As many of us find ourselves at home for significantly more portions of the day, it’s the perfect time to brush up on hobbies or pick up new ones to entertain ourselves. Enrolling into an online class is a great option specifically from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, which is offering a complete curriculum of seven courses right now. That’s right, you can take classes such as Transfiguration and Herbology at the school from Harry Potter from the comfort of your own home.
“Hogwart Is Here” is an online social network that was made by fans and has been around since 2014. The site offers classes in the subjects of Astronomy, Charms, Herbology, History of Magic, Potions, Transfiguration and of course Defense Against the Dark Arts. These are actual classes complete with lesson plans, assignments, quizzes and tests. Students can also pick their Hogwarts House, earn points for their house and compete to be appointed as Head Boy or Girl.
The website blends the use of MOOC (massive open online course) with RPG (role-playing game) to make the experience an interactive one for Harry Potter fans. The courses start from year one up to year seven, coinciding with how many books JK Rowling published about the boy who lived. Students can also join groups and play games of Quidditch and such. I’d be just like going to Hogwarts if it also moved to online like many schools nationwide have already adopted.
In addition to Hogwarts Is Here, there’s a ton more Wizarding World content coming in for fans in isolation. JK Rowlings’ collection of short stories The Tales of Beedle The Bard has just been released for the first time as an audiobook with familiar voices from the Harry Potter movies, The Cursed Child and Fantastic Beasts. Beedle The Bard are kind of fairy tales or folklore the people in the Wizarding World would know as well as we know the stories of Cinderella or Peter Pan.
JK Rowling has also lifted the copyright on the Harry Potter books for the use of it being read over video so that teachers can implement it into their virtual classes now that students are learning from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The famed author also just launched a site called Harry Potter At Home which gives fans an additional resource of articles, puzzles and videos to keep busy with during quarantine.
The book that started it all Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone is also free to listen to in audiobook format on Audible. It’s an overwhelming amount of content for fans to consume in this time of isolation. Especially while we wait to see what’s going on with Fantastic Beasts 3, which recently stalled production ahead of its November 2021 release date.
