“The beautiful thing about learning is that nobody can take it away from you.”
We live in an era where life-long learning is available at your fingertips. In this series, we will explore some of the best free online learning resources for different careers and skill sets.
Whether you choose to supplement your existing education or learn a new skill, it’s never too late to become a life-long learner. These online education courses can help you gain valuable knowledge and expand your horizon; whether you are a career professional or fresh out of high school and unsure of what career is good for you. They will help you build & practice skills that will set your resume apart and demonstrate to your potential employer that you are committed to your personal and professional development. On display will also be your personal motivation, discipline, maturity, curiosity and a strong desire to learn – all important aspects for employers.
Online education seeks to remove three barriers of traditional education: cost, location and access. For learners, it helps you propel your career, get a degree, or expand your knowledge at any level. If you are a business owner, it provides an opportunity to upskill your employees and builds a culture of learning. For educators, it can be a great resource to expand your curriculum through blended learning. There are numerous advantages of online learning including:
- You can learn at the comfort of your home
- Self-paced- you can complete the target at any time.
- They are cheaper than traditional classroom training.
- It connects you to the global village.
The common materials offered by online educational sites are e-books, lectures in audio and video clips, e-journals, encyclopedias, e-books, and more.
Coursera
Coursera offers world-class training and development programs developed by top universities and companies from around the world. It focuses more on professional training.
The courses are free to audit, but recently, they changed their policy for some courses whereby if you want to access graded assignments or earn a Course Certificate, you will need to pay. However, there are thousands of courses that are still completely free. Some examples of courses you can enroll in today are:
- Successful Negotiation: Essential Strategies and Skills by the University of Michigan
- English for Career Development by the University of Pennsylvania
- Brand Management: Aligning Business, Brand and Behaviour by University of London
- Introduction to Consumer Neuroscience and Neuromarketing by Copenhagen Business School
- Introduction to Calculus by University of Sydney
Of all the online learning platforms, Coursera is considered the more superior one.
To explore all that Coursera has to offer, click here.
Edx
Edx is a global nonprofit and online learning platform founded by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. It partners with over 160 universities and companies from around the world to offer interactive and self-paced courses. It offers training in a variety of subjects: computer science, data science, business, healthcare and communication.
EdX courses can be audited free or students can choose to receive a verified certificate for a small fee which varies by course.
From boot camps, executive education to bachelor’s and master’s degrees, Edx has something for everyone.
Some of the popular courses are:
- Storytelling for Social Change by the University of Michigan
- Programming for Everybody (Getting Started with Python) by the University of Michigan
- Online Master’s Degree in Public Health from Boston University
- Entrepreneurial Leadership Toolbox by Babson College
- Introduction to Actuarial Science by Australian National University
To explore the thousands of courses available on Edx, explore their page here.
Udemy
From essential tech skills, productivity and professional skills to personal growth and wellness, Udemy has it all. Whatever your personal or career goals are, you can learn valuable, practical skills from the free online video courses Udemy has to offer. As of July 2022, the platform has more than 54 million students, 204,000 courses, and 71,000 instructors teaching courses in over 75 languages.
On Udemy, you can try free courses or enroll in paid courses. For the free courses, you can only access online video content. However, Udemy offers a Personal Plan membership which gives you access to 6,000 carefully curated courses across a range of subjects. The cost for this is $26.99 per month and will include
- Certificate of completion
- Instructor Q&A
- Instructor direct message
To start you off, here are some free courses to start you off.
- 7 Scientifically proven steps to increase your Influence by Vanessa Van Edwards
- PowerPoint for Beginners – Program & Animation Basics
- Introductory Photography Course by Chris Bray
- Best Practices for working remotely by Shelley Osborne
- The Total Beginner’s Guitar Course by Michael Palmisano
The biggest disadvantage of Udemy is the quality of its teaching may not be as consistent as that of Coursera and Edx. This is because it allows anyone to offer courses on its platform. The instructors on Coursera and Edx are top professionals from globally respected institutions. They also offer courses to degree level and all their certificates are accredited and shareable. Also, some courses will count toward college credit or continuing education units (CEUs) especially if you want o study abroad.
To explore more free courses on Udemy, head over to the Udemy Free Resource Centre.
Disadvantages of Online Learning
Even with all the available training options and the convenience it offers, online learning still has its fair share of disadvantages:
- Create a sense of isolation since there is no physical contant with your instructors or fellow learners.
- Require more time than on-campus classes because communication in online learning is primarily text-based.
- It is easier to procrastinate and it requires very good time-management skills .
- Online courses give you more freedom, perhaps, more than you can handle if you are not naturally self-disciplined and self-motivated
- Require you to be responsible for your own learning and to find your own path to learning.
The world of online learning is huge and inexhaustible. Take advantage of the resources and use them to discover your ideal career today before enrolling to a college of choice. For a more indepth career guidance session, reach out to us here.