E-learning platform is currently the trending method of studying and learning. Different kinds of people can use it, starting from students to workers. There are many uses to e-learning platforms and online courses – it can be for upscaling professional skills, or simply just improving your knowledge on a certain subject with individual courses. In this article, there are 8 recommended e-learning platforms to aid you in choosing the best online learning platforms.

8 E-learning platforms you should try out

Udemy

Udemy or Udemy Business is an e-learning platform that offers 19,000+ courses in 14 languages. It’s most well known for its top certified tech and business learning content. Udemy specialises in professional development for people or businesses who want to improve their skills. It has a wide range of courses, starting from Python, Photoshop, Web Development, SQL, Software development and others. You can access the courses through the videos uploaded by the instructors, so you can learn any time.  People can also be an instructor easily on Udemy, raising issues of the quality provided. In other words, the instructors might not be that well-versed or not as much of an expert. However, you can choose a course that is already rated highly by those who have purchased the course to ensure that the course is high quality.  Pros:

• Has a wide range of courses to choose from
• Offers you a certificate on completion of the course
• Easy to use with user-friendly interface

Cons:

• Issues of quality control
• No interaction between instructor and students
• Lack of engagement during courses
• Certification is not recognised by companies or employers

Linkedin Learning

Linkedin Learning, or previously Lynda.com specializes in professional development for creative, tech, and business fields with 16,000+ courses available. The courses are taught by professionals and experts who have been quality checked by Linkedin Learning, which means you can be rest assured about the courses’ credibility. In addition to that, it provides you with quizzes and practices so they can implement their learnings directly. After that, it’ll be linked to your Linkedin profile so people know you have completed the course.  Pros:

• Well-trained and quality checked instructors
• Engaging students with quizzes and practices
• Directly links the completion to your Linkedin profile

Cons:

• Doesn’t offer a wide range of courses (creative, tech, and business only)
• No interaction between instructor and students
• Certification is not recognised by companies or employers

Skillshare

Skillshare offers you a whopping 35,000+ courses in mostly the creative field. The main users of this platform are students, entrepreneurs, and small businesses who wish to gain creative skills. Also, the main unique point about this platform is that you’re also going to interact with the community, where they can react to your work and give input about it. Moreover, you can also discuss with them regarding what you need help with. Making the learning process more engaging and less boring as you don’t only watch videos of the instructors.  Pros:

• Has a wide range of course materials in the creative field (photography, videography, graphic design, etc)
• Active community of people with the same passion & interests
• Offers you engagement & analytics report

Cons:

• Issues of quality control
• Doesn’t give out certifications
• Video lectures only

Coursera

Coursera offers 5,000+ training courses, it is one of the e-learning platforms which universities and companies acknowledge. The quality check of Coursera is very strict, with the instructors coming mostly from partner institutions or universities. So, it means that the teachers at Coursera truly know their stuff they’re teaching about. It focuses on mostly science & business, and it’s especially suitable for students who wish to look for an online degree. Pros:

• Offers high quality courses from reputed institutions
• Certification is recognised by some companies or employers
• Provides financial aid for student with low-income or student from developing country

Cons:

• Doesn’t offer a wide range of courses (mainly science and business)
• Students might miss out due to start and end date on some courses
• Instructors often don’t give feedback or answer students’ questions due to large amount of students

edX

edX is a prestigious e-learning platform, highlighting courses taught by Ivy League universities. For instance, courses are taught by Harvard, MIT, Berkeley, and other top universities in the world. Therefore, it doesn’t really offer that many courses compared to other platforms since they really preach quality over quantity here. Overall, you can even call this as online university since they really have a wide variety of courses, starting from humanities, science, medicine, business, and others. Pros:

• Certification is accredited and highly recognized
• Provides financial aid to low-income students
• Has a wide range of courses to choose from
• Offers courses from Ivy League

Cons:

• Course count is lower than other platform
• User interface is not friendly
• Ambiguous categorisation of courses as instructors can create courses as they wish

Moodle

Moodle is probably the most well-known platform for LMS (Learning Management System). Instructors can host their own websites and also offer users with interactive plugins and softwares. Because of that, it is much different from other platforms who usually only offer video based courses. It is customisable to your likings and incorporates practice tools such as quizzes. In fact, it also has gamification integrated into its system, such as rankings, achievements, points, etc. For instance, Practicle is another example of a learning platform that uses gamification as the foundation of its studies. Furthermore, you can collect legendary pets while learning basic math at Practicle. Pros:

• Mobile app is very functional
• Highly customisable
• Engaging tools such as randomized quizzes
• Incorporates gamification into the system

Cons:

• Confusing and messy interface
• Might be challenging for first-time users
• No learning paths provided

Blackboard

Surprisingly, Blackboard is one of the oldest e-learning platforms out there, dating back to 1999. This platform is mostly suitable and relevant for students who wish to learn the fundamentals of their studies. Its user interface is easy to navigate, looking simple and neat. However, that also makes their interface overly simplistic and less modern looking compared to other platforms. Despite that, it supports interactive learning between the student and the instructor.  Pros:

• Easy navigation for both student and teacher
• Has many plug-ins available
• Includes plagiarism detector

Cons:

• Oldschool user interface compared to other platforms
• Takes long time to set up
• Reported to be buggy on its mobile app

Canvas

Last but not least, Canvas provides you with many tools and features that facilitate the learning experience. For example, it is integrated with other applications such as Microsoft Teams, Google Workspace, and Adobe Creative Cloud. Instructors can also host their courses through Canvas. Moreover, it also offers a high level of interaction between the instructors and students. On the flip side, it may seem a little bit flat as it doesn’t have any gamification appeal such as ranking, achievement, etc.  Pros:

• Has many integration choices
• Has collaboration and social learning features
• Reduced time to grade submissions/assignments thanks to SpeedGrader tool

Cons:

• Might be challenging for first-time users
• Almost no gamification aspects

In conclusion, there is various e-learning platform available on the internet. In order to choose the right one, you’ll have to know about your needs and match it with these existing platforms. Surely, there’s a platform that suits your needs and helps you in developing yourself. 

In conclusion, there is various e-learning platform available on the internet. In order to choose the right one, you’ll have to know about your needs and match it with these existing platforms. Surely, there’s a platform that suits your needs and helps you in developing yourself.