As life becomes increasingly busy and hectic, it becomes challenging to find the time to further hone your skill set or to learn something new. Yet the market demands are constantly evolving, and that can’t be ignored. Therefore, there are some solutions for professionals and the general public who want to expand their knowledge and skills but who unfortunately cannot devote exclusive time and resources to them. That’s where the concept of online course platforms comes into play.
In recent years, online course platforms and subsequently online course creation have become increasingly popular with students and seasoned professionals who want to add to their professional profile from the comfort of their home or office.
What is an Online Course Platform?
Online course platforms are typically information systems that enable students to take online courses in a safe environment. Since online course platforms offer students the ability to search for and pay for online courses directly, they are known as ‘online course marketplaces’. Several of these platforms allow users to create their own online courses through proper online course creation, but most are geared toward educational purposes and offer only university-level content.
Using an online course platform allows you to manage your learning resources more easily and independently. In addition, you get to be involved in the development and design of the website that hosts your online course creation, as well as how the course itself is presented and promoted.
As a result of the emergence of COVID-19, the online course creation industry has seen an exponential increase in popularity. Learn all about the top 11 online course platforms for the year 2022 to pick and take a step towards boosting your skillset.
Top Online Course Platforms in 2022
Today, businesses and entrepreneurs of all sizes use online course platforms to create their own educational academies, marketplaces, and training grounds. Here are the best online course platforms in 2022 to consider:
- Udemy
Over 100,000 courses are available on the platform across many different disciplines, including business, fitness, and arts. In addition, it is a remarkable value for money since it allows prospective candidates to preview a course for 30 minutes before enrolling in it. The customer feedback of Udemy is not only positive; more than 50% of users return to take another course because of flexible pricing. Most importantly, Udemy enables online course creation for instructors and allows them to start teaching online, but it takes a share of the revenue and controls the pricing and discounts.
- Skillshare
As far as Skillshare is concerned, there are many courses on the platform that focus primarily on IT skills such as animation and graphics. According to customer reviews, the quality of content available on this site is absolutely outstanding. Besides, the website’s user-friendly interface is well received by customers, as is its welcoming design and ease of use.
- Udacity
Another course platform is called Udacity, which provides a number of courses through a digital medium. The platform is well known for its high-quality free courses. However, some customer complaints often concern the weak customer support even though the courses are of high quality with distinguishable information.
- LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning (previously Lynda) occupies a unique niche in the market. It is popular with customers because of how professionally drafted the courses are and how relevant they are to the jobs they do today. Furthermore, the content for the courses is prepared by experts in the field, which makes them 100% relevant, even though some customers highlight that none of the courses offered here have an adequate certification.
- MasterClass
There is no other platform like MasterClass in the online learning industry. There are real-time creative courses that are taught by professional celebrities, such as actors, writers, or singers. In addition to benefiting from their real-life experience, customers fully value the interactions they receive from their favorite celebrities.
- EdX
As a leading player in the domain, EdX is immensely popular among university students. Aside from a broad selection of online courses, it offers university-level degrees. On this platform, students are taught some of the most comprehensive materials available. Clients appreciate the ease of use and flexibility of the platform.
- Khan Academy
As a free-for-all platform, Khan Academy has become one of the most popular online course websites in the world. Despite the limited number of course options, the content presented in the courses is of a high standard and provides useful insights. In fact, the ease of use and intuitive layout greatly appeal to returning users.
- MindValley
With MindValley’s courses, you can align your body, mind, and spirit. These courses are taught by world-renowned life coaches, business leaders, and entrepreneurs who share their life lessons for you to learn from and improve your intangible qualities. Hence, the exclusivity factor, as well as the interactive nature of the classes, attract customers to this program.
- Brilliant.org
A fun and interactive STEM course platform, Brilliant.org, provides courses for kids and teens of all ages. Many adults use it to facilitate their children’s learning. Customers, particularly parents of children, have only positive things about this platform and its educational opportunities for their children.
- Coursera
In addition to its ease of use, Coursera is praised for its instructors’ competency and is one of the most popular online course platforms. There is a wide range of content offered on the platform. The fact that this platform offers online degrees at the university level is one of the reasons for customers choosing this platform over others.
- DataCamp
Last, but certainly not the least, is the DataCamp. It is an open, massively interactive online course platform that offers both programming courses and data science courses. Furthermore, interested candidates highly appreciate the quality of the online course creation they provide. According to their students, instructors explain concepts by using real-life examples.
Choosing an Online Course Platform
It is clear that there are many options available out there, and each one has its own advantages and disadvantages. Through the accessibility and ease of knowledge available on such platforms, one realizes the power of technology for learning and promotion. Although the entire process of going over every detail of each platform and tool may seem time-consuming, researching the ones you are most interested in before you finalize your choice is highly recommended. In addition, online platforms like these facilitate online course creation due to their flexibility and ease of use.
Hence, remember that most platforms will let you test their products before purchasing them, so try one and see how it works with your other EdTech tools! In the end, you should choose an option that best fits your needs and is within your budget.