5 Skills You Can Learn Online

Often, people find their daily routine to become repetitive and boring. Picking up a new hobby or learning a skill may help break up the monotonous drone of your day, and possibly open up more opportunities in your life. In the past, learning a skill or hobby required you to take extra time out of your day beyond work and home. Fortunately, you can tap into some classes online at your convenience.

Foreign Languages

Most of all, one of the most readily accessible and easily taught skills is to learn a foreign language. There are several programs and services out there that assist in your learning, but perhaps one of the most user-friendly language software out there is Duolingo. The design is minimalistic and simple and has several common languages such as German, Spanish, and French - as well as a few uncommon ones including Swedish, Gaelic, and even Hebrew. If you have some training in a foreign language they provide, you will complete a placement test to see where you need to be placed. Duolingo also has a phone app so you can learn on the go. Best of all, it’s all free. If you like this article share it on Twitter or another social media.

Coding

Coding is a language of its own, you can learn to code through the Internet. There are several coding languages, and one of the most common and popular services for learning the basics of coding is Codeacademy. Several languages that Codeacademy offers for learning are HTML, CSS, Python, Ruby, JavaScript, SQL, among others. Like Duolingo, Codeacademy is free.

Chess

The defining strategy board game for centuries, chess has created a huge impact on modern culture and is played by millions of people. Worldwide tournaments are held to see who the most skilled chess player in the world is. Played on an 8x8 grid by two players, each with 16 pieces: 1 King, 1 Queen, 2 Knights, 2 Rooks, 2 Bishops, and 8 Pawns. Each of these six different pieces moves and behave differently than the others. Some can only move in straight lines, or only diagonally. The game ends by checkmate, which means that the opponent’s King can no longer avoid being captured by your pieces. There are hundreds of strategies and theories that may be used to achieve a checkmate, and most of them have continually evolved strategies as the game progresses, i.e., “If the opponent does this, I need to do this.” There are several free chess software available online and on your phone.

Gardening and Landscaping

If you find that your house could do with a little more curb appeal, then you may be interested in taking up gardening and landscaping. If done properly, any DIY improvements can even increase the value of your property. Gardening deals almost exclusively with plants, but landscaping can go anywhere from planting trees to installing huge water fountains, and gorgeous rock formations. There are several resources available online to help you get started, such as HGTV and the DIY Network.

Blacksmithing

A skill and trade that has seen better days, blacksmithing is the art and craft of heating, shaping, and cooling iron and steel. Most people automatically jump to images of swords and armor when they think of blacksmithing. While crafting arms and armor is part of the skill, blacksmiths also make horseshoes, tools including pickaxes, hammers and shovels, and construction materials such as nails and hooks.

Regardless of what you may be interested in picking up as a hobby or skill, you can learn them at home online. Whether you’re learning a new language or beating steel into a knife, you’re sure to find something online to get you started. Leave in the comments what would you like to learn.

Photo Credit: Pexels

By Julie Morris

Life and Career Coach

juliemorris.org

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