Ohio's Program 60 - My First Experience

Some states,  and Ohio is one,  have programs where seniors can go to college at no charge.  Ohio's version of this idea is called Program 60.  Any one over 60 can enroll in college classes at participating schools.  The participant audits the class and does not get college credit or grades for the class.  But they do get the information and the same attention from the professor as the other students.  And if enrolled in an OSU class, participants also have full access to all remote data bases from the OSU library, which includes both Ancestry and JSTOR.  I had my first experience at auditing an online class from Ohio State last month.  I have been very busy as a result because it was a four week "summer" class.   But first,  program 60,  please view the video that follows:

It was a little complicated to get all set up with things like DUO mobile and I am still not on the same page with the schools health clinic that wants proof I have had, along with all the others that I don't have a record of any more,  a chicken pox vaccine.  I have not - but I did have the chicken pox as a child back in the 1960s.  Unfortunately there is not a box to check for that.  But I am hopeful all of those little glitches can be worked out and I can continue to enroll in classes from time to time.  While Ohio State is in Columbus which is farther than I want to drive,  the online option is available for many classes and other state school in Ohio participate.  For a complete listing of the schools in Ohio that have Program 60 available click HERE.  For more information on Ohio State's program click HERE.  The only expense that I had in auditing the online class was my books, which I purchased as ebooks so the cost was minimal.  

The class that I selected as my first class was entitled "An Introduction To Historical Research".   It was very intense and I have had a busy month of May.  The class challenged me and I learned a great deal.  The professor was Allison Beach and she really used the technology available to provide a mix of audio visual and group participation type activities.  She even had online chat times with us.  Her web site can be seen HERE.   She provided a video at the beginning of each week with her announcements and went over what her expectations were for the week.  It was very cool.  

My favorite of the four weeks was the unit on Martha Ballard's Diary.  We read parts of a BOOK,  watched a video and reviewed the actual DIARY online.  Please watch the trailer of the video about Martha's diary:

The one unit that some students liked best was the unit on Jack The Ripper.  While that was not my favorite,  I did enjoy the program we were required to watch some of the episodes of.  I would like to finish watching them all.  It is called the Victorian Slum House.  Please watch the trailer that follows:

I consider my first Program 60 experience a resounding success.  I hope to get the shot record issue straightened out so that I can continue to take online classes.  I would encourage others to check and see if their state has a similar program.  I would also encourage Ohio residents to take advantage of Program 60 here in our state.