Alexandria Public Schools Community Education

Improve your driving skills during this initial 8-hour online course over 2 days, and if you're 55 or older, get a discount on your personal auto insurance. The Defensive Driving Course, developed by the National Safety Council, teaches basic crash prevention techniques and has a proven record of reducing traffic violations and incidents. It's taught by experienced, professional traffic safety instructors, including officers of the Minnesota State Patrol. The class consists of lecture, films and discussions using Zoom virtual technology. There is no behind-the-wheel driving and there are no tests. According to Minnesota state law, people age 55 and older who complete a state approved defensive driving course are eligible to receive a 10 percent, three-year discount on auto insurance. Contact your insurance agent for details. After you complete the course, you will receive a certificate of completion to give your insurance company. If you have successfully completed the 8 hour course, then you are eligible to renew your insurance certificate by taking the 4 hour course.

The AARP® Driver Safety course is the nation’s first and largest refresher course designed specifically for drivers 50 and older. If you are 55 or older and have successfully completed the 8-hour course, then you are eligible to renew your insurance certificate by taking this 4-hour course. This 4-hour AARP® Driver Safety course is taught by trained AARP® volunteers. If you are an AARP® member, please choose the discounted rate option when registering.

Alexandria Community Education in collaboration with Grand Arbor have teamed up to offer a Senior Cribbage Tournament! Participants must be over 50 years old. Team up with someone and enter your team of 2 people. Space is limited so don't wait to register. Awards will be given to the top two teams.

During this class you will learn how to manage pictures on your computer. Also, find out how to name, rename, and move pictures into folders to get organized. We will take a look at using the Photo Gallery and minor editing of pictures, such as cropping and making enhancements. We will use pictures for desktop backgrounds and insert a picture into Microsoft Word to manipulate for flyers, invitations, and other printed materials. (Not for Apple/Mac users.)

You work hard to care for others and to take care of yourself. When you are not able to do so, who will? How will they? How can you protect and provide for those you care for, yourself and causes you value? How can you be best assured of the implementation of your plans in a timely and cost efficient manner? What needs to be done after incapacity or death when implementing the plan? Learn about Powers of Attorney, Health Care Directives, Wills, Trusts and related advanced planning tools. Understand what exposure your estate has to taxes, long term nursing care costs, other liabilities or expenses and how to minimize that exposure. Questions are encouraged and individually addressed where possible.

Instructor will demonstrate how to navigate and interface with Excel’s basic features. See how to create a simple contact list. You will view how to use calculations such as auto-sum and see how to generate simple formulas. Also, learn to use the fill handle, sort existing data, merge and center, move cells and ranges, and wrap text. These easy steps will be held over Zoom.

You may not have a choice about aging but you do have a choice about how you approach growing older. What better way than fearlessly? Fearless aging is the power to positively impact your future. This class explores the normal, natural processes of aging - physical and lifestyle - and what you can do to markedly improve the quality of your life. Discover what you can expect and lifestyle choices that will help you make the most of what you’ve got as you age. Let’s explore the inevitable forces of change in your life and be fearless! This class is being held online, interactive through Zoom. More information will be sent after enrollment and before class.

Travel is high on many people’s retirement list. How do you decide where, when and how to go? What resources are available on the web? This class will provide some basics on using internet travel sites and tour groups, as well as encouraging group input on personal travel experiences to share the wisdom. The live class will be held online, interactive through Zoom. More information will be sent after enrollment and before class.

Let’s make your tasks in Microsoft Word a lot easier! You will save time and frustration and see how to properly use tabs. We will go on to explore dictation, easy paragraph functions, the sort feature, and using macros to eliminate laborious repetition. See the beauty of working with soft and hard returns and how to easily create and use tables. Get tips and tricks, as well as use shortcuts to save time. Let’s look at creating headers/footers and using the Format Painter to easily format existing text. (Not for Apple/Mac users.)

You will see how a host sends an e-mail, invites, and schedules meetings. Even the basic host controls can seem overwhelming, but we will explore those, as well. You’ll learn how to Share Screen, invite, and send links to e-mails. This class is a great place to start before hosting your first Zoom meeting!

Save money and fix your computer yourself! No great skills needed. Use three proven free online software to fix most software related issues like malware and viruses with a few clicks of a button! Speed up your computer in no time! (Not for Apple/Mac users.) Easy steps held over Zoom.

What will your life look like once you don’t answer the call of the alarm clock? What can you do in advance to plan for a positive transition into retirement? Having a sense of purpose is an important key to satisfaction. Change is inevitable. How to put your arms around the changes inherent in retiring and grow is the focus of this class. It will help you explore a variety of ways to identify what is significant to you, then establish a purpose-filled life in retirement. The live class will be held online, interactive through Zoom.

Take this fun and informative iPad class! We will explore the practical uses of your iPad and how to use the features! You will learn how to navigate, use apps, work with e-mail, take pictures, go online, and do more as time permits. Your patient instructor’s iPad screen and features will be clearly displayed over Zoom. Not for Android tablet users.

What is the Written Gift? The Written Gift is a local nonprofit dedicated to engaging the community in an advance care planning process while promoting end of life choices based on an individual's goals, values and beliefs. Volunteers from the Written Gift will walk you through filling out an advance care directive for health care. The advance directive form can also be used to talk with loved ones about your values and goals related to your future health care needs. Your directive should be detailed enough to allow the people who are reading it to feel confident they can make decisions that would align with what you would say, if you were able to be a part of the conversation. We can't do what you want if we don't know what that is. Let’s get started today!

This is an adult-friendly Windows 11 class! See how to use the desktop and the new taskbar. We’ll also explore the start menu and related features. In addition, you will learn about the new design, the use of widgets, and how Windows 11 is organized. (Not for Apple/Mac users.) Meet us on Zoom for this informative class!

This online course is conducted by Jim Ramette, Attorney at Law. Jim will help you to write your own Will in an engaging and interesting seminar format. He will present a short background on Wills, and then explain the unique legal PDF Will he developed which allows you to write, and change, a Will for your circumstances. You may change/update your Will - privately in your home - as often as you decide without additional cost, using the free Adobe® Reader®. Write your own Will using your computer; update it at any time at no additional cost. This is more than a general information course! Married or single, with or without children - it is important to have a Will to convey your wishes, have control over the distribution of your property, and to appoint your children's guardians. Discuss questions with instructor. Following class you will complete your Will in the privacy of your home. Using the professionally designed Self-Help WILL, you will easily write and revise a legal Will for your needs, securely and privately, using your own computer. A video of the webinar will be available afterwards. Computer needed for online webinar. Helpful information will be sent after enrollment and before class. Post-class computer and email are needed as materials are accessed by free Acrobat Reader software. This online class is held in partnership with Wayzata Public Schools Community Education.