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Coursera is one of the more well-known online learning platforms offering university-level courses. Here are some advantages and disadvantages when learning with Coursera:
Pros
Cons
While it's a popular choice, the digital education landscape has evolved and more practical courses are increasingly seen by employers to be more useful.
This article highlights six other platforms to consider for your learning journey.
Learn new skills, get hands-on experience, and build a portfolio in just 6 weeks with EntryLevel’s beginner-friendly programs. You’ll never have to learn on your own with EntryLevel’s cohort-based courses and active Discord community.
Pricing: Check individual courses for most updated pricing.
Offered courses: EntryLevel offers 6-week beginner-friendly tech courses, with Python for Beginners being a new addition to the list.
Their Data Analysis, UX Designer, and Product Management courses have all 2 levels: fundamentals and intermediate.
Course structure: EntryLevel prides on their hands-on, project-based learning system. You can expect a mix of video lessons, interactive exercises, short reading materials, and portfolio projects. They also offer additional resources, such as templates, examples, and so on.
Flexibility: All courses can be completed in 6 weeks. Learn at your own pace, just meet submission deadlines.
Community: Join their active Discord community to learn and network with supportive peers.
Portfolio: Yes
Certificate: Yes, upon course completion.
One of the most popular online course marketplaces, Udemy offers a wide range of courses in various fields such as business, personal development, IT, and many more. Trusted by over 40 million students and 14,400 companies, learn new skills from courses made by over 50,000 instructors.
Pricing: The price of Udemy courses range from $12.99 to $199.99 USD.
Offered courses: Udemy offers over 210,000 online video courses available in 75 languages.
Course structure: You can expect a mix of videos, articles, and downloadable resources to supplement your learning.
Flexibility: Learn at your own pace. The duration of their courses varies from 1 hour to 60 hours long.
Community: Gain access to their Q&A board and connect with peers and instructors.
Portfolio: No
Certificate: Yes, for paid courses.
Created by Harvard and MIT and partnered with 250 leading institutions, edX hosts online university-level courses in various fields such as engineering, business, computer science, and more.
Aside from their individual courses, you can also enroll in bootcamps or complete your bachelor’s and graduate degrees in the platform.
Pricing: edX offers free courses that don’t come with certificates. The price for paid courses with certificates ranges from $50 to $300 USD.
Offered courses: Choose from a wide range of categories with over 4,300 courses.
Course structure: Learning is done through video lectures, readings, assignments, and quizzes.
Flexibility: edX offers 2 types of courses: self-paced and instructor-paced. Self-paced courses have flexible schedules, while instructor-paced courses have fixed schedules. Courses have a duration of around 3-16 weeks.
Community: Gain access to a discussion forum where you can connect and learn with other students.
Portfolio: No
Certificate: Yes, for passing students who availed of the paid courses.
Partnered with 700+ industry experts such as Google and IBM, Udacity’s courses provide students with real-world and hands-on projects on data science, artificial intelligence, and more. They also offer scholarships for students who cannot enroll at the full price.
Pricing: Udacity offers both free and paid courses. To have access to paid courses, you can avail of their subscription plan which is priced at $249.00USD per month or $2,390 USD per year.
Offered courses: Choose from over 97 programs and courses.
Course structure: Lessons are done through pre-recorded videos, hands-on projects, and auto-graded quizzes.
Flexibility: Self-paced learning. Their courses vary in length, ranging between a few hours to 6 months long.
Community: Connect and collaborate with peers in their newly launched Alumni and Learner Community on Circle.so.
Portfolio: No
Certificate: Yes, for paid courses only.
Learn new tech skills and advance your career with Pluralsight’s courses. Designed by industry experts, Pluralsight’s courses are made to help you become more efficient and effective with your work.
Pricing: Pluralsight offers 2 subscription plans: standard and premium. The standard plan costs $7 USD per month, and the premium plan is priced at $11 USD per month.
Offered courses: Choose from over 7,000 tech courses to learn from.
Course structure: Lessons come in the form of pre-recorded videos, hands-on projects, practice exams, and skills assessments.
Flexibility: Self-paced learning. The duration of a course ranges from a few hours to two days.
Community: Ask questions and participate in discussions through their community and discussion forums.
Portfolio: No
Certificate: You can request for a certificate if you have an active membership and have completed at least 80% of a course.
Formerly known as Lynda, LinkedIn Learning is a popular online learning platform that offers courses in a variety of fields such as business, creative skills, and technology. The platform is integrated with LinkedIn, allowing users to add completed courses to their LinkedIn profiles.
Pricing: Individual courses are priced between $20 to $50 USD. They also offer subscription plans at $39.99 USD per month, or $323.88 USD per year.
Offered courses: Choose from more than 20,000 business, creative, and tech courses.
Course structure: Learning is facilitated through pre-recorded videos, but you get access to practice exercise files and quizzes.
Flexibility: Courses are self-paced and can be completed within 10 minutes to more than 3 hours, depending on the topic.
Community: Engage with peers and subject matter experts through LinkedIn Learning Groups or the Learning Q&A feature.
Portfolio: No
Certificate: Yes, upon completion of a course.
Six Coursera alternatives to consider in 2023:
The six alternatives discussed in this article represent a range of possibilities, each with its unique strengths and offerings.
When deciding on which platform to invest in, remember that the best choice for you is the one that aligns most closely with your personal and professional needs.
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