Here’s the situation:
I’ve been feeling the lack of formal education in my life lately (not because I don’t have any - because I could have happily spent the balance of my life as a professional student had not the need to eat food other than Top Ramen interfered). I’ve got an itch to start taking classes again, but I have a few difficulties with taking classes from a brick-and-mortar school:
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my schedule is already fairly full and committed
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I am most certainly not any flavor of degree-seeking, nor do I want to enroll in any more than a course or two at a time whenever the spirit moves me (and something is offered I’m interested in)
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I’m not particularly interested in survey courses - if it’s covered in a survey course, chances are excellent I’ve had at least a cursory exposure to it. I’m more interested in classes that go in depth on particular subjects - for randomly-chosen example, I’ve got a fairly reasonable grasp on the Crusades in general, but it would be neat to take a class that goes into some detail about the Children’s Crusade in particular. In my experience, those sorts of classes tend to have enrollment limited to upper-division degree-seeking students. I would not be one of those.
My google-fu located for me a whole host of classes that are either oriented firmly towards the practical (lots of targeted computer tech classes, for example) or designed for people working towards a degree (bachelors or associates usually - I have all the degrees I need or want already).
Granted, I could just surf the dope or wikipedia incessantly, but I know myself and am aware that I do a better job of absorbing information that’s presented to me in an organized, structured format. I’m easily distracted.
Does anyone know of any study-at-your-own-pace online or correspondence classes that are the functional equivalent of upper-division college courses (as long as the information and presentation is of that kind of level of professionalism, I couldn’t care less about accreditation)? I don’t mind paying for my classes, provided it’s not exceptionally expensive.
Thanks!
(and mods, if I’ve chosen the wrong forum, please feel free to send this off to wherever it ought to be!)