If it’s been years and years since you’ve been in school but would like to use some of your downtime expanding your mind and adding to your education, you’ll be glad to know that senior citizens can and do take online courses. However, if you don’t have a lot of experience working online, taking online courses now can be intimidating. Luckily, whether you’re taking the classes at your home computer or at the computer lab in your assisted living facility, there are tips and tricks that can help to make this easier.

To help you see how this can be done, here are three tips for taking online courses as a senior citizen. 

Get Familiar With The Technology First

Before you start taking your online courses, it might be a good idea to get familiar with the technology first. 

While you may not know exactly what websites or applications the courses you take will be using, you can try new things that you’ve never done online before to help you feel more confident in your ability to learn new things and use new tools. You can also take a look at common student websites so that you can see a bit about how things are set up and how working on your online courses might look for you. 

Communicate With Your Professor And The School

Once you know what school you’ll be going to, you may want to reach out to them to see what accommodations could be made for you as an older student. They may have accessibility tools that you can use to make things easier on you, or they may be able to point you in the direction of guides that can help answer a lot of your questions and assist you along the way.

Additionally, you should also try to be in contact with your professor when you’re taking your online classes. They are here to teach and help you, so if you have questions or are having a hard time, you should always reach out to them. 

Find Others That You Can Ask For Help

There are likely other people in your life who have experience taking online courses for one thing or another. So if you’re worried about what this might be like for you, consider asking around to people within your network or community to get some advice for them. Their guidance could help you be better prepared for this new adventure and have someone that you can turn to if you’re needing added help while you’re in the thick of taking your classes. 

If you want to take an online course as a senior citizen, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you get started with confidence.