The FutureLearn is an English company that operates in the niche of educational technology. With its headquarters located in London, the company was founded in 2012 through an admirable partnership between Open University and Seek Limited, two true authorities with regard to technology applied to education.
The accelerated growth of FutureLearn’s reach and authority demonstrates how much strategic planning and content shared by the company really adds value to the market. As a way of measuring its accelerated growth and its remarkable relevance in the digital education market, note that, even though it was founded in 2012, in May 2018 FutureLearn already had 143 universities.
This accelerated growth is due both to the potential of its creators and to trends in the market as a whole. After all, with the exponential increase in technological resources applied to education in recent years, platforms like FutureLearn are gaining more followers. However, it is known that there are important differences between companies that occupy this market niche, so that each professional objective tends to be better served in certain institutions.
So, to help you identify FutureLearn’s potential in relation to your professional goals, this article presents a review by FutureLearn , discussing its main characteristics.
FutureLearn how it works
FutureLearn is a notable company operating in the field of technology applied to education, whose format consists of an online course platform . The FutureLearn platform is known for its open and massive online courses, popularly called MOOC courses ( Massive Open Online Courses ).
The MOOC courses currently represent a major trend of the technology market applied to education, since these courses widely encourage continuing education and continuous investment in the improvement of professional skills. Thanks to the knowledge acquired through these courses, many people are able to enter the job market and acquire knowledge and skills that make them autonomous and qualified professionals. Thus, the student who browses the platform can choose between different courses when evaluating information such as:
- Course syllabus
- Creative institution and teachers responsible for the course
- Workload
- Skills to be developed
Both MOOC courses and other FutureLearn courses cover different areas of expertise and levels of expertise, and are produced in institutional partnerships established with world-renowned universities. Among FutureLearn’s partner universities, the following stand out:
- Dublin City University
- Durham University
- King’s College London
- Lancaster University
- University of Liverpool
- University of Michigan
- The Pennsylvania State University
- Ravensbourne University London
- UNSW Sydney
In addition to these universities, FutureLearn also has partnerships with dozens of other reputable institutions, as you can check on the platform’s website.
Regarding the specialty levels of FutureLearn’s MOOC courses , the platform has technical courses, MBA and specialization courses. The course level influences its duration, format and, consequently, the amount invested, but all follow the same user experience and technical quality criteria based on the policies of partner universities. In addition, it is worth remembering that a large part of FutureLearn’s MOOC courses are open courses, that is, courses that can be accessed free of charge. listener mode without requesting a certificate and, therefore, not having any cost attributed to the course.
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FutureLearn is accredited
When it comes to finding the best courses to invest in your professional training, the certification and technical validity of the institution chosen for your training are extremely relevant information. After all, there are different circumstances where having a certificate that proves your experience and your qualification ends up being almost as important as having the knowledge and experience itself. And since FutureLearn is a company that offers training exclusively online, it is common to wonder if FutureLearn is accredited .
If this is your case, it is important to note that FutureLearn is a duly registered company , which has worldwide recognition. Thus, the referred company is duly registered for taxation purposes in its country of origin, so that FutureLearn can carry out all the activities applicable to a company of its category, namely:
- Offer free short courses as well as professional courses at advanced levels with longer duration
- Publicize, through marketing and advertising campaigns, the courses offered by the platform
- Establish partnerships with higher education institutions or companies from different market niches
- Issue certificate of completion of the course, specifying the workload and the level of specialty of the referred training, since free courses can be certified by both individuals and legal entities
As FutureLearn is a distance learning platform , and establishes partnerships with renowned institutions of higher education, the certificate informs both the legal data of the FutureLearn platform and information that confirms the institution responsible for the programmatic content of the course. Thus, with the FutureLearn certificate you gain notoriety in the academic and professional market. This is because, in addition to using it to prove theoretical training on a certain area of interest and being able to fill any vacancies in the market related to the course in question, the FutureLearn certificate it can also be shared on your Linkedin profile so that you can have access to any job vacancies associated with your training, as well as being considered a complementary workload to your academic training.
FutureLearn certificate is free
Although most FutureLearn courses are considered MOOC courses and are therefore free courses, the certificate of completion is considered an additional resource to the student’s experience as a course listener. For this reason, if you choose to request a certificate of completion of your course, you will have to pay for this service separately.
As FutureLearn offers free courses , it is possible for you to enroll in different courses simultaneously, requesting only a certificate for the courses you deem most relevant to your training or your professional goals.
