Online Education Platforms For Adults

Online education allows students to study from anywhere in the world. They can take classes from top universities, and they can choose the times to study that work for them.

The best part is that they don’t have to worry about commuting or parking fees. However, they will need to practice self-discipline.

1. Udemy

Udemy is an online learning platform where students can find courses in a variety of topics. The company’s library includes both professional and hobby classes, ranging in price from $12 to $199.

Instructors on Udemy are subject matter experts who share their expertise with students and professionals. Many of them are current or former teachers, professors, or trainers and bring their pedagogical experience to the classroom.

Udemy’s courses go beyond the typical business and technology subjects, though. The site’s library also includes classes that teach users how to play guitar, take pictures that don’t need a filter, cook, or travel like a pro. Libraries can also access Udemy courses through Gale Presents, a subscription service that provides high-quality content for learners. This is a great way to give patrons the skills they need for success in a changing world.

2. TED-Ed

TED-Ed creates educational videos about “lessons worth sharing.” Their lessons are informative and engaging, covering science, history, sports, social-emotional topics, skill building, and more. Videos include narration, music, and animation to appeal to a variety of learning styles.

The platform features a simple user interface, allowing learners to get familiar with it without feeling overwhelmed. Users appreciate how the interface feels like a library, with everything neatly organized and accessible.

Unlike TED talks, which often focus on inspiration, TED-Ed lessons are more practical and focused on skills. Some lessons are geared toward younger students, but most are appropriate for high schoolers and up. The website also offers resources for teachers looking to incorporate video content into their curricula. These lesson plans can include questions, discussion topics, and additional readings.

3. edX

edX is an online learning platform that offers free courses in a wide variety of subjects. It also offers verified certificates for a small fee. It has partnered with more than 90 of the world’s top universities, non-profits and corporations.

Founded by Harvard and MIT, edX has partnered with universities and companies around the world to offer interactive online courses. Its courses are geared toward adult learners and cover topics from artificial intelligence to public health. edX also offers MicroBachelors and MicroMasters, which are bite-sized programs that let users earn credit toward an on-campus degree.

Students can audit most courses for free, but to take the exam or get a verified certificate, they must pay a fee. This fee ranges from $50 to $100.

4. Drawspace

Whether you want to learn how to draw, or better understand the techniques used by Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo, Drawspace offers a variety of art lessons for every skill level. Lessons cover subjects like working as a visual artist, getting past an artist’s block, and even teaching art to others.

Online learning platforms are opening up new worlds to students and expanding educational opportunities globally. These free, open education platforms can help students reskill or upskill in their careers and pursue new interests.

edX is a popular choice, with courses taught by teachers and universities in topics like computer science, languages, psychology, engineering, writing, and electronics. Alternatively, MasterClass taps into celebrity instructors to offer classes in a variety of topics, from cooking to leadership.

5. Open Culture

Open Culture is a collection of high-quality cultural and educational media for the worldwide lifelong learning community. Founded in 2006, it is a resource for free online courses, textbooks, movies, audio books and more.

Language learners will find a treasure trove of resources on this platform including lessons in languages from Bulgarian to Hindi. Additionally, it has a large selection of movies ranging from westerns to martial arts and silent films.

Transparency is a key component of open culture and fosters trust, communication, and collaboration. Organizations that encourage this type of culture will benefit from increased productivity, employee satisfaction and organizational success. Real-life examples of open cultures, such as Startup Culture and Netflix’s inverted pyramid structure, demonstrate the power of this transformative approach to organizational culture.

6. Udemy for Business

Udemy is a massive open online course (MOOC) website with courses on any topic you can imagine. It has a wide variety of paid courses from world-class instructors but also offers free courses.

Unlike universities and other educational institutions, Udemy lets anyone create a course and teach on its platform. This allows for a vast catalog of courses covering topics from digital marketing to stress management.

Besides offering an amazing variety of courses, Udemy also has a good selection of discounts and coupons which makes their courses much more affordable than you might expect. This makes Udemy a great option for people looking to upskill themselves. Their Enterprise plans are designed to upskill entire organizations and their international collection provides access to courses in 10 languages ideal for global teams.

7. Open Culture

Adult education is any form of learning that aims to improve the knowledge, skills, or attitudes of adults beyond what is taught in school. This can be done through various channels, including self-education, continuing education programs, and even online courses.

Founded in 2006, Open Culture is the go-to hub for free online cultural content. It indexes a variety of educational resources and organizes them into categories, such as free audio recordings, language lessons, ebooks, and movies.

This website has many resources that are useful for all kinds of learners. But, it is especially helpful for lifelong learners, students, and educators who are looking for ways to supplement their classes. It also helps those who want to learn a new language and provides them with a treasure trove of materials.