With the appearance of the COVID-19 virus, online learning became a way of life. Education providers scrambled to make formerly in-person courses accessible from a distance. Established e-learning platform Coursera saw enrollments increase fifteen-fold in a single month. Professional conferences took to the Web and local clubs recorded their expert speakers via Zoom.
So today you have more e-learning options than ever. So many that you can explore and find more than one good match. To start, define your goals and needs. Then see how different options fit–
- Do you want credit towards a degree? A credential to show an employer? Or are you trying to simply gain new knowledge or a skill? For quick information you may benefit from something as simple as a YouTube video, wikihow, or Ted Talk. The options below offer longer term, in-depth exposure often with extras such as skill-building exercises, feedback from professors and/or fellow students, online support and materials, and more.
- What background do instructors have, professionally and in terms of online teaching experience? Are there any course reviews to look at?
- What is the exact course content? How much time is the course expected to take to complete and are there specific times when you’ll be expected to go “live”?
- What is cost? A surprising number of e-courses are available free or at low rates if you don’t need academic credit or a certificate. If there is a charge, check whether a free short-term trial may be available to be sure you are happy and comfortable with the platform before committing.
Below are listings for a few of the many e-learning platforms and collections, broad and specialized. Most of the sites are exclusively or primarily in English, but a few are Arabic language, as noted in the listings.
Providers Offering Many Fields
- Coursera Partnering with over 200 universities and companies, Coursera offers many thousands of degree and nondegree options. There are more than 1,800 free classes, over 500 of those offering the option of Arabic subtitles.
- EdX. Established by Harvard University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Edx now offers over 3,500 courses with 160 university partners worldwide. You can audit courses free or upgrade for credit.
- FutureLearn. Run by the United Kingdom’s Open University since 2012, currently with eighty partner universities. About 1,250 of the thousands of courses are available free.
- LinkedIn Learning. Formerly Lynda.com and now part of the professional social networking community LinkedIn.com. Available by subscription with courses designed to build business, technology, and creative skills.
- Udemy. Primarily practical courses, over 155,000 of them, from finance to fitness. Udemy’s motto is “learn everything, on your schedule.”
- Alison. A MOOC (massive open online course) pioneer, Alison now offers over 3,000 free study choices options related to information technology, language, sales and marketing, management, health, business, engineering and construction, personal development, and teaching and academics.
- Open Culture. Focused on centralizing access to free educational and cultural content, including 1,500 free university courses plus K-12 education, movies, audiobooks, and more
- Rwaq. Based in Saudi Arabia, this Arabic-language platform offers over 500 MOOC options.
Providers with More Specialized Offerings
- Brilliant.org. Interactive math, science, and related courses “for ages 10 to 110” by subscription.
- Domestika. A wide range of courses for “creators” such as visual artists (particularly well-represented), craftspeople, musicians, writers, and more.
- FreeCodeCamp. More than 3,000 hours of training related to computer coding available free.
- Hsoub Academy. Arabic language courses in areas such as programming and web and mobile app development as well as business, freelancing, entrepreneurship, and sales and marketing.
- Kaya. Free courses designed for those working in the humanitarian sector.
- SkillShare. Hundreds of interactive online courses for creative professionals and entrepreneurs, from visual artists to chefs, Cost is by subscription after a free trial, with relatively low-priced plan options.
- Tabshoura Plus. Arabic, French, and English modules relating to arts, civic education, learning disabilities, and well-being from Lebanese Alternative Learning.
We at Newton Educational Services also now proudly offer
expanded online instruction. Current choices include test preparation, language learning, and more.
Contact us to receive updates or get details on Newton Educational Services courses.
