“I am 70 going on 29 years old. This is my tenth course with Open Study College, and I hope there will be more. To retirees thinking about taking a course online, I would say go for it”
Marilyn, 70
In the last seven years, Marilyn has completed ten online courses with Open Study College around a wide variety of topics including British Wildlife care and Rehabilitation, Criminology, Nutrition and Health, Social and Political History, Palaeontology, Marine Biology, and Fiction Writing. Unable to attend a college in person due to her health, Marilyn describes her journey with online learning thus far.
“I am 70 going on 29 years old. After 50 I decided to go backwards. This is my tenth course with Open Study College, and I hope there will be more. I am unable to physically attend college because of my disability. I have osteoarthritis, osteoporosis, and fibromyalgia, so online learning is the best option for me.
“Physically I am doomed but will not be mentally. I enjoy learning and find that the Open Study College courses are easy to understand, and the booklets are not too scientific. What works really well for me is that I can do the course when I feel up to it.”
Marilyn opens up about her newfound passions thanks to online learning and discusses what she finds most challenging and how the team at Open Study College have helped to support those challenges.
“Whilst I haven’t learned a new skill as such, I have found a true passion as my love of conservation has deepened thanks to the Marine Biology and Animal Rehabilitation courses which I am now studying.
“The biggest challenge for me with distance learning is that I can only do these courses for ten minutes at a time due to my condition but that’s also the beauty in it, you can study when you can for however long you want to.
“The Open Study College team are very good, they’re supportive every step of the way. To retirees thinking about taking a course online, I would say go for it!”