It is often said that knowledge is power; this cannot be truer in this present day and age, which is fondly known as the information age.
Information on any aspect of life has never been so easy to access. Literally, you can learn anytime you want from the comfort of your home and it will cost you far less than going to any institution to learn it, you can even learn free on some online platforms.
The greatest advantage to this is that you can even start making money from what you are learning even before you finish the course.
Online learning platforms have enormously changed the educational system in the world.
Part of the reason for this accelerated change is due to Covid-19 and the resulting social distancing influenced by it. Nobody, as long as you have a phone and internet connection, is limited to knowledge because it is virtually at your fingertips.
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The Best Places to Take Courses Online
In case you have not caught the buzz on e-learning for whatever reason, and don’t know which platforms you can access e-learning courses, we have compiled 10 of the best online learning platforms for you to consider.
1. Udemy
This is an online platform where you can learn anything from instructors who upload video tutorials. These instructors can be professionals, teachers or anybody with good knowledge on any skill.
Udemy is recognized as one of the best online learning platforms in the world. On Udemy you can gain access to learning resources and develop skills that can transform your life.
Because of its high standard, professionals in multinational corporations use Udemy to upgrade their skills.
About Udemy
- It has over 35 million learners on the platform
- There are over 57,000 instructors
- It has more than 130,000 courses
- More than 4 million course enrollments
- The courses are in more than 65 languages
How to access Udemy
- Register and create an account
- Pay the required amount for any course you want to study
- Go to My Courses page, click the course you want and start learning
Course duration
One good thing about learning from online platforms like Udemy is that you can start the course anytime and end anytime. Your payment for the course gives you life access to the course and when you complete it, you will receive a certificate of completion to document your achievement. (Point of note: Udemy certificate is not accredited)
Cost of learning on Udemy
To learn a course on Udemy starts at $11.99, which is like N4,800 for new users. The highest value course is about $199.99, which is like N80,000 also for new users. However, there are coupon codes online which you can use to get discount of up to 90%.
This means if a course is N80,000, 90% of 80,000 is 72,000. Therefore 72,000 – 80,000 = 8,000. So you pay N8,000 for the course.
2. Coursera
This platform offers courses that are taught by instructors from top universities and companies.
You can get access to hundreds of free courses which come in video lectures, homework exercises and community discussion forums.
There are also paid courses which provide more in-depth lectures, additional quizzes and projects. On completion of these courses, you will receive a certified Course Certificate you can share.
About Coursera
- Coursera has courses for 4 categories of people; Government, Students, Business people and for teams/groups
- They have more than 76 million learners
- Over 200 top university lecturers and industrial professionals provide certificate and degree programs
- Thousands of companies use the platform to train their talents
- Their video course are subtitled in over 40 languages
How to access Coursera
- Register and create an account
- When you have created an account you can enjoy free courses
- For certificate courses, you need to pay to access it
- Enroll and take the course
Course duration
Course can take as little as 2 hours for guided projects to 4 – 8 week for lectures, you can even learn at your pace for business and specialized courses.
Cost of learning on Coursera
Courses on coursera starts from $9.99 which is about N4,000 to $39 which is like N16,000. You can even get a degree course for $9,000, that’s about N3,600,000 but you can pay instrumentally.
3. Shaw Academy
Shaw Academy is an e-learning platform where anyone can get access to professional and accredited online courses in a flexible study environment.
Their certificate is globally recognized and certified by international regulatory educational bodies.
About Shaw Academy
- Their courses are in three categories: For hobbyists, professionals and entrepreneurs
- They have over 100 courses
- 3 million students
- 8 years of teaching
How to access Shaw Academy
- Create a free account by registering online
- You get access to their free four weeks course
- Start using the course
- If you wish to continue the course after the free period, pay the require monthly fee
Course duration
Foundational courses run two times weekly for 4 weeks, while advanced courses run for 12 weeks. The courses include theory and particles.
Cost of learning on Shaw Academy
Show Academy is truly a global learning platform as its monthly learning fee is reflected in Naira. For just N5,499 per month, you can learn any skill.
4. Skillshare
Skillshare main focus is on creative education such as photography, music production, video production, cooking and so on, but they also have courses on data science, analytic and marketing amongst other.
Apart from online lectures, Skillshare has community discussion forum where students can connect, share their projects and get feedback.
About Skillshare
- They have over 30 thousand lessons
- Their lessons are mostly on creative industry
- More than 8 million students around the world
How to access Skillshare
- Sign up for free and create an account
- Pick any lesson and try is for 14 days
- To continue after 14 days, pay the required amount for the course
- You get a certificate of completion after your learning
Course duration
The duration of the course depends on the course type. Usually the classes include pre-recorded video of 20-60 minutes; these videos are broken down into short 2 – 5 minute video series.
Cost of learning on Skillshare
The monthly subscription is $8.25 (N3,300) per month and $99 (N39,600) per year.
5. LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn learning was formerly known as Lynda. Their courses are mainly for business professionals who wish to keep their skills in line with the latest trend.
The lessons are provided by instructors with real-world experience. Some of their courses are web development, digital marketing and project management.
About LinkedIn
- They have over 13,000 creative, technological and business courses
- Companies can register their employees to take courses on LinkedIn
- You receive a certification of completion (certificate is not accredited)
How to access LinkedIn Learning
- You have to open a LinkedIn account
- Start a free 1 month trail
- If you wish to continue, pay the required amount
Course durations
The duration of LinkedIn courses depends on the type of course, for example learning Project Management is almost 27 hours long and it has 17 courses. However, you learn at your pace.
