One of the huge benefits of having the Internet around is that anyone can access hundreds of learning platforms online. Education in this modern day has become more virtual in terms of being able to learn through online platforms compared to in-person education. Nowadays there are all sorts of learning platforms that you can choose from, depending on your needs or preferences. It might seem overwhelming at first, but lucky for you there are several factors involved when deciding what online learning platform to pick.
Looking for a learning platform? Here are a couple of platforms that will get you going!
Teachable
Teachable is one of the world’s leaders and the biggest platform worldwide for placing your courses online as a trainer, for users to study in their own time and at their own pace.
Teachable also provides a very clean and stylish online school for you. Furthermore, it is very user-friendly and offers very affordable plans that accommodate all trainers and teachers looking to add their courses online.
On Teachable, you:
- Create your school
- Add your content by uploading videos, text, images or whatever content you want to add and include in your lessons
- You set the pricing of your courses and design your sales page/s (inside teachable)
Here at Symonds Training, we ourselves use Teachable for our ‘Train the Trainer Online Course’ and for our sister site’s Blogging for Beginners online course.
Conclusion: Teachable is the best option if you are looking to add your own online course as a trainer and so that your users can individually study your course online in their own time from anywhere.
Thinkific
Thinkific is similar to Teachable.com in what it does in that they are both platforms on which you, as a freelance trainer or teacher, can add your courses and sell them.
Having tried both Thinkific and Teachable though, I found Teachable far easier to use and to do everything technically and I love the classroom design that students see when they are logged into Teachable.
You might though find Thinkific easier so it can be worth trying out a demo version.
Conclusion: If you are looking for a one-to-one platform for putting your online courses live for people to do in their own time, worth trying out.
Zoom
Zoom is a platform that was originally designed for business meetings online and for companies to have an online space for employees. Zoom though has developed into an excellent tool for use as a virtual classroom and their software is now used by:
- Individual teachers (my yoga teacher in the UK is even using it now to provide online yoga lessons)
- Universities and schools to create large virtual classrooms for hundreds of students
- Businesses to provide staff and employees live online training as eLearning modules or real-time online classes and tuition.
Conclusion: Great for teaching online for both individual freelance trainers, and for both small and large companies. One of the best tools on the market for providing online training.
Skype Video
a) For Freelance Trainers and Individuals Teaching Online
Skype video has traditionally been very popular for video calls to family and friends but Skype is also increasingly being used by businesses these days and it is an excellent option if you are looking to provide both teaching and training online. Skype also, by the way, integrates nicely with Microsoft teams (see below).
As an individual offering corporate training online (i.e. if you are self-employed), you can use the personal version of Skype and this is an incredibly easy and cheap way to offer online classes and lessons 1-to-1. It’s also a great tool for researchers such as those doing Skype interviews for Masters and PhD research.
On Skype, you can easily share your screen with the people or person you are chatting with by clicking the overlapping boxes at the bottom of the interface. You will see these boxes when you are in a video call with someone (see image above).
b) For Company Training Online (and Co-working Space Online)
Skype is also excellent for Groups!
In addition to being an excellent option for team meetings and online co-working space, you can use Skype Groups for teaching and training employees and staff from afar.
Wherever in the world you physically are, you can provide external or in-house training online, for up to 50 people at a time.
Conclusion: Brilliant for offering 1-to-1 teaching and training online especially for teaching languages and for many one-to-one topics. Also a very good option for busineeses of any size.
MS Teams
If you are a fan of Microsoft and already use their software such as Microsoft 365, then you will very likely love their online collaboration software.
I’ve used Microsoft Teams and it is always easy even for those people not used to working and collaborating online. I prefer ‘Zoom’ for teaching online in all honesty but for team meetings and office chats, this is as good as any option (although not the cheapest).
Conclusion: Particularly good for larger companies and very easy to use for online teachers and trainers.
