Covid-19 has wreaked havoc in our everyday lives, with the whole country succumbing to one and a half years of lockdown, education centres have closed down and students are facing a dystopian situation never seen before.
However, as the inherent nature of humans is to see good in everything, we have made use of the internet and social media to connect with our loved ones in this dire situation. Along with this, we see the rise of educational content on the internet.
Online education is not new; it has been there since the internet made it accessible for people to share their content. Education has no age limit; it is never too late to gain knowledge and before the pandemic, online education fulfilled the thirst for knowledge notwithstanding age, gender, background et cetera.
The rapidly changing world also demands excellence in various fields, unlike the olden days having one degree is not enough; one has to possess the calibre for many diverse forms and specialities.
It indeed becomes highly necessary to seek such knowledge outside of the traditional university sphere and venture forth into the internet where knowledge is accessible to anyone and everyone.
Hence, keeping in mind certain criteria we have brought forth 6 educational websites for students:
1. Coursera
Providing myriads of extremely meticulous courses, Coursera might just be the best online learning site. Even though some of the courses are paid, it still provides the largest number of free courses. It is especially beneficial for people wanting to learn courses about business and technology.
It has partnered with 200+ excellent institutes which provide numerous courses ranging from the arts to the sciences. Among such institutes are Stanford University, the University of London, Princeton, and other imminent imperial colleges.
Certificates are also offered for courses that will pose relevancy in many job applications and resumes. Machine Learning and The science of Business Learning are some of the most popular courses in Coursera. It also arranges an offline mode, where students can download the course session and watch pre-recorded videos of prominent lectures.
Coursera is an online learning site where experts throughout the world come together to impart knowledge to the students, many of which are free and guarantee a certificate to shine on that CV.
2. Khan Academy
Khan Academy is a nonprofit educational site propounded in 2008 by Sal Khan. Many online educational websites for school-going students have emerged and gained popularity in the past years, however, these online institutes often charge money for many of their courses.
In the midst of these, Khan Academy is completely free and offers a large number of subjects for students. In addition to this, they have a YouTube channel with nuanced and detailed videos on many topics under the subjects.
They make use of graphics to make it easier for the students to understand the complex definitions and terms.
Their website is used as a supplement to the videos where they offer test materials, quizzes, and other such necessities. Moreover, the website also prepares the students for standardized tests like SAT, MCLAT, AP chemistry et cetera.
The site and the videos are also not limited to English; in fact, it has been translated into various regional and foreign languages.
3. Duolingo
Duolingo is the largest language learning application and website available in the 21st Century. It is free of charge however it does offer the benefits of a premium. In a recent survey, it has been found out that Duolingo offers one hundred and six language courses in forty languages.
It also offers many extinct and endangered languages like Latin, Zulu, and Maori. With its quirky interface and test materials like weekly quizzes and games, Duolingo seems more like a gaming app than an actual online learning site. However, many of the users have confirmed that Duolingo does provide beginner-level learning progression.
It does not offer any certificate courses and also lacks advanced stage experience. Many of the users use Duolingo as a quiz app, after studying for the courses in a physical or more credible mode, they venture into Duolingo to track their performance and learning skills.
Because of its popularity, Duolingo remains to be on top of the most reliable, free language-learning website and app.
4. Udemy
Udemy is a site for tutors and instructors which allows them to teach their interested courses. They can provide the materials using pdf documents, PowerPoint presentations, audios, and live class tutorials.
It also allows the teachers to communicate with the students on online discussion boards. It is also deemed the largest online learning site for online video tutorials and courses.
It supplies a very diverse assortment of topics ranging from photography to software programming, entrepreneurship, and web development.
Even though most of the courses are paid, it offers many more free courses which have a large number of excellent teaching services. Udemy is excellent for personal pursuits like hobbies but it also has many more uses in the professional spectre like Microsoft excel.
5. Alison
Alison is a free and best online learning site that essentially provides work-based courses. It is also one of the best sites for free diploma and certificate courses.
With a vision to provide a quality learning experience to everyone around the world, Alison strives in courses free of cost. However, it does include an ad-free premium version but apart from that, there is not much difference in its execution.
6. EdX
This is the best online educational website for students created by Harvard University in association with MIT. Their online education is university-based and provides a large number of divergent courses to all the students worldwide.
It usually uses short videos and is a weekly learning space. These videos are informative and mostly include tutorials and on-campus discussions.
Apart from this it also facilitates students with a forum where they can ask questions, demand reviews, and start a discussion with other students or the teaching assistants.
Online learning is very beneficial and advantageous in a way that it does not follow a rigid structure as that of a university or school. People can also pursue myriads of eccentric courses which interest them.
As some of the courses provide legit certificates it also acts as a valuable addition to the CV. With most of our days spent cooped inside at home, it is a very creative way of investing our time in gaining knowledge and broadening our horizons.