This list of 5 websites contains the most well known online study portals Worldwide with the biggest collection of online courses. No matter which course you are looking for you will most likely find it here. (In case you are looking for something very specific, I will share with you other smaller platforms in another articles.)
These are the most well known online study platforms but each of them has a different use. The certificate provided upon successful course completion on each platform has a different value. Platforms are sorted according to the certificate credibility. If you are looking to learn a new skill/hobby or update an existing one then start from the bottom of the list. If you are aiming on promotion, getting a new job or university like courses then start from the top of the list.
1) EdX
2) Coursera
3) Futurelearn
4) LinkedIn Learning
5) Udemy
I passed 46 courses altogether on listed online study platforms above. Let's explore each of them and which one is the best for you. I will share first hand information on studying a single courses on each platform and what it can offer. (I will explain multiple course bundles, professional certificates and MicroMaster degrees in another post.)
EdX
From all 5 platforms EdX is the most credible platform where an earned certificate is recognized, provides the most value for an employer and serves as proof you acquired knowledge presented in the course. Courses on Edx are engaging (videos, articles, real life scenarios, quizzzes, forums and discussions), up to date, created by well known colleges/universities Worldwide (ensures quality content), include assignments and essays but the highest value is offered by proctored exam at the end of the course (not part of every course). Course length is in range 16-120 hours where average is around 30 hours). Course price is within 50-585$ range where most of the courses are available for 50-150$. I successfully finished 24 courses on this platform.
Proctored exams are usually closed book and you are being monitored the whole time while taking your exam by microphone, webcam and your screen is recorded as well. When you finish an exam all the data are send to be reviewed by a human on the other side. If you followed all the rules you will pass an exam (if you earned enough points through an exam along with it of course). The final proctored exam can make 30-70% of your final grade and can be submitted only once.
Assignments and essays are evaluated by tutors from the university/college which created the course or by your peers (always is provided detailed guidance on how to grade assignments properly to ensure fair and accurate grades). Each assignment, essay or quizz has assigned point value represented in percentage. If you don't invest enough effort through the whole course you might fail at the end.
Course grading is splitted into the sections and you can earn up to 100% alltogether (for example 4x5% quizzes, 2x7% assignments, 1x16% essay and 1x50% final proctored exam). If the passing score is (for example) 60% (the lowest passing grade) it might get challenging.
To pass the course most of them require to accomplish at least 50% (mostly at least 60%). Assignments, essays and quizzes can be submitted in most cases only once.
Don't be mistaken most of courses are not easy to pass unless you invest your time and enough effort.
Certificate is provided upon successful course completion with university/college stamp, signature and shareable link (to view certificate or verify it) or possibility to download certificate in PDF file. Certificate is available only after creating an account, veryfying your identity and course purchase. You can access most of the course content for free but you will not recieve a certificate.
Coursera
Coursera is the most popular online study platform with wide range of courses created by universites/colleges which ensures quality content. The prices of individual courses are in general lower than on EdX but the course credibility is not as high as on EdX. You can earn a certificate quite easily because the bar is not set as high as on EdX. Course length is 6-60 hours (average 20 hours) and the price for individual course is 29-99$. Course content usually includes videos, other reading materials, quizzzes, forums and discussions, assignments and essays. I finished 2 courses on this platform (the lower number of courses is caused by my lack of trust into the credibility of certificates earned on Coursera especially in comparison with EdX).
Exams are part of the course only in a few cases. Most courses have quizzes instead. The fact that in most courses you are allowed to repeat the quiz (or exam) 3 times in every 8 hours if you fail is reducing significantly value of the certificate. You will just keep repeating the quiz until you earn enough points.
Assignments and essays are evaluated by your peers. My personal issue in this case was absence of provided detailed guidelines on how to write an assignment/essay and how it will be graded. (I was used from EdX to know what is the target of an assignment/essay, what I should focus on, what I have to mention and if meeting all criteria the detailed description how I will be graded.) You will find out what is being graded and how much points you will get for each criteria after you submit your coursework and start to grade your peers. It would be great to know this in detail before submitting your work. If you fail you can resubmit your work. In other words you keep trying until you succeed. You don't know exact date of grading and when will be grades available. Due dates are only a suggestion. The last and the most important issue (in certificate/course credibility) for me was the fact that you can ask your peers to give you a better grades through forums and discussions (each assignment/essay has a shareable link which you can share with your peers and ask for a better grades). These are the reasons why Coursera certificates are losing credibility and why I didn't study more courses on this platform.
