New Course Ideas to Boost Online Offerings

Max Sundermeyer -

In the face of COVID-19, community education and child care programs are showing resilience and creativity in the ways they remain connected to their communities. Whether creating new courses entirely, or adapting existing programs to online models, districts are showing their families that they are here for them, now more than ever.

Despite how quickly many programs adapted to this new normal, creating new courses, or migrating them to new platforms is not an easy task. To help inspire and spark new ideas for your program, we created a list of some of the innovative courses we’ve seen nationwide. Peruse the list and see if any of these ideas can be a fit for your program. If you’ve seen additional course ideas, please post them in the comments below.

Creative Courses

  • Virtual Family Challenge (Minnetonka, MN)
  • “Storytime 360” Virtual Library (Santa Ana, CA)
  • Free Museum Visits (Edina, MN)
  • Complimentary Tax Tutorials (Albert Lea, MN)
  • Smartphone Photography (Farmington MI)
  • B.O.L.T.S. Building Our Leaders Through Science (Kyrene AZ)
  • Free online parenting classes (Watertown Mayer, MN)
  • Food For Thought: Online Nutrition Campaign (Brooklyn Center MN)
  • Cosmic Kids Online Yoga Classes
  • Full S.T.E.A.M. Ahead by MIT - Weekly free online learning packages
  • Origami & 3D Paper Sculpting (Minneapolis, MN)
  • Young Rembrandts ONLINE (Dysart, AZ)
  • Virtual Field Trips from Pasadena Unified School District (Pasadena, CA)
  • Golf Squad Online (St. Louis Park, MN)
  • Online: Podcasting (St. Louis Park, MN)
  • Nature Journaling Parkway-Rockwood Community Ed (Ellisville, MO)
  • Online Instagram for Business (St. Louis Park, MN)

Additional Online Resources

These lists are just a fraction of the imaginative courses programs around the country are quickly forming to engage their communities. We hope it helps inspire your course offerings in the coming weeks.