Motivation Monday: Free Online History & Genealogy Courses

I'm a lifelong learner. I'm one of those people who used to drool over course listings in college, and then get all giddy as I looked through the syllabus. I started graduate school this year, finally studying something I've always loved - American History. I'm taking it slow, only one or two courses a year, especially since I'm homeschooling my kids and they come first. But I am still dying to learn more in the fields of history and genealogy, and bringing those worlds to kids through my writing, so when I discovered that universities and organizations offer free (or mostly free) online courses that you can attend at your own pace - well, hello!

Maybe you're with me? Maybe you don't want to make the commitment to go back to school but you still want to learn. Below is the list of history and genealogy courses I want to take over the next year, along with the websites and schools that offer them. Let me know if you see any you want to take, too,  or if you have other recommendations! Maybe we can take them together and discuss.

HISTORY

* Citizenship & U.S. Immigration - Coursera - Emory University
* History of the Slave South - Coursera - University of Pennsylvania
* African American History: Emancipation to Present - Openculture - Yale University
* Colonial & Revolutionary America - Openculture - Stanford University
* Europe in the 19th Century - Openculture - UC Berkeley
* European Civilization: 1648-1945 - Openculture - Yale University
* European Cultural History: 1500-1815 - Openculture - Univesity of Wisconsin-Madison
* History of the United States since 1877 - Openculture - Missouri State
* The Civil War & Reconstruction Era: 1845-1877 - Openculture - Yale

www.coursera.com
www.edx.org
www.openculture.com


GENEALOGY

* Helping Children Love Your Family History - Brigham Young University
* Vital Records - Brigham Young University
* Family Records - Brigham Young University
* Military Records - Brigham Young University
* Germany Research - Brigham Young University
* Huguenot Research - Brigham Young University
* FamilySearch courses - on anything and everything! - https://familysearch.org/learningcenter/home.html
http://is.byu.edu/site/courses/free.cfm#

Also- National Genealogical Society has very affordable courses. I'm going to become a member soon and take their courses.
http://www.ngsgenealogy.org/cs/educational_courses

EDUCATION

* Teaching Historical Inquiry with Objects - EdX - Smithsonian
* The Art of Teaching History: A Global Conversation for Secondary Educators - Coursera - Rice University


That's just a sampling of what's out there. What do you see that you'd like to learn about? Check out all those websites and let me know. I'm serious  I'd love a study buddy. Happy learning! :)