Best Free Online Classes to Take During the COVID-19 Pandemic (2024)

Calvince Nyawara on 04/12/2020

Amid this pandemic, there's still hope that you can make good use of your time. In this article, we highlight some of the best courses you can take for free.

Due to the rapid spread of COVID-19 virus, most people have forced to stay indoors and practice social distancing, self-quarantine, as well as remote work. If you find that you’re faced with hours of boredom while not knowing what to do, we suggest expanding your knowledge by enrolling in some online classes.

Now is the best time to learn. To support those stuck at home, many universities and websites are offering free courses to visitors, giving you a chance to learn a new skill or practice a more healthy lifestyle while isolating.

We’re here with our top suggestions to help you make the best out of these trying times while staying safe in the comfort of your home. Don’t waste this opportunity to advance and better yourself as a person.

Fitness and lifestyle to stay in shape during the quarantine

Perhaps the most important thing to do while spending an extended amount of time indoors is to stay healthy. Many people fall into the habit of spending most of their days in bed or sitting in front of the computer, eating junk food and unhealthy meals.

However, did you know that staying healthy is one of the ways that can help you fight COVID-19?

Do Yoga With Me

DoYogaWithMe is an excellent website for everyone looking to improve their lives through yoga. The website’s mission is to unite people in a helpful, healthy community, pointing everyone in the right direction both physically and mentally.

Most of the content on this website is free, however, they’re offering a 2-month trial of premium features to help those in quarantine get access to a wide variety of yoga classes and challenges. With every course getting an assigned skill level, even beginners can pick up yoga, while those who’ve already been practicing it can find expert instructors without having to leave the house.

Jordan Yeoh Fitness

For avid lovers of the gym, it might be a difficult time to get the workout you’re used to without the expensive equipment. Fear not, Jordan Yeoh Fitness is a free-to-access YouTube channel, where you can find extremely useful workout tips that can be done from home. Jordan has created a series of videos where he showcases workout tips without expensive gym equipment, allowing everyone to quickly pick up exercises.

If your New Year’s resolution was to shred some pounds or put on some more muscle, we definitely recommend checking Jordan out.

Quar Eye

Are you looking to expand your cooking knowledge and make some delicious, healthy, and filling quarantine meals? Look no further than Antoni Porowski’s Quar Eye series, available for free on his IGTV. He shows viewers easy to make recipes, giving you the opportunity to have fun with cooking. The sporadic uploads ensure that you get more than one recipe to try each week with Antoni.

Learn how to code for free

Learning a new skill is not only a good way to pass time while in lockdown, but also a solid plan for the future when the quarantine is over. Use your time to learn how to work with code with the help of many readily available, free online courses.

Codeacademy

Not sure where to begin with coding? We suggest trying out Codeacademy. Sign up for free and browse through a large variety of courses, all focusing on different parts of coding. The website provides great learning tools, allowing you to learn as you go, giving you instant feedback on your work, and providing real-world practice.

Get familiar with Computer Science

Head over to edX to enroll in CS50x, Harvard University's introduction to computer science. The free, entry-level course aims to take a look into vital topics for programming and coding such as algorithms, data structures, security, software engineering, and web development. The course’s teacher, David J. Malan, focuses on coding languages such as C, Python, SQL, and JavaScript, with a side of CSS and HTML.

For a more structured approach, we definitely recommend this course to get more knowledge about computer science and programming. While the course itself is free, for a one-time fee of $90 USD you may purchase a Verified Certificate to show that you’ve completed training.

JavaScript drawing and animation

Coding isn’t all about websites and complex scripts. With the Intro to JS: Drawing & Animation course offered by Khan Academy, you can easily learn how to create drawings and animations using JavaScript. The course is entirely free of charge and goes in-depth about having fun with coding. This is a great exercise for anyone looking to learn something new and let creativity flow while keeping a distance from social interactions.

Free websites and apps to learn a language

Fulfill your plans of learning a foreign language with the help of these tools. Knowledge should never be locked behind a paywall, and every entry on this list recognizes that. Getting familiar with another language is a long-time project, but the quarantine is a perfect place to start at without running into problems such as lack of time or energy.

Duolingo

Duolingo is the go-to place for learning a language while having fun. Its addictive structure allows users to gain points and compete with each other on weekly leaderboards, advancing up ranks while learning new languages. The daily reminders won’t ever let you slack, and the fun interface is definitely an ease to use for both web and app users.

Babbel

Unlike most places for learning a new language, Babbel focuses on rather underrated aspects of getting familiar with a language. Learn how to speak, read and write in your target language for free, then upgrade to advanced courses if you wish to take your journey a step further.

Let creativity flow with fun and free courses

If you’re looking for skills that cater to a niche or simply want to browse through endless pages of content to choose from and pick an interesting topic, we got your back. The following websites are all collective places of free, user-generated courses and tutorials that help you learn anything from playing an instrument to becoming a video star.

Udemy

At the time of writing, Udemy has almost 7000 free courses available for all registered users. All of these courses are made by users, ready for you to consume. Master new skills, learn more about the world and get help when it comes to your struggles.

Skillshare

While Skillshare is a premium website, they offer a 2-month trial which unlocks the entirety of the website, including every single course. Generally, Skillshare courses are professional and put together with consideration for each student. Many teachers give out assignments, allow you to communicate and share your progress with fellow users in the same course as you, and lets you become part of a community.

We hope that our article was able to get you interested in learning a new skill while staying safe from the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. We wish you good luck in your adventures — as Confucius said, “It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”