Welcome to this post on the top 3 online learning platforms in 2024, via Afrokonnect. Online learning is a new trend as many perceive it to be – and it has been gaining ground since the 1990s due to technology revolution.
Online learning has been gaining massive popularity and now surpassing its rival, Physical learning, due to the many features which mainly includes flexibility and affordability. Physical education may have been gaining some ground due to physical interaction but the Covid-19 pandemic didn’t help matters;
The online learning sector experienced a massive surge in users during the pandemic and it’s not diminishing and users have learnt how to properly use such platforms.
The massive demand in online learning has driven the sector to become the most sought-after globally; which means that there will thousands if not millions of online learning platforms but you only want to patronise the best of the best.
What is an Online Learning Platform?
In simple terms, it is a digital space filled with various instructors who sell their eLearning courses ranging across different works of life to buyers.
They can also be called “Online Courses Marketplaces”. They are very similar to our usual physical schools as they provide learners with a safe environment to learn but can be used by both businesses and learners as the resources are available under the same platform.
How to choose the best online learning platform?
There are some criteria you must consider before selecting any online learning platform as what works for your friend or colleague may not work for you. Here are 4 criteria to examine critically before selecting an online learning platform:
- Structure: The structure of the platform has to be spot-on to ensure a better learning experience which leads to greater productivity.
- Course Content: The course content is the most important aspect as you won’t pay for anything that doesn’t meet your requirement.
- Community: They can also be described as your “classmates”; they can help you if you aren’t understanding any particular course and learning collectively is more efficient than working alone.
- Price of courses: For those with a small budget, you must ensure that you patronize courses with a lesser price. You could also consider free courses even though they are not as informative and engaging like paid ones.
For you to select the best online learning platform that suites you, you must ensure that these 4 criteria listed above must be used to examine it.
The difference between online learning platforms and Learning management systems (LMS)
The difference between an online learning platform and a learning management system is very clear/wide.
An Online learning platform provides us with an environment to learn new skills needed for our development, while a Learning management system is a back-end solution which provide online learning platform with tools and resources to ensure that the platform works smoothly.
Types of Online Learning Courses
1) Individual Courses:
This are direct courses as they contain various classes on a particular topic. The duration of this courses depends on the student as they can take a couple of weeks to months.
2) Course bundles:
This type of courses are very familiar with topics relating to coding and programming. This type of course comprises of a collection of courses on a particular topic such as programming and data analytics for deeper understanding.
3) Bachelor’s Degrees:
This type of courses are related to those taught at universities as platforms such as edX and Coursera partner with universities. Students who complete these courses end up with an official university diploma but the fees to begin this type of course don’t come cheap as the least you can see begins from $15,000.
4) Master’s Degrees:
This is very similar to that of Bachelor’s Degrees and platforms such as edX and Coursera are great places to locate this type of courses.
Top 3 Best Online Platforms in 2024
1) Coursera:
This is one of the most popular online learning platforms worldwide today that offers users with top quality courses and learning programs to boost their productivity. The company isn’t an island as it has partnered with over 275 universities and companies to bring to their users flexible, affordable and quality courses.
The efforts of the company has paid off as it has over 113 million users worldwide and the inclusion of a mobile app has made learning easier and more convenient.
Pros
- High content quality
- Its high number of partnerships
- It provide users with accredited certificates
- It also has some free courses available for users
- The platform has a worldwide recognition so it come in various languages
Cons
- The courses aren’t for beginners and would requires a bit of basic knowledge
- The difference between learning programs and courses will be confusing to beginners.
2) MasterClass:
This online learning platform is sometimes tagged as the “Celebrity-Powered Platform’ because of its unique style of teaching. The platform employs the services of celebrities to take students on various courses which is quite entertaining and also rich in quality.
The platform has other unique features as it allows users to download video courses and watch them offline later.
Pros
- The classes are fun due to its unique nature
- They have a very nice look as they take care to make sure that their videos are well edited
- The prices attached to MasterClass courses are cheap unlike others
- Users have the opportunity to request for a refund after purchasing a membership account as long as it is within 30 days.
Cons
- It doesn’t provide an option for free courses
- It is doesn’t have a wide range of topics unlike its competitors
- Users can see reviews on each course but can read them; also all reviews on all courses are between 4.6 & 4.7 which seems strange as users can view them.
3) Datacamp:
The name of this platform is self-explanatory as users can’t find any other content unless it relates to data science and analytics.
Pros
- Its courses are very interactive and engaging
- It is subject specific hence deeper understanding for users
- Teachers on the platform aren’t newbies but experts in their chosen fields which ranges from data science to analytics.
Cons
- It doesn’t provide accredited certificates for users who complete a course
- Some of the videos being posted on the platform aren’t detailed enough
Conclusion
In our ever changing world, online learning is now becoming an important part of our educational system but in order for physical learning to stay relevant – learning institution must work towards integrating them both. Thanks and we hope to see you another time on Afrokonnect.ng
