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In recent times, education has taken a whole new turn when it comes to the mode of learning. The turn of events over the last year has forced a lot of people to reconsider going outside of their cities to pursue higher education. There are also a variety of career options these days with very specific education required which may not be accessed by everyone.
This is where online education has really picked up. Now one can easily learn any course – whether it’s film analysis to AI programming – by simply logging on to an online university. The whole experience of doing an online course is much like a chain reaction machine where one thing leads to another and another. Online courses are also way cheaper than going to a university or an institute as it not just cuts down on the tuition fee but also your living and transport expenses.
There are also more chances of applying and getting through your favourite course as the seats are not as limited as a real course. And of course the best advantage of an online course is that you can pace your studies according to your lifestyle and also do all of this from the comforts of your armchair. There are dozens of online education portals and we have reviewed a few of them to bring you the best of what’s on offer.
Coursera
Coursera is a very popular higher education online portal which offers courses from some of the best international universities. It even offers some really good courses from Ivy League institutes like Yale and Harvard. Most courses can be done for free and for certification you need to pay a nominal fee. The courses are as varied as data science to music therapy.
Lynda
Lynda.com has been around for a while and is still considered a very reliable portal for very specialized courses especially based on their extensive video library. The subscription comes for $25 a month and gives access to thousands of videos with course material ranging from music production software to language.
Udemy
Udemy is very similar to Coursera in that it offers high-quality courses from universities across the world. They keep adding new courses every month and while it may be slightly more expensive than its competitors, the quality is completely worth it. You also have the option of getting certified.
Khan Academy
Khan Academy was founded by educator Salman Khan who realized the market for online education and jumped into much before anyone else did as you can read about here. The portal is not-for-profit and offers free education on a range of topics. Known for its micro-lectures, Khan Academy focuses more on traditional academic subjects like mathematics and sciences. Being free, it offers students a quick look at a subject before deciding to delve more deeper into it.
Some other online portals worth checking out include edx, Bloc and CodeAcademy. Remember to keep a schedule when you sign up for any of these courses.
