If you could refine your professional skills by simply learning online, would you do it? More institutions have created robust online learning platforms in the past 3 years than in the 31 years that the internet has been in existence. Why? Learning online overcomes the top three barriers to education which are: location, access, and cost.
Online learning gives you convenience, ease, and access to quality education without ever leaving your home. Often you can find free, recognized, and relevant courses to add to your arsenal of skills for personal development or the job market.
Today, if you can code to build a website, a software application, or any digital tool that receives information and processes it according to preset instructions, you will hardly lack a job.
You can check the site for the following:
EdX was founded by Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology(MIT) which are top universities globally. As such, the credibility of the courses is above board and recognition by employers goes without saying. There are free courses available in most academic fields.
Courses and programs vary widely in almost every field of study. The site has one downside, you need to pay to earn a certificate.
Coursera offers a wide array of courses to its learners: Data science to business courses to humanities and the arts. It collaborates with over 200 universities and global companies to provide learning material that is needed in the job marketplace.
LinkedIn Learning gives you over 16,000 professionally curated courses that are highly specific to a niche. The courses themselves are written and presented by professionals with great experiential insights. As such, there are some free courses but the majority require you to pay or have a paid LinkedIn subscription.
LinkedIn learning has some of the most sought-after courses by professionals today. You will need to sign up on LinkedIn to access the courses.
Skillshare has a trove of over 26,000 videos of successful professionals who share their secrets through courses revealing what has worked for them in their respective fields. This is similar to LinkedIn Learning in that it is professionals teaching fellow professionals. Learning institutions do not have it all and sometimes even don’t have the most current knowledge. The working people are teachers too!
Skillshare offers a free 7-day trial for new sign-ups. After that, you have to pay to access learning videos.
Udemy has leading experts teaching courses on the site. There are a bunch of free courses on topics like “Instagram marketing for beginners” and related content but you have to pay for most.
It offers a broad range of professional courses in virtually every field.
The Khan Academy offers learning material for both children and adults. Resources for children are vast compared to the college and graduate section.
The site is unique in offering pre-school, high school, and college education. All learning on the site is totally free and the quality of education is top-notch.
Other great online learning sites are:
Online learning enables you to study at your own learning pace, set your own timings, and gain from institutions and professionals you would never meet physically.
So, go on and try these reliable online learning sites. Try the free courses relevant to you and see how you like them. This could be the start of an exciting, new learning experience!
Have you fallen for a hoax, bought a fake product? Report the site and warn others!
As the influence of the internet rises, so does the prevalence of online scams. There are fraudsters making all kinds of claims to trap victims online - from fake investment opportunities to online stores - and the internet allows them to operate from any part of the world with anonymity. The ability to spot online scams is an important skill to have as the virtual world is increasingly becoming a part of every facet of our lives. The below tips will help you identify the signs which can indicate that a website could be a scam. Common Sense: Too Good To Be True When looking for goods online, a great deal can be very enticing. A Gucci bag or a new iPhone for half the price? Who wouldn’t want to grab such a deal? Scammers know this too and try to take advantage of the fact. If an online deal looks too good to be true, think twice and double-check things. The easiest way to do this is to simply check out the same product at competing websites (that you trust). If the difference in prices is huge, it might be better to double-check the rest of the website. Check Out the Social Media Links Social media is a core part of ecommerce businesses these days and consumers often expect online shops to have a social media presence. Scammers know this and often insert logos of social media sites on their websites. Scratching beneath the surface often reveals this fu
So the worst has come to pass - you realise you parted with your money too fast, and the site you used was a scam - what now? Well first of all, don’t despair!! If you think you have been scammed, the first port of call when having an issue is to simply ask for a refund. This is the first and easiest step to determine whether you are dealing with a genuine company or scammers. Sadly, getting your money back from a scammer is not as simple as just asking. If you are indeed dealing with scammers, the procedure (and chance) of getting your money back varies depending on the payment method you used. PayPal Debit card/Credit card Bank transfer Wire transfer Google Pay Bitcoin PayPal If you used PayPal, you have a strong chance of getting your money back if you were scammed. On their website, you can file a dispute within 180 calendar days of your purchase. Conditions to file a dispute: The simplest situation is that you ordered from an online store and it has not arrived. In this case this is what PayPal states: "If your order never shows up and the seller can't provide proof of shipment or delivery, you'll get a full refund. It's that simple." The scammer has sent you a completely different item. For example, you ordered a PlayStation 4, but instead received only a Playstation controller. The condition of the item was misrepresented on the product page. This could be the