Google Hangouts (for Teachers)
Google Hangouts is another video conferencing service that is also great for those of you looking to provide live classes and lessons online. With hangouts you can:
- Share screens and files
- Chat
- Use a shares hangout space to collaborate
You will need to have a Google account, so if you already use Gmail you will already have a Google account that you can use for Google Hangouts. The short intro video below gives you a flavor of hangouts and how you can use it as an online trainer or teacher.https://www.youtube.com/embed/QwQGPr78vxQ?feature=oembed
Conclusion: Whilst Zoom is my favourite, Google Hangouts is more than sufficient and really quite easy to use for teaching online.
We Transfer
WeTransfer is something I suspect you might have already used given it is one of the best tools on the market for transferring large files securely across the Internet.
There are both free and paid versions with the free version allowing transfers of up to 2 GB and the Pro-package lets you send files up to 20 GB.
So, if you want to send large files to team members or to students (such as to send them the digital handbook), this is a great way to avoid clogging up your email box, if you have lots of large files to send and receive.
Conclusion: If you are transferring large files online for any reason, WeTransfer is arguably the best service online and you can use the free version!
Socrative
Socrative is a handy site given that they enable you to easily and quickly create your own interactive quizzes that you can share on your digital classroom.
You can also use Socrative if you wish to create digital classrooms (up to 20 classrooms) with up to 50 students in each class.
Conclusion: I have not used the classrooms feature but this is certainly a good option for making quizzes for your digital classes.
GoConqr
Goconqr – whether you are a student, teacher or freelance trainer, GoConqr is one of my favorite sites for easily and quickly creating classy looking:
- Mindmaps
- Quizzes
- Flashcards
- Flowcharts
- and for creating study planners and a course builder
Example of the GoConqr quiz maker for lesson planning
Conclusion: On GoConqr, I often use their Flashcard and quiz feature and find them super easy to use.
YouTube
You are most likely familiar with YouTube and have at one time or another watched a video or two on this platform.
We have recently just created our own YouTube Channel (would be incredibly grateful if you subscribed) and this is a great way to reach out to potential students if you are a freelance trainer offering training and your own classes and lessons online.
Conclusion: As a freelance trainer or online teacher, YouTube can be a wonderful resource for building a following and building interest in yourself as a brand, as the teacher trainer. And it’s free. You can also potentially make money from the ads that show if you build enough followers.
The Online Educator: People and Pedagogy by The Open University on FutureLearn
After you have completed Teaching for Home Learning, consider enrolling in The Online Educator, a course that takes place over four weeks with an estimated commitment of four hours per week.
This course equips teachers with the skills to design and innovate online teaching materials. It is perfect for teachers who are curious about how to package and present online learning resources in the best way possible for students.
For free users, the course will be accessible for six weeks. Teachers have the option to upgrade to purchase the digital certificate upon course completion.
English Teaching Courses by British Council
British Council is one of the leading organisations that help students and teachers all over the world with the English language. Just as students can tap on the resources published by the British Council as part of their independent learning exercises, teachers can similarly learn to teach English!
The British Council offers free Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) and the content that they share are frequently switched around. Currently, the Teaching for Success series seeks to inform teachers about the latest developments around English teaching from using multimedia sources to multilingualism.
Refer to this link for the full list of free online teacher training courses offered by the British Council.
Instructional Design Models by the University of Maryland on edX
Instructional Design Models is one segment of the Instructional Design and Technology MicroMasters Programme offered by the University of Maryland on edX. This course imparts knowledge for teachers to craft online lesson plans, encourage collaborative learning, and to ask questions in a way that provokes thoughtful responses.
This course is for teachers who are intrigued by the rise of online learning and are curious about what ideas can be adapted into traditional approaches to education. Interested participants can enrol in this course for free, with the paid option to upgrade to a verified certificate or even to pursue the full MicroMasters programme.
Class Central
Class Central offers thirty-one free online teacher training courses. Of these, twenty-seven carry the option to purchase certificates. These courses are offered by schools such as the Relay Graduate School of Education, the Erasmus University Rotterdam, and the University of Colorado Boulder.
On Class Central, teachers can expect to learn about topics such as character-building, cultural diversity, and online teaching pedagogies. There is something to meet the needs of most teachers.