Cost of using LinkedIn
After your 1 month free trial, you can pay $29.99 (about N12,000) per month or $239.88 (N95.952) annually.
6. Duolingo
This platform is regarded as the number one language-learning website and mobile app. They offer free learning and premium learning service for a fee. We actually have a list of the best apps to learn new languages if this is mostly what you’re interested in.
Duolingo is about the most downloaded educational app. This is because it is fun and easy to use in learning new language. It also has exercises suitable to help you learn fast and review your vocabulary effectively.
About Duolingo
- You can learn about 94 languages on Duolingo
- It has about 300 million active users
- Duolingo is used in many schools to teach language
- There are about 91 courses available on the platform
How to access Duolingo
- Create an account for free
- This gives you access to basic account where you can learn free
- For paid learning, pay the required amount to access the course
- Choose a language to learn
- Start your class
Course duration
Learning on Duolingo all depends on you and how long it takes you to learn the language. However, a study has shown that 34 hours of Duolingo are equal to 1 university semester of language courses.
Cost of learning on Duolingo
Basically to learn on Duolingo is free but you have to endure disturbing adverts. If you want to learn without adverts and get some other extra benefits, you have to register for the Plus plan which cost $6.99 (about N2,796) monthly.
7. Woloafric
This is an African e-learning platform that offers education and skills training to primarily Africans.
Wolo focus is on two main classes of learners which are high school students and individuals looking to step-up their skill or acquire new ones.
About Wolo
- You can learn over 50 courses
- It has over 50,000 subscribers
- Its courses content are certified according to the prescribed syllabus
- They also offer training to professional bodies and staff corporate organizations, via video on demand.
How to access Wolo
- Register on the website or download the app
- Choose your desired course
- Pay the required amount
- Click on the course
- Start learning
Course duration
The courses come in module and some course has 2 to 3 parts. So the course duration depends on the type of course.
Cost of learning on Wolo
The cost of each lesson is 20 Ghanaian Cedis which is about N1,327.21.
8. Teachme.ng
Teachme.ng is an online platform where everyone can learn different skills ranging from creative, e-commerce to language and technology.
This platform, like others, offer lectures via short videos, interactive quizzes and complete peer graded assessments through laptops, desktops or mobile devices.
About Techme.ng
- They have over 500 certified professional instructors
- Over 25,000 enrolled students in different courses
- Students are from over 24 countries around the world
- They offer certificate courses
How to access Technme.ng
- Register online by creating an account
- Access the course you want to learn and click
- If it’s a paid course, pay the required amount
- Start learning
Course duration
The course duration depends on the type of course and the student’s availability. This is because you can learn at your leisure.
Cost of learning on Techme.ng
Many of the courses on this platform are free. There are also some private lessons with an unspecified cost. Teachme.ng is a marketplace, so anybody can create and upload a course and charge whatever amount for the course.
9. Treehouse
Treehouse is an online platform that is focused on democratizing education. Their aim is to create access for students regardless of sex, race, gender and socio-economic background to learn with ease and flexibility. Their courses are mostly IT base.
On this platform they believe the best way to learn is by practice, so their courses emphasis on quizzes and code challenges to keep students engaged. They also have a lively forum where students can hang out and network.
About Treehouse
- They have over 300 courses on coding and development
- Their student base is over 50,000
- You can access over 27,545 minutes of video
- They have 273 workshops
- They offer certificate courses
- They are in partnership with Microsoft, Amazon, Google Developer Alexa and IBM Watson
How to access Treehouse
- Create an account free by registering on the platform
- Click “free trial” to start the 7 days free trial
- If you like it, pay the required amount and continue learning
Course duration
In Treehouse, you can learn at your pace and convenience, you can even get video on demand. Notwithstanding, 3 months is the minimum amount of time required to finish a tech degree.
Cost of learning on Treehouse
You register free for a 7 days trail after which you pay $29.99 (about N12,000) per month for basic plan. Their premium plan for those that want to get certificate, is called Techdegree and it cost $199(about 79,600) per month.
10. Open edx
Edx was founded by Harvard and MIT to provide nonprofit and open source learning globally. This platform is widely trusted by universities and industry-leading companies on the high quality of courses they provide.
They supports learning for diverse goals, whether you are looking for a job and need to improve your skills, you want to change field or develop yourself, it offers courses on whatever you want.
About edx
- It has over 23 million students
- It offers more than 8,000 online courses
- More than 140 universities and businesses use it to offer education in many disciplines
- It offers accredited certificate courses
How to access edx
- Register to create an account
- Look for a course you want to learn
- Click on it and start learning
- For paid courses, you will be required to pay before you start the course
Course duration
With edx the courses has fixed schedule. There are due dates for assignments and exams, so you have to complete the course within a specified time frame of 8 to 12 weeks.
Cost of using edx
Basically edx courses are free. You can watch videos and join discussions without paying a dime, but if you want a course certificate, you have to pay. Cost depends on the course provider (university).
Conclusion
Choosing from any of the aforementioned online learning platforms to study any course, it very easy when you know what you want to achieve from the course.
Some of these platforms understand this fact that is why they have assessment forms on their site, to help them understand you and what you want to achieve from the course. This way, they can suggest to you the best course to suit your need. So, whatever you want to achieve in your career or personal life, the knowledge to achieve it is at your figure tips.
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