Gale Courses is a database available for Willoughby-Eastlake Public Library cardholders for free. It is a lot like online college courses and offers a wide variety of subjects.
You can access it by visiting the Willoughby-Eastlake Public Library’s website, clicking “Research & Learn” on the top bar, then “Online Learning,” then “VISIT” under “Gale Courses.” You can also go directly by clicking here. Their Help page is here.
Gale’s catalog includes classes in the fields of Accounting and Finance, Business, College Readiness, Computer Applications, Design and Composition, Healthcare and Medical, Language and Arts, Law and Legal, Personal Development, Teaching and Education, Technology, and Writing and Publishing.
Within those categories, you can click on and enroll in a class that interests you, plus a start date (it can be in the past). You’ll need to create an account, and will also be asked for your library card number.
For example, one of the classes in “Technology” is “Introduction to PC Security.” Once you’ve entered the class, on the left side of the screen, you’ll see the Course Overview, Syllabus, Navigating this Course, Pretest, and Lessons. However, not every Lesson is immediately available—they’re locked until a certain date. All Lessons will be released over a period of six weeks.
Each Lesson is divided into several Chapters, and they also have FAQs, an assignment (they’re not graded—they’re just to see if you’re understanding the material), a quiz (which you can take as many times as you want), supplementary material (such as other websites or recommended books), and a Discussion Area. Discussion areas allow you to ask questions about the course, like a real college class. You’ll have fellow students as well as an instructor. In order to keep access to the class, you’ll need to keep logging into Gale Courses regularly.
You’re given the option to print any of the pages using the printer button on the top right corner of the page.
Resources include Recommended Resources (such as websites or even physical objects, like pieces of technology) and Recommended Books (some of which may be out of date, depending on when the class was last updated).
Passing the Final Exam on the first attempt allows you to pass the course. Then, you’ll receive a Certificate of Completion, which you can put in a portfolio or resume. But most importantly, you’ve learned a new skill, all for free at the library!
