I met many people on my journeys and time to time came up the topic about my online studying, available courses and various platforms. I found out there are many myths about online studying which are not true and are driving people away from online studying. What is the truth?
1) Certificate earned doesn't have any value
This used to be true several years ago but nowadays the opposite is true. As technology evolved along with study platforms its learning materials got better, course engagement and especially grading processes improved. It§s no longer about watching 1 hour video and receiving certificate afterwards. Courses include assignments, proctored exams, hands on projects and essays. Course length can be up to 160 hours of learning time for an individual course. Your assignments are graded and during a final exam you are being monitored by webcam, microphone and your screen is recorded to secure that you truly gained knowledge presented in the course. All of these security measurements are in place to guarantee credibility of issued certificate. A certificate earned this way has a value for employers and Worldwide recognition is backed by top universities.
2) Online courses are overpriced
Whether you are aiming on learning a new skill/hobby or getting an accreddited certificate with worldwide recognition the price for an online course (or even full degree) is in average at least 4 times cheaper than attending the class. How much would you have to pay to a professional photographer to teach you photography skills in person? (We are not talking about 1 hour course but 10 hours (or even more) worth course). It gets at least over 100$. What if you can learn the same skills for 11$? Have you ever heard about Udemy? This learning platform made learning new skills/hobbies affordable for everyone. In case you are aiming on professional recognized and accreddited courses for your further career development the pricetag for online courses is cheaper as well. How much would cost you to study on Harvard, MIT, Boston university or other well known institutions? Online you can study (for example on MIT) an individual course (30 and more hours study time) for as low as 49$. Is it truly cheaper to go there in person, pay for an accomodation, take a holiday from work for at least 2 weeks and pay for the course itself? Not all courses have this low pricetag (I did several courses from Boston university where each cost 399$ but it was for me still cheaper than the cost of return flying ticket from Europe). Explore affordable courses from top universities on EdX.
3) You can't earn a recognized valid degree online
Online learning platforms such as EdX and Coursera are offering full degree 100% online. You can study just MicroMaster degree, MicroBachelor degree or a full Master degree for about 1/4 price than it would cost you attending such degree in person at university. Courses are made by universities (not by the study platforms). You can earn credible degree certificate issued by university along with credits earned. If you have money to spare then you can study MicroMaster degree (25-38% of Master degree) online through EdX and finish the rest of the Master degree at university. Did you know that EdX is non-profit study portal founded by MIT and Harvard? This piece of information was for me enough to start trusting this platform. After successful accomplishment of 24 courses (including 2 MicroMaster degrees) I must admit I did a right choice.
4) Online courses are easier
This myth is connected with a bad choice of online study platform. If you are looking for an accreddited and recognized course and you buy a course on Udemy (accreddited or recognized courses can be rarely found here) because it costs just 11$ instead of 200$. You saved the money, watched a few videos and got a certificate. Great, but it's not what you were looking for. In fact, online courses (accreddited and recognized) can be more challenging than it appears to be. You will write essays, make hands on projects, do assignments, participate in forums, follow deadlines and take part in proctored exams (your identity is verified, computer screen, webcam and microphone is being recorded and reviewed by a person whether you didn't violate any rules). Unfortunately that's not all. You have to add to all tasks mentioned above your full time job, family, personal time and handle all at the same time. The truth is that percentage of failed students is much higher than you would expect.
5) There are too many options or no options at all
I met many people from all around the World and I came across two main reasons why they didn't study online. The first group had no idea there are already such possibilities to study online otherwise they would already study an online course. The second group was overwhelmed by so many options available, various study platforms, course types and couldn't simply decide where to buy a course.
There are many options available but each study platform serves a different need. If it appears to you there are no options at all then you most likely didn't invest enough time to find a course which would fit your needs.
In fact, this finding was the very first impulse for me to start building a website to help people like you with their online studying and to help them to make the best choice. I have already a lot experience with online studying so there is no reason to keep this knowledge just for myself. It's the short version how the TravelPlusStudy started.
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