Don’t Take an Online Course Before Reading This
You’ve finally decided to take an online course, Spanish Language for Beginners, but you have a few concerns, like how to get started and which online school is best for you, or should you use a language app? Although it’s true there are thousands of courses for continuing education, degree programs and specialized certificate classes available online from a multitude of educational services, the process doesn’t have to be intimidating if you have a goal strategy. When it comes to e-learning, the key to getting exactly what you want for your goals, time and budget is to have a strategy before you enroll in any online course or class.
The good thing is that a lot of the tedious research work, such as rating a legitimate online school or program, has already been done for you by helpful bloggers and article writers, like yours truly. Feel free to copy my own list of legit, and accredited program providers follows this article. Additionally, what also works for me is creating a checklist outline with researched questions and answers. Your Q&A checklist helps you to avoid potential pitfalls, like selecting the wrong online program or course provider for your objectives.
Your Q&A checklist may differ from mine shown here, but ideally, yours should feature your top 3 or 4 picks for an educational provider. The really great thing about this Q&A strategy is that you can use this resource whether you’re seeking an academic degree, a course certificate or just self edification.
My Q&A Checklist
- Is this class/course for self improvement ? (Yes _ No _)
- Can I use this class/course for college credit (Yes _ No _)
- Is the school or program accredited? (Yes _ No _)
- If not accredited will my job / school recognize this course? (Yes _ No _)
- Is this class /course taught by a private professional or organization (Yes _ No _)
- Does the course offer online multi-media tools (videos, interactive tests, etc)? (Yes _ No _)
- Is there an instructor or is the course self-guided? (Yes _ No _)
- How long do I have to complete the course? (1 semester _, 1 year_, _ months, _weeks)
- Is the course(s) totally distance or online learning? (Yes _ No _)
- What is the total cost of the class or course ($___.__)
- What is the refund policy, if any (______________…)
- Is there a certificate or diploma awarded upon successful completion (Yes _ No _)
Pharoh’s Top E-Learning Providers
As promised here are my top picks for e-learning providers, in alphabetical order.
- Youtube Academy – Youtube has a variety video classes, and complete courses, many are introductory, leading to paid programs *Free and paid, mostly unaccredited for self-edification
- Coursera – offers many free introduction classes, certificate programs, degree programs, but mostly tuition-based, Both accredited and unaccredited programs. $$
- UofPeople – offers degree programs a very affordable option to typical universities. Also offers some tuition-free programs. Students can transfer their UofPeople credits to McGill University. *Accredited
- Join my E-Learning Group on Facebook – it’s a social experience with free software and free classes that I find online