Free online course offered by Longwood Gardens

[Fran20]

Calling all newbies: Longwood Gardens in PA is offering a free 10 hour completely online course called "Everything About Orchids". It is free and open to the public. Everything About Orchids is self-paced and is open for participants to join at any time now through May 6, 2020. If you are interested in registering, here is a link to their website:
Everything About Orchids Online Open Class | Longwood Gardens

[Ray]

Thanks for the tip, Fran.

The primary instructor, Greg Griffis, was a kid growing up in my neighborhood in PA. His mom and my wife were physical therapists, so interacted a fair bit professionally.

He worked at Parkside Orchids for a while, where he learned much of his skillset (from a couple of great growers, if you ask me), then transferred over to Hilo Orchid Farm, another great place, before landing at Longwood.

[camille1585]

Thanks for sharing, it sounds interesting!

Stupid question, because I don't know how online courses work... How can it be self paced and interactive (the 'interactive opportunities' mentioned on the registeration page) at the same time? One supposes that you can watch the videos any time that suits you, while for the other it implies set dates/times in which to join in (which can be problematic when living on a different continent!).

[Fran20]

Thanks for the background info, Ray. I've been learning a great deal from the course. In addition, the photos included of of their annual orchid extravaganza are stunningly beautiful.

Hi, Camille,
The course is self-paced in that you can complete the lessons on your own schedule and the program keeps track of your progress. Interactive in that the course includes a discussion board (similar to this board, but on a much smaller scale) where you can reply to comments posted by other course participants or ask questions and get a response from the moderator.