Promising Practices in Online Teaching and Learning by Keith Restine
Keith Restine initially designed and published this course for internal circulation to help his colleagues adjust to remote teaching. Now, Restine has generously published his online teaching course under the Creative Commons license for all teachers to access.
The aim of this course is for teachers to learn how to conceptualise and implement an online teaching curriculum. This curriculum will comprise online group activities, strategies to encourage active learning, and time management.
This free course is one of the most extensive and it comes with a ninety-two paged free coursebook.
MIT OpenCourseWare
MIT is one of the world’s top universities in a variety of majors. In 2019, QS World University Rankings designated MIT as the top university in the world for the eighth year running. Everyone wants to learn from MIT, and the good news is that you can! MIT has published portions of its vast archive of course materials for anyone to peruse for free.
Under the Teaching and Education tab in the MIT OpenCourseWare course finder, there is a list of courses at the graduate and undergraduate level for teachers to view. These online modules feature recorded lecture videos and thus enables teachers to watch the seminars offered by MIT’s best lecturers in the field.
The following video is an example of a recorded lecture published by MIT OpenCourseWare on YouTube. Here, the director of MIT’s Teaching+Learning Lab, Dr Janet Rankin lectures about using educational resources in the classroom:https://www.youtube.com/embed/rqI_0FNAeS0?feature=oembed.
Bonus
Docebo
Docebo comes with a top cloud-based LMS solution that ticks off the majority of every organization’s training needs and requirements. The platform is learner-centric and comes with L&D capabilities using learning-specific Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms, that help to personalize the learning experience. Docebo is trusted by notable companies including Bloomberg and Sharp.
Pros:
- It is compatible with SCORM 1.2, AICC and Tin Can API.
- It has engaging gamification and social learning capabilities.
- It offers instructor-led training (ILT) features.
- It supports more than 30 languages.
- It allows third-party integrations with video-conferencing tools and other applications.
- It provides the possibility to offer certificates and sell online courses – ecommerce.
Cons:
- It doesn’t offer customizable or advanced reporting capabilities.
- It has limited functionality on certain objects of the LMS that require richer API.
- It doesn’t come with enough features on its standard package that would better suit small and medium-sized businesses.
Who is it for?
It’s aimed for use by human resource professionals, HR departments or enterprises.
Pricing:
It has a 14-day free trial. Pricing is based on the number of active users.
Subscription plans include:
Growth: suitable for organizations that have up to 300 users.
Enterprise: suitable for organizations that have more than 300 users and are looking for a more advanced elearning solution.
For more information you need to contact Docebo directly.
Pricing information retrieved from Docebo on 1st of September 2020.
LearnUpon
LearnUpon is another great cloud-based option intended for educational corporate, customer and partner training. This platform is well-known for its functionalities, user-friendly interface and the multilingual support it offers. Its ability to segment different teams and create unique learning paths is one of the advantages it offers. LearnUpon is trusted by TripAdvisor and Booking.com.
Pros:
- It has great gamification options.
- It comes with eCommerce functionality.
- It is compatible with SCORM and xAPI/Tin Can API.
- It offers third-party integrations with key business tools.
- It offers the ability to support multiple audiences in one system using multiple portals.
- It supports blended learning methods – ILT, webinars, PowerPoint presentations etc.
Cons:
- Its pricing is expensive compared to others.
- It doesn’t offer an option for HTML5 courses.
Who is it for?
It’s ideal for educational institutions and businesses of all types and sizes.
Pricing:
It offers a free trial. Pricing is based on the number of active users and portals. Subscription plans include:
- Basic: €599/month (50 users, 1 portal)
- Essential: €999/month (250 users, 2 portals)
- Premium: €1,699/month (500 users, 3 portals)
- Enterprise: custom pricing plan (500+ users, 3+ portals)
Pricing information retrieved from LearnUpon on 1st of August 2020.
Conclusion
Online learning platforms. There is quite a lot of promises, as always, but with a little help from my team we have collected the best education platforms available for you to enjoy. We have selected the most flexible and convenient learning options for students with various needs and budgets. The programs that offer online tutors, both remote and on-campus class tutorials, that are simply the best educational services available in a range of subjects.