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Pros and cons of FutureLearn
FutureLearn’s perception of value may vary slightly depending on the objectives of each user. However, it is worth highlighting below the main pros and cons of FutureLearn based on market trends.
Pros
- Free courses in different areas of interest: the possibility of starting a course for free is a form of security for the student, who is sure to have no cost or loss if he / she understands that the course in question has nothing to contribute with their training or their professional goals. Although in order to receive a certificate after completing the course, students have to update their registration and pay the course fee of interest, many students enroll in different FutureLearn free courses to make sure that the content is really qualified.
- Courses produced by notably reputable universities: this factor tends to be especially valuable for those looking to value their academic or professional curriculum, as well as for those looking to enter the job market. After all, the benefits that can be obtained when receiving a certificate are noteworthy, proving that the person has in their training a course produced by a higher education institution whose relevance is recognized worldwide. Thus, by establishing partnerships with renowned universities, FutureLearn proves to be an excellent option for students looking to invest in their professional training.
- Access to discussion forums: Access to discussion forums provides students with space to interact with tutors and answer questions about the course content. Thus, even though the classes are recorded, the student ends up having the opportunity to receive specific guidance on the topics worked on in the courses.
- Courses with recognized certificates in the academic and professional fields: the certificate of a professionalizing course allows the student to use the investment in his training to increase his market value and find job openings in his area. That is why many people who start taking free courses at FutureLearn end up updating their enrollment on the platform to receive their certificate after completing the course, as they find that the syllabus of the courses is in fact relevant and in line with market demands.
- Satisfactory user experience: due to the expertise of the platform’s creators and their broad experience with regard to technology, the user experience at FutureLearn tends to be perceived as satisfactory. This is because, in addition to having very intuitive functions, FutureLearn makes access to the content of the classes very objective and simplified.
Cons
- Private courses with a value that may become inaccessible to some students: since the value of the courses is established in dollars, students who work in countries whose local currency is devalued against the dollar may consider the value of some courses to be inaccessible. Still, it is important to remember that many FutureLearn courses can be accessed free of charge, so that the student will have some cost only if he wishes to receive the certificate of completion. In addition, it is also important to recognize that the value of FutureLearn courses are aligned with the market.
- Absence of application for mobile version, both iOS and Android: one of the great advantages of online courses is precisely the possibility to study whenever and wherever you want. However, the absence of apps for the mobile version limits the possibilities, since not having a mobile app for iOS and Android devices, the user is restricted, being able to study only in environments where he has access to a computer with internet. For this reason, some users of FutureLearn feel that the platform does not meet their expectations, considering the absence of an application for mobile version an opposite aspect.
- Few US universities included among the platform’s partner universities so far: courses in the areas of technology, computer science and related fields are highly sought after by people looking to enter the market and act in these areas. Therefore, the partner university responsible for developing the course ends up being influential when deciding which platform to invest in, and the fact that FutureLearn does not yet have a partnership with many US universities may end up making some students opt for other platforms.
FutureLearn Price
The price of FutureLearn courses usually vary between US $ 39.00 and US $ 90.00, and may have different values under specific conditions (such as postgraduate courses with a longer duration). Still, it is worth remembering that most of the courses can be accessed free of charge, where you will pay the mentioned amount only if you wish to obtain a certificate of completion.
In addition, it is important to note that the investment value in FutureLearn courses is compatible with the MOOC courses market. In fact, considering that the courses are produced in partnership with renowned universities, the price of FutureLearn courses represents an excellent cost-benefit ratio.
Conclusion
This article sought to discuss the main characteristics of FutureLearn , adopting a critical and objective posture in relation to its pros and cons. With the increase in the market for MOOC courses, many platforms seek to enter the market, and articles like this are important so that future students can have qualified information that helps them choose the best platform in relation to their professional goals.
As presented in this article, even though FutureLearn is an extremely qualified platform in technological resources and user experience, the fact that it does not have mobile applications and does not have partnerships with many renowned universities in the USA makes the perception of many students negative regarding the platform . In addition, the amount charged for some private courses on the platform is perceived as excessive by some students.
However, as notably favorable characteristics, FutureLearn is a large company in the area of education technology, with partnerships with major universities and a considerable variety of courses. Your professionalism is expressed through a satisfactory user experience, with free courses and courses with relatively affordable investment that can help you stand out in the academic and professional market. So, if you are looking to invest in online courses to stand out in the market, visit the FutureLearn platform and see what the best course options are for you!