Within a matter of weeks, COVID-19 has brought about major changes in education. Around the world, students and office workers are getting educated differently thanks to the Internet.
In the midst of the global pandemic, many people are working in essential businesses, working from home, trying to get new clients, or simply trying to take care of those they love. As a consequence, online classes are a great way to keep active and productive when most stay-at-home orders for most countries last for several weeks.
These online learning platforms offer a wide range of courses designed by top academics and experts in the field.
Learning through online platforms during the Pandemic
In accordance with COVID-19, many of these best online learning platforms have made paid plans available for free. You can find out more on the websites.
MOOC stands for Massive Open Online Courses. It means that anyone with an interest in e-learning can join it and participate in online courses.
1. Coursera
A popular online education platform, Coursera offers courses from top educational institutions all over the world. It has grown rapidly over the years and provides the best standards of education possible through MOOCs.
It is affiliated with universities like Stanford, Duke, Penn, Princeton, Michigan, Peking, and HEC Paris as well as businesses like IBM, Google, and PwC. Overall, 190 active partners are represented by 48 countries. SEEK Group, Kleiner Perkins, New Enterprise Associates, Learn Capital, and New Enterprise Associates are among the investors who have backed the platform.
Fee
You pay the fee for each course or the whole specialization in advance. Learners who qualify for financial aid may also be eligible for scholarships or grants.
2. Skillshare
One of the best online learning platforms is Skillshare, that benefits both students and teachers. Thousands of courses are offered on the site, including courses related to design, business, marketing, technology, fashion, music, gaming, cooking, and DIY crafts.
Using the step-by-step instructions provided by the platform, instructors can easily create classes. Teachers can also earn compensation through referrals if any of the students sign up for a premium package on this top online learning platform.
Fee
Skillshare offers free, premium, and team pricing plans. Premium plans start from $8/month.
3. Lynda.com (now LinkedIn Learning)
LinkedIn Leaning, now part of Lynda.com, offers mooc courses in a variety of fields such as technology, business, and creative endeavors. For nearly two decades, Lynda.com has provided clear, informative videos for individuals, corporations, and academics. Lynda.com is quite popular for teaching coding and photography skills.
More than 10,000 organizations currently use the platform, including Adobe, Full Sail University, Patagonia, NBC, and USC.
Fee
Learn more about Lynda.com’s free one-month trial program. Afterward, the company starts charging $29.99/month.
4. Udacity
It is a for-profit company that focuses on job training through MOOCs. The company also offers Nanodegrees in technology that are focused on in-demand skills. Among the many courses they offer are courses on artificial intelligence, self-driving cars, and robotics.
A number of companies use Udacity for their enterprise needs, including Accenture, AT&T, Cisco, Mazda, Shell, and more. In addition to GitHub, Bosch, BMW, Amazon, Google, Twitter, and Mars, they have a wide range of curriculum partners.
Fee
There are 200 free courses on the platform. Costs for Nanodegree courses can range from $200 to $2400 per month.
5. Udemy
Among the most popular online learning platforms, Udemy allows people to pursue careers and explore a broad range of hobbies. You can take courses ranging from web development to public speaking at this university. Booking.com, Lyft, Addidas, and General Mills are some of the renowned companies that use Udemy’s business model.
Furthermore, Udemy offers instructors great support. By creating, sharing, and promoting their courses with re-targeting ads, search and discovery, email campaigns, and external partners, they can increase awareness and sales.
Fee
Udemy allows you to try it out for free, and its courses start at $11.99. The prices vary according to the course. A business plan starts at $360 per user per year.
6. edX
There is an online course platform called EdX that offers university-level courses. Harvard, MIT, Berkeley, Delft, RWTH, and Sorbonne are just some of the over 120 institutional partners.
It is possible to take six different types of courses – an ad-hoc course, MicroMasters Program, Professional Certificates, Global Freshmen Academy, and XSeries Program. Skills courses are offered to students for leisure purposes, to meet the demands of the job market and to increase their understanding of various subjects.
Fee
Courses that are not verified are free. Prices for verified courses begin at $50 and may reach $300.