

CHRISTIAN APOLOGETICS

C.S. Lewis is probably best known to the general public as the author of The Chronicles of Narnia. But he was also a brilliant apologist for the Christian faith. The C.S. Lewis Institute offers an extensive lecture series with study guides on Basic Apologetics (also known as Defending Your Faith). The resources are free, but donations are accepted.

CSLewisInstitute.org/Basic_Apologetics_Course than 22 hours of tutorials that covers scripting and Unity editor essentials…and could be the beginning of a new career for you.

Learn.Unity.Com/course/unity-c-survival-guide

VIRTUAL VISITS

While popular sites like museums, aquariums, zoos, and parks may be closed to the public, many of them offer free virtual tours. Here’s a brief list of some of those options for you and your family:

Amnh.org/explore/ology The American Museum of Natural History: you can choose an “Ology” to investigate with your kids. Among the options are archaeology, marine biology, zoology, and astronomy.

AirandSpace.si.edu/anywhere The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum offers 360º immersive views of this wildly popular museum.

OKCZoo.org/okc-zoo-at-two This popular destination may be closed to the public, but the Oklahoma City Zoo@Two Digital Series offers daily videos that give you a breath-takingly close view of the animals they care for.

LEARN THE C# PROGRAMMING LANGUAGE

If you’ve ever wanted to dive into the world of computer programming and video game development, right now is the perfect time. Unity, a platform used by video game creators and programmers around the world, has made their Unity C# Survival Guide course free for a limited time. It’s a beginner course with more MontereyBayAquarium.org/animals.live-cams Tune into a live web cams and check out sea horses, otters, sharks, jelly fish, and more. The Monterey Bay Aquarium has ten live cams views you can choose from.