The Internet is a collection of enormous resources that one can access for free to learn and grow. But among the huge amount of resources available on the internet, learners often face a big issue deciding what to study and what to skip?
Online courses are of great help as they are having a definite syllabus and the learner does not have to research which topic to learn and from where on the internet. With well structured online courses, the learner can not only learn online for free but can also experience the same learning experience which one experiences in a traditional offline mode of learning.
MOOCs are revolutionizing the online learning process. So, what exactly is MOOC?
MOOC stands for Massive Open Online Course. Anyone can access a MOOC for free (or at affordable fees) over the internet and learn.
Few benefits of MOOC:
- Free (Few are paid, but the fees is minimal)
- Accessible over the internet.
- Anyone who has a passion to learn can enroll.
- Courses designed by top universities and experts are available all over the world. A student from India can enroll and learn to a Harvard University’s course.
There are a lot of websites that host hundreds of MOOCs.
In order to help you, I am describing several platforms below. Online learning is highly recommended in this digital age and one must keep learning some new skills online. With the help of these platforms, you can learn online for free. So let the learning journey begin.
Platforms to learn online for free
#1. Alison
ALISON offers certificate courses and diploma courses in various languages. It offers free courses. It hosts more than 1000 courses.
You can do either a certificate course or diploma course on Alison for free. It has the fastest-growing number of users in India.
A huge variety of course categories is available on Alison. A few of the major course categories are IT, Language, Science, Marketing, Business, Math, Software Engineering, etc.
How to learn online for free using Alison?
Go to Alison. Click on Sign Up. You can either sign up using your email or Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, etc.
Once you have successfully signed up, you can start exploring the various free certificate or diploma courses and do the one which suits you the most.
#2. edX
edX is a non-profit organization that offers online university-level courses worldwide at a little or no charge. It offers a verified certificate at a nominal cost.
Verified certificates can be showcased by the learner during an interview or in his/her resume too.
edX also offers XSeries certificates for completion of a series of bundled courses.
Though you need to pay for the certificates, you can audit the course for free. edX also offers MicroMasters Certification and Professional Certification courses.
#3. Udemy
Udemy is a learning platform that hosts courses created by experts. It hosts more than 42000 courses. A learner can take up a course at Udemy at his own pace and on any device.
Unlike edX and other platforms, it does not have any course which provides you college credit. It hosts both paid and free courses.
It is mainly a platform for professionals or students who want to learn a skill and add it in their resumes.
#4. Future Learn
FutureLearn offers you free online courses. At the end of the course, you can purchase the certificates if you need them. It provides programs in association with leading universities and organizations.
Conclusion
There are many more places where one can learn for free. Please refer the following links for more details:
- http://www.open.edu/openlearn/
- https://www.open2study.com/
- https://www.mooc-list.com/
- https://www.class-central.com/
Besides these free platforms, if you can afford to pay then you can also take up courses at Udacity, Coursera and Lynda.
Happy Learning!