Kawartha Lakes Free University (FreeU) is launching this fall, in partnership with the Kawartha Lakes Public Library and the City of Kawartha Lakes. Community members are invited to attend a variety of evening courses free of charge. No money is exchanged. Students attend for free, professors teach for free, and the courses will be held in meeting spaces that can be used at no cost. If the course
requires some materials (e.g. strawberries for a jam-making workshop) students will be advised what to bring, or items will be supplied at cost. Is this really a university? It’s not an accredited university, nor is it a degree-granting institution. But it is universally accessible, without charge. When and where are the courses offered? Initially, classes will be held in Lindsay, at the library, and at The Clubhouse on Kent Street. The course offerings and locations will be listed on the City's website on the Community Calendar, through social media and other advertising outlets for promotion. Each course is six weeks in length, one evening a week, from 6:00 - 8:00 pm. Once we get rolling, there may be several offered at once. The first courses will be on weekday evenings, but future courses may be offered during the daytime or on weekends, depending on the availability of facilities and professors. What courses will be offered in September 2015? Tuesday: Green Living 101, at the Lindsay Library
Wednesday: How to Read Music, at the Lindsay Library
Friday: Introductory Spanish Conversation, at the Clubhouse on Kent. Upcoming courses we're considering: Starting a Small Business, Introduction to Interior Decorating, Successful Backyard Composting, Creating and Editing Wikipedia Entries, Introduction to Computers and Developing Sustainable Cities have all been proposed. How do I become a student at the FreeU? Just show up at the first class and register for the course. Send an email to [email protected] to let us know you plan to attend. This will help us with classroom setup. How do I become a professor? Email your course idea and a bit about yourself to [email protected] to see if it will be able to be a part of FreeU. Why do people want to volunteer as professors? After investing time and effort to master a subject or a skill, many highly skilled and qualified people are eager to pass their knowledge on to others. We'll make it easy for you to become a FreeU professor. New professors can concentrate on their students and their material without having to organize the logistics and registration details as well. Students can easily find and register for courses that interest them. Anyone with a skill or specific knowledge to teach others in our community can apply to become a volunteer professor at our university. Teaching at FreeU can help you to develop your facilitation skills, increase your knowledge of your topic (there is nothing like explaining something to someone else to deepen your understanding), get to know others who share your interests, contribute to your community by sharing knowledge with others who may not have had your good fortune. It may also enhance your resume and demonstrate your expertise. Although our professors deliver their courses for free, they can develop a private practice from former students wanting more (e.g Introductory Spanish students may wish to start private lessons with the instructor). If you want to help others develop their skills or knowledge in a subject in which you have expertise gained through experience, study or practice, then contact the university (contact info here) to discuss your idea. We will ask you to tell us about your qualifications and expertise. We will help you develop your course by providing the following: course name, course outline (a six-week series of lessons), format (e.g. In-class, field work), resources required, and how the students' achievements and experiences be evaluated. (No tests are required, but a feedback form will help us improve our offerings.) We will help you write a course description, then schedule your course, advertise it, take registrations, book the venue, and host the event. At the end of the course, we will evaluate the experience from the perspective of the students, the professor and the university. If we all think it's worth doing again, we'll help you make any necessary improvements and put it on the schedule again.
