Coursera vs FutureLearn vs edX vs Udemy, which is better? The so-called Distance Learning Platforms have been growing in recent years, with more and more options of courses and resources to make the experience rich and complete.
But if you really want to invest in a course that helps your professional development, you must pay attention to more specific and comprehensive criteria when choosing the best platform for online courses . Some criteria to consider are:
- Audiovisual quality and experience provided to the student
- Technical quality and scientific basis of content
- Complementary materials
- Technical knowledge and professional training of instructors
- Adequacy of the content to the current professional scenario
- Validity of the certificate in the academic and professional market
What is Coursera
The Coursera platform is a digital platform that provides technical and professional courses online.
Although there are courses of different specialty levels and with different workloads, most of the courses on the Coursera platform are the so-called MOOC courses ( Massive Open Online Courses), so that most of the courses on Coursera are free courses. When taking any of these free courses, the student pays only the fee for issuing the certificate.
This fee for issuing the certificate is mainly due to the fact that the Coursera platform establishes partnerships with the best universities in the world. In this professional partnership, Coursera is responsible for hosting the courses, disseminating the main information about them on their websites and, above all, constantly updating their technological resources so that the student experience through the virtual learning environment is effective.
The Coursera platform hosts professional courses in a variety of areas of interest, including:
- Humanities
- biological Sciences
- Engineering
- Information Technology
- Computer Science
The user experience at Coursera is another of its great differentials. This is because the platform seeks to constantly update its tools so that the user can learn effectively.
Thus, video classes, complementary materials and assessments are made available through a completely interactive and intuitive virtual environment.
All courses on the Coursera platform are of the highest quality. Most of its professors are university professors from renowned North American institutions. In addition, the platform has advanced technological resources that enable the user to have a qualified, pleasant and attractive experience. The student has a real immersion in the content he is studying, having stimuli that enable efficient learning.
As Coursera chooses the best universities in the world to establish its partnerships, and seeks original courses aligned with the main differentials of each institution, the courses are produced in a totally professional manner and updated to the trends of the labor market.
Coursera has free courses
Coursera invests in access to knowledge and professional training . Thus, most of the areas covered by courses on the Coursera platform have several free modules. All, obviously, with excellent technical quality, cutting-edge audiovisual resources and complementary materials to facilitate the learning process.
Among the main areas in which the Coursera platform has free courses , the following courses stand out:
- The science of wellness
- Financial Engineering
- Algorithms
- Fundamentals of Programming
- Introduction to Philosophy
- History of Internet, Technology and Security
Coursera certified
The Coursera offers free courses, but you need to pay if you want to have access to the official certificate of course completion. Which is worth it, since taking a course without obtaining a certificate does not make much sense, especially for those looking for a place in the job market.
The Coursera have certificates including US institutions, which are accepted worldwide. However, it is important to note that courses with international certification are mostly offered in English, and there are also courses offered in Spanish.
Thus, the Coursera student has three options with regard to their training and subsequent issuance of their certificate:
- Private course: Coursera private courses are usually academic-level courses, such as specialization, Master’s and MBA. Thus, the investment of the course is usually in installments, since the course lasts for months or even more than a year. In these cases, the value of issuing a certificate is already included in the investment of the course.
- Free course with certificate issuance: there are numerous options for free courses at Coursera. Students who choose one or more of these courses and need their digital certificate must pay for this service after completing the course. Typically, the service for issuing and validating the certificate is between US $ 10.00 and US $ 25.00, varying from institution to institution, as well as level of training and course duration.
- Free course without issuing a certificate: just like at EdX, the student can take a free course at Coursera without requesting a certificate. In this case, the student is unable to prove his education, nor add it to his academic or professional curriculum. But it acquires updated knowledge and produced by the best universities in the world completely free of charge, being able to improve its work and obtain personal and intellectual development.
>>> CLICK HERE and check out all Coursera Courses
What is FutureLearn
FutureLearn is a state-of-the-art learning platform that was founded in 2012 and offers online courses, popularly known as MOOCs or Massive Open Online Courses, from leading universities in the UK and around the world.
Future Learn offers a wide selection of courses, and many of these courses have free access for a limited time. If you want unlimited access or access to tests and exams and earn a course certificate, you need to pay. FutureLearn also offers courses in academic programs, which are formed by groups of courses in a specific area.
Unlike some online course platforms, Future Learn offers accredited courses . FutureLearn’s partner institutions include many important institutions, such as the University of Edinburgh, University of California, Durham University, John Hopkins University, University of Newcastle, The Open University, University College London.
FutureLearn has free courses
Nowadays, there are several platforms for you to study online and learn new skills. And one of these platforms is FutureLearn, which even offers several free university courses .
FutureLearn offers a variety of short courses and in-depth programs. It is possible to study many of the short courses for free, but you need to update the course if you decide to take the final assessments and purchase a certificate.
