After giving blood last month, I received a discount for an American Red Cross class. When I lived in Oregon, our county Farm Bureau sponsored a First Aid/CPR class, and I took one every couple of years. I haven’t refreshed my first aid knowledge since moving to Washington in 2011, so I researched the available Red Cross classes.
Thanks to COVID-19, the American Red Cross first aid/CPR class is online only. If you need to meet OSHA requirements, online won’t cut it, but I was doing it for general knowledge, so I used my discount and signed up.
I’ve taken a lot of online classes in 2020, and this was one of the best. I had to do missions to learn the first aid/CPR material, which consisted of interactive videos. They reminded me of a computer choose-your-own-adventure game. If I chose the right options in the right order, I moved onto the next mission. The lessons repeated the basics, so I got many chances to practice what I learned.
This style of learning works well for me. I understand the material better because I’m not just reading a book; I have to work through the situation. If I don’t feel that I handled the problem well, I can do it again and again. Also, I could complete a few missions at a time, so I didn’t feel overwhelmed.
If you haven’t taken a first aid/CPR class for a while (or ever), I recommend the American Red Cross options. I wish more of the online classes I took were this interactive. I feel I actually learned something.