Top 5 Online Learning Platforms for Adults
By Staples Canada
April 29, 2020
Small Business & Entrepreneurship
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Looking to advance your career, but haven’t had the time to take a class? Always wanted to understand Adobe Illustrator but need a little help? Need to balance your books and get a deeper understanding of accounting? Here are our 5 favourite platforms that can help you take your learning to the next level.
Big names. Big learning. A social media savvy education platform that targets possible students while tapping into the experience and knowledge of the cream of the crop in every industry. Learn creativity and leadership from Anna Wintour. Or fashion design from Marc Jacobs. Learn how to write for television from Shonda Rhimes, or how to direct a film from Martin Scorsese. Learn how to cook with Gordon Ramsay and Thomas Keller. And learn how to negotiate from Chris Voss. There is something for everyone, every interest and every skill level. Masterclass classes are available to sign-up for and purchase as a single class, or you can buy an annual membership and get access to over 80 instructors.
What started out in the hip, desert town of Ojai, California, helmed by a filmmaker named Lynda Weinman, has turned into a Microsoft-owned learning empire. Connected to LinkedIn, the learning environment is designed to not only support the individual but businesses big and small that are looking to enhance training and education of their employees. Learning offers everything from Figure Drawing or Transforming your Personal Brand, to The Art of Connection and UX Foundations. As an individual, with a premium subscription to LinkedIn, you have access to 25 courses a month.
Taught by well-regarded instructors at world-class institutions, education on this platform brings you courses, video lectures and discussion forums from the best in class. You can get professional certificates, online degrees, or increase your skills on a course by course basis. Take a Modern Art & Ideas course from the MOMA, or Introduction to Food and Health from Stanford University or even Databases and SQL for Data Science from the pros at IBM.
This “more than a search engine” also offers courses for learning a new skillset, retraining or refreshing an existing skillset, or even getting a certification (through Coursera). Don’t understand AI, why we need it and what it even is? Take a Google course. Always wondered where things went in the cloud, how they got there, and how we can manage it? Take a Google course. Understand that digital marketing is a thing that could really make your life as an entrepreneur easier but not quite sure how to crack that nut? Take a Google course.
SkillShare is a platform that caters primarily to those looking to create. You don’t have to dig very deep to find something for every taste. Courses are organized according to disciple (animation, design, writing, coding) and members and students can learn at the hand of some of the greats —Creative Non-fiction with Susan Orlean, Presentation Essentials with Simon Sinek or WordPress Step by Step with Chris Dixon. There are many free classes, and a premium membership will give you access to their whole catalogue of creative education.