FutureLearn, like other online course platforms , offers a good way to learn for free until you are satisfied with the course. If you like the course, you can pay to get the certificate.
FutureLearn certified
FutureLearn’s digital certificate is a permanent web page, with a unique address, so you can easily add it to your profile, on the LinkedIn resume and share it with friends or employers.
Your certificate provides a detailed transcript of what you have learned. This includes how much time you spent studying the course and your average test score.
The certificate and transcript provide evidence to show during job or university applications, or assessments. You do not need to verify your identity to obtain your certificate.
Your certificate shows your name, the course, the logo of the organization offering it, plus any professional associations and the signature of the leading educator.
>>> CLICK HERE and check out all FutureLearn Courses
What is edX
If you are interested in university level online courses, edX courses may be your best option.
The EDX is a nonprofit organization founded by leading American universities “Harvard and MIT.” It offers more than 2,500 courses and 140 institutions. There are more than 25 million students worldwide.
With edX, you can take thousands of online courses from the best universities and organizations. The courses are taught by the world’s leading experts and teachers. All instructors at edX , therefore, are renowned professionals in their areas of expertise, with extensive teaching experience.
The user experience at edX brings together the most advanced in the technology landscape. Both MIT and Harvard University are known worldwide for their technology expertise.
Thus, by having all this extensive knowledge in technology properly applied to its online teaching platform, the user experience at edX proves to be satisfactory and effective, bringing together intuitive layout and resources to enhance the effectiveness of learning.
The quality of the courses at edX is one of the factors responsible for maintaining this platform among the largest institutions of MOOC courses. Thus, the student who takes a course through edX receives complete training, with the guarantee of a renowned university and with the potential to be directly applied in the job market.
edX has free courses
With courses of different levels of specialty, EdX has free courses offered on its platform. These courses have all the characteristics of the others, including audiovisual quality and relevance of the syllabus.
It is a way of promoting access to knowledge and professional development, facilitating the student’s qualification for the job market. The only cost that the student has when choosing one of the free EdX courses is the cost of issuing the EdX digital certificate .
However, there are courses aimed at reaching other audiences, such as specialization or refresher courses in academic and health areas. These courses have a higher workload, usually extending over months with weekly classes and complementary materials and, due to their model and the cost for their maintenance, these courses have a higher cost.
In these cases, the student pays a monthly fee to access the course, and the registration fee and certificate issuance fee are already included in this monthly fee.
However, paying for an edX online course has some significant advantages:
• Certificates of completion
• Graduated assessments
• Unlimited access to the course
EdX certificate
When it comes to evaluating a course, whether online or in person, the certificate is one of the central aspects. After all, both to present at a job interview and value your professional curriculum, as well as to value your academic curriculum or even use supplementary training as part of your institution’s overtime requirements, you will need a certified certificate. In this regard, edX courses represent a great differential, as not only do edX courses have a certificate , but also have certificates of high academic and professional impact, since they are issued by the best universities in the world.
The EDX certificates are always generated after the completion of any course offered by the platform. To do so, you need to request this option after completing a course through the edX platform, choosing the payment method for the fees involved. It is worth remembering that, in some cases, the certification fees are already included in the amount paid during the course, being only necessary to complete the course and request the issuance of your certificate.
Among the different areas covered by the platform, we highlight courses aimed at professionals from the following niches:
- Computer science
- Data Science
- Engineering
- Business Administration and Management
- Languages
- Humanities
>>> CLICK HERE and check out all edX Courses
What is Udemy
The Udemy is one of the largest platforms of e-learning in the world, which allows the user to both gain knowledge through their courses as share their knowledge through free courses.
The Udemy courses is an excellent choice for those seeking to expand their personal and professional training. It is a platform that covers students and teachers from all regions of the world, with courses translated into several languages.
The Udemy platform is a little different from the others, as it works with the collaboration system. This means that anyone can add any course on any subject to the site, without needing any credentials to prove it.
There is no requirement for a minimum specific training to host a course at Udemy (eg Undergraduate, Graduate, Master, etc.). However, it is necessary to know the guidelines of the platform, as the course must be in accordance with the Udemy guidelines, in addition to having good audiovisual quality, appropriate program content, and comply with the proposals offered.
Udemy has free courses
As it is a platform that allows individuals to share their knowledge through free courses without major restrictions in relation to thematic areas, Udemy is considered one of the most complete online education platforms in terms of the areas of interest contemplated by its members. courses.
In addition to being one of the best online teaching platforms in the world and offering qualified courses with an excellent cost-benefit ratio, Udemy offers free courses in different areas of expertise.
Certified Udemy
The Udemy provides certification for most of its courses, which are produced by individuals or institutions that have produced the courses and available on Udemy.
As Udemy produces many free courses, that is, produced by individuals, often without any link to higher education institutions, the Udemy Certificate is not linked to recognized universities and higher education institutions. However, this does not exclude or interfere with the validity of the certificates offered by Udemy , and after completing the Course you will receive a certificate.