7 Best Platforms for Online Courses
In the current normal of things, work and study have shifted to from-home structure. Technology has helped us bridge the gap between the outer-world and our inner yearning for knowledge and productivity. Also, brick-and-mortar education is getting more and more expensive, hence obsolete for most people who want to enrich themselves with knowledge. Rather online courses have paved the path for advanced learning and implementation of pathbreaking ideas. Education has been made accessible to everyone through online learning. Many a times, courses are free, and you have to pay just for the certification which is also pretty affordable for the value it provides to your resume. With the internet, you can learn just about anything you can think of. Especially when traditional schools and colleges have paused their courses during this time, online learning support is the only thing we have.
Let us look at 7 most popular online learning platforms:-
Udemy– In current times, Udemy is the most popular repository where you can learn almost anything you desire, from literature to cooking, to technology and new languages. Students can access well over 100,000 courses on every topic imaginable. Since the platform is very much accessible by everyone, a student can be an instructor or vice-versa. There is no fixed format of a Udemy course. the platform allows instructors to design multimedia lectures with audio, video, and text elements, plus readings, quizzes, and other activities. Udemy allows students to preview classes they’re interested in and does offer a 30-day refund if you’re dissatisfied. Since every course content and duration is different, the fee also varies. A lifetime subscription to a course can be as cheap as $11-$15 or can go up to $200 or higher.
EdX– Among platforms, providing online courses, edX is probably the most prestigious one. This was developed by Harvard and MIT and now it has been joined by renowned Universities from all over the world. EdX have very structured courses similar to a university curriculum. Assessments can be multiple choice questions, discussion posts or written responses on specific prompts. Most courses can be browsed for free and you have to pay only if you choose to get a certificate through upgradation. Earlier, the entire courses were given free, but currently they limit their free access to 14-days upto 1 month on some of the courses. Upgradation fees for most courses are $49-$99, while for professional certifications or MicroMaster’s degrees it can go upto $1000 or more. However, it is always a great experience to learn from the most eminent professors, sometimes founders of the prestigious institutions.
Master Class– Although MasterClass offers more than just creative courses, its marquee offerings are the ones that put A-list actors, writers, artists, musicians, and more in the teacher’s seat. These aren’t just lecture sessions, but most courses have the traditional format with 20 lessons to give an in-depth understanding of topics. The courses are video-based or practical advisory and demonstrations through lectures, discussions etc.
Coursera– The platform partners with over 200 universities and companies to provide real learning experiences that can connect to real-world benefits. In some cases, you can even earn certifications or degrees entirely through Coursera, which can then potentially lead to professional benefits like raises, promotions, and more. Even if you’re not looking for professional development reasons, Coursera offers challenging and interesting classes on plenty of topics, so you can explore interests you might not have had before. But most of the courses are paid, so you may navigate them for free for the first week and will have to subscribe to the course to avail it. The courses follow the structure of academic college curriculum however, they are designed by individuals and teams who may not affiliated with universities or certified to teach. Therefore, the contents vary in range and price just like Udemy.
Udacity– Tech skills are among the most marketable classes you can take on your own time, and Udacity has courses in all of the most in-demand fields. The platform is designed as a variation on the “coding bootcamp” style of learning, with programs focused on web development, programming, cloud computing, and data science. Whether you’re a total newbie trying to develop a new skill set, or you’re looking to expand your knowledge of a certain topic, there’s probably a course at the right level for you.
SkillShare– It is an appropriate platform for sharing and generating creative skills. While most of the online learning is very much career centric with academic style courses, SkillShare differentiates itself from the lot by promoting fields like photography, film, animation, visual arts, writing, interior design, and more. The focus of the platform is teaching practical skills hence students are asked to create their own projects. Skillshare has a subscription model, rather than a per-course payment plan, so students who sign up can take as many or as few courses as they want while they’re subscribed. The current pricing is about $19 per month, or roughly $99 for a full year (which works out to around $8 per month). But there are complimentary browsing contents as well from 20-minute videos to longer tutorials.
PluralSight– Designed with working professionals in mind, Pluralsight offers courses in subjects like software development, data science, information and cybersecurity, and more. Students can take individual courses, but Pluralsight strongly encourages you to take one of its “paths.” These programs are like mini-degrees: a series of connected courses in a specific area of expertise, such as individual programming languages, security certifications, creative skills in particular software, and so on. The course library includes more than 7,500 individual classes across hundreds of paths, and even if you’re not ready to tackle a full-length pack, you can dip your toe in with individual courses that are only a couple hours long. It costs about $29 per month for a personal plan (or roughly $299 for a complete year at a slight discount). There’s a premium option, too, for around $449 per year, which includes all the regular features and courses, plus additional interactive courses and industry-standard practice exams for several professional certifications.
