Senior News Line: Courses on AARP

Are you a member of AARP? Even with the recent price increase — from $15 to $20 per year — there is still a lot to recommend it.

The AARP Skills Builder for Work section is a valuable benefit, even if we’re not still working, because the skills can be helpful to us now for our cognitive health, memory and task focusing.

To develop the courses, AARP has partnered with MindEdge Learning, an online company that provides professional development and higher education classes.

MindEdge was created by Harvard and MIT for interactive, self-paced learning. There are even credits and certificates for completion.

It was the Communication section of the MindEdge website that caught my eye, and I zeroed in on Advanced Grammar. The MindEdge Studio section looks fun, as well, with an introduction to drawing course.

Start by looking at AARP’s Skills Builder page at www.aarp.org/work/skills-builder, or see mindedge.com/course-catalog for the available courses.

There’s more to AARP’s course offerings, however. Put “courses” in the search box of the main site at www.aarp.org. Use the dropdown menu to narrow your selections.

Right at the top of the page are courses for defensive driving for older drivers and the online smart driver course. Ask your insurance agent if this course could get you a discount on your insurance premium.

If what you really want is online games, AARP has those, too. Remember FreeCell Solitaire, the game that came installed on the first computer we ever owned? It’s on the AARP games page. There is also Classic Solitaire for the purists among us.

The Games Center has arcade games, daily crossword, word games and a special section for members only. If you want a real mind-stretcher, look for the 10 x 10 game.

To save on the cost of an AARP membership, consider signing up for three years for $55, which saves you a few dollars.