Course grading is splitted into weeks where in each week you can earn up to 100%. The 100% from each week has a different weight. Sometimes you can find in the course or grading description how you will be graded and what is the final (or week module) passing score. The downside is I wasn't able to find this information in every single course. It's the similar scenario like with assignments where you don't know what will be graded and how many points/percents you will get until you were graded. You will find out whether you passed or not upon the course completion and hoping for the best.
Certificate is provided upon successful course completion with university/college stamp, signature and shareable link (to view certificate or verify it) or possibility to download certificate in PDF file. Certificate is available only after creating an account and course purchase. You can access most of the course content for free but you will not recieve a certificate.
Futurelearn
Futurelearn online study platform is getting its recognition and earned its 3rd place on my list. Course content is made by universities but the credibility and the type of the certificate is lower than platforms mentioned above. Futurelearn has shorter courses than EdX and Coursera (in general) with length 4-35 hours. You can access most of the course material for free but if you want to earn certificate it will cost you 24-79$ depending on the course. Course content is mostly videos, articles, assignments, quizzes, discussions and tests. I accomplished 8 certificates on Futurelearn.
Quizzes and tests are part of the courses but do not expect exams. Quizzes have in most cases 3-8 questions and tests 8-15 questions. At the beginning of each test you know how many points (correct answers you need in order to pass the course).
Assignments on Futurelearn are not part of every course and can be found just sometimes as part of the course. Guidelines on how to write an assignment, what and how will be graded is provided before you start to write your assignment. Your work will be graded by other learners and will influence your score visible on the certificate. Assignments are short, usually don't take much time and can reflect your understanding of the topic presented.
Course grading is presented in points and percentage of the course (and assessment) accomplished. Course is splitted into weeks and every week has its own content divided into subsections. Each part in subsection is quite short and easy to digest. The most courses require you to finish at least 90% of all coursework and reach certain number of points in order to earn the certificate. Requirements for successful course completion are described at the beginning of the course.
Certificate is provided upon successful course completion with university/college stamp, signature and shareable link (to view certificate or verify it) or possibility to download certificate in PDF file. Certificate is available only after creating an account and course purchase. You can access most of the course content for free but you will not recieve a certificate. After the course purchase the content of the course will stay available for you in your account even after the course end. If you successfuly completed all the course requirements you will recieve a certificate of achievement (lower type of certificate, suggests you went through most of the provided materials but doesn't guarantee you really gained all the knowledge presented).
LinkedIn Learning
This online study portal used to be a different platform called Lynda but in 2015 was acquired by LinkedIn. Its focus is different compared with previous study platforms described. LinkedIn Learning offers videos, reading materials and exercise files. Most of this learning experience is based on watching videos made by professionals in their field. Watching videos is less engaging and might lead soon to focus loss although videos contain valuable knowledge. Single courses have length 18 minutes - 30 hours. You can access all available courses, videos and other learning material for 29.99$/month.
Quizzes are not part of every course on LinkedIn Learning. If you pay attention during the course they are easy to pass.
Assignments are not part of any course on LinkedIn Learning. (You might be asked to fill exercise files but you will not be graded.)
Course grading is not part of this learning platform simply put. The only measurement whether you finished the course is if you finished all videos an quizzes.
Certificate on its own doesn't have much value. You will receive a certificate of completion upon the end of the course. This type of certificate doesn't confirm whether you actually learned anything or at least went through the all study materials provided. This certificate only presents the fact you got to the end of the course. It doesn't offer to potential employers almost any value but it can show you are eager to learn, self-motivated and certificate is certainly motivation for you to finish the course.
Udemy
Udemy is the most well known study platform Worldwide. Its focus is mostly on learning a new skill/hobby or updating an existing one. Udemy offers mostly just video courses with combination of additional reading materials or exercise files (in some cases). Courses are made by individuals so there is no way how the course content quality could be guaranteed which is the main reason why Udemy holds 5th place on my list instead of 4th place. Many courses offer a great quality and content but it doesn't apply on all courses available. Courses have length 1-60 hours priced 10-200$ for a single course (Udemy offers most of the time 90% discount where most of the courses are available for 10-20$).
Quizzes might be part of the course but except to refresh your memory on the knowledge presented it doesn't have much value. Assignments are not part of any course on LinkedIn Learning. (You might be asked to fill exercise files but you will not be graded.) Course grading is not part of this learning platform simply put. The only measurement whether you finished the course is if you finished all videos an quizzes. Certificate on its own doesn't have much value. You will receive a certificate of completion upon the end of the course. This type of certificate doesn't confirm whether you actually learned anything or at least went through the all study materials provided. This certificate only presents the fact you got to the end of the course. It doesn't offer to potential employers almost any value but it can show you are eager to learn, self-motivated and certificate is certainly motivation for you to finish the course.
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