As per the National Union of Students, many graduates are struggling mentally and financially as they try to find employment amidst this Pandemic. In 2020, graduating from college was not as a proud moment as it should have been for thousands of students.
Instead, it became a lonely process without any friends or loved ones around to celebrate. The worse part was landing a job in this Pandemic, even with an incredible academic performance.
Becky Ricketts, NUS Cymru President, said that students are having a hard time finding a job in a very different climate than the one they entered university in. One year into the Pandemic and the same situation seems to be repeating as the second wave of the Pandemic hit the world hard.
Thanks to technology, college graduates can use the following 8 free recommended online learning platforms and resources to get ahead amidst this pandemic easily and also check out some job finding strategies for school leavers or more career advice.
1. edX
edX
is a learning platform that hosts over 2500 courses, and that too for free. Times are especially hard because of the Pandemic. Employers want to hire skilled candidates who are better than the rest. Whether you want to apply for the position of an assignment help provider or a medical representative, acquiring the right skill is mandatory. And this is where edX comes into play.
This platform lets you advance your skill sets, careers, and resumes without taking a toll on your busy schedule. Each course is tailored because of specific industries or skill sets.
Benefits of registering with the platform:
- Travel not required – You need not have to leave your family back at home to enroll in your desired course or boost your resume. Academic seminars and conferences are also available on this platform alongside a wide slew of subject-specific courses.
- Flexible – Exam and course dates are available throughout the year. So, you will have multiple options and flexibility at your convenience.
- Added value – Many edX courses come with Continuing Education Units, tangible products, and certifications. Including any of these in your resume will easily set you apart from the rest of the candidates.
2. Coursera
Coursera
is also an e-learning platform that lets you take lessons from reputed professors from elite schools such as the University of Stanford, Duke, and Pennsylvania. From C++ to English, this platform consists of a wide slew of courses, and all of them are free.
Here is a list of some advanced courses in Coursera:
- Machine learning
- Machine learning on Google Cloud
- Data Science with IBM
- Decision trees, SVMs and Artificial Neural Network’s
- Fundamentals of scalable data science
3. Khan Academy
High school sophomores, juniors, and basically any student within the 4-18 can find this learning unbelievably handy. You will find courses in Biology, History, Math, U.S, Physics, Economics, and Grammar. Current SAT tests might have been canceled or postponed. But preparing for the tests never did anybody harm. Khan Academy offers free SAT practice sets and questions.
Here is what you can expect from Khan Academy:
- Subject-specific practise sets, instructional videos, exercises, and a personalised teacher’s dashboard.
- Courses in math, computing, history, science, art economics, and more
- Content related to K-14, SAT, LSAT
4. Quill
How often have you just stared at the blank computer screen in an attempt to write an essay? Writer’s block is real and has been very much evident in this Pandemic. Quill is an online writing editor that lets students acquire strong writing skills seamlessly. You may often find it difficult to express your ideas with clarity and precision in writing. Quill has transformed a research-based writing platform into an open-source and free digital platform.
Here’s how Quill helps students acquire critical thinking and strong writing skills:
- Quill offers supplemental writing exercises to help students develop their grammatical sense and sentence construction knowledge.
- Students need to complete those worksheets in 10 to 15 minutes at the beginning or end of a lesson plan.
- The best thing about this platform is that it delivers instant feedback, thereby encouraging students to write and revise the document unless they can produce powerful and accurate sentences.
5. Treehouse
As most schools and colleges shut down due to the Pandemic, it is normal to worry about your future. However, educational sites such as Treehouse can help you continue your lessons and build a strong resume. It is an online school that offers a wide range of courses to students of all educational levels. Its courses are aimed at students who are interested in coding or want to make it big in the programming industry out there. The free plan lasts only for seven days, starting from your day of registration. You can download the videos as per your interests within this seven-day trial period.
6. Code academy
It is not surprising that the Pandemic led to the digitisation of more than half of the world. And with digitisation comes the role of programming and coding. Thus, no matter what your subject specialisation is, coding is something you should at least have the basic knowledge of.
Codeacademy is offering a wide range of Pro scholarships to students who got affected by school closures. The free site is as useful as the pro version. In the former, you get to pick the lesson you want to learn. From data analysis to building websites, this platform offers versatile courses. You can not only learn how to code but also implement your knowledge on an online editor.
7. Skill share
From animation and design to photography and web design, Skill share consists of hundreds of courses. Besides the traditional lessons such as English and Biology, Skill share also offers advanced courses based on software such as Adobe Photoshop and Procreator. Whether you are a dabbler or a beginner, or a pro, there is a course for all the stages. The online classes are broken down into short, easily manageable videos and also consist of hands-on projects.
Benefits of Skill share
- Free unlimited access to a huge database consisting of curriculum and community. The database consists of lesson plans collected from over 22,000 classes taught by industry experts in various departments such as technology, business, creativity, etc.
- There is a model in this platform know as Class + Project. This model can help you test your knowledge in a specific field and even receive instant feedback from other students and teachers.
- Finding relevant content on this platform is as easy as a breeze. The AI algorithm analyses your online behavior and refined the surface content as per your preferences.
8. Department of Sound
I provided enough resources about advanced courses and traditional subjects. Department of Sound platform is for any student interested in building a career revolving around music. This Pandemic made more than half of the world go online. You can learn how to produce music and podcasts and make a place for yourself on YouTube or other such musical platforms. It is a self-paced course and continues for four weeks. You need to pre-register since the first session starts on 15th June. The classes are available in Spanish and English.
Wrapping Up
From healthcare to finance, the Pandemic has changed all the sectors in the world. Education is not an exception to this. Learning new subjects and enrolling in advanced courses aren’t just limited to textbooks and colleges. Now you can opt for the resources as discussed above and achieve your dreams even in this Pandemic. Talk to your professors and parents before you settle on an online course. After all, it’s a matter of your career. Good Luck.
Author Bio
Patrick Bate is a web developer at a reputed firm in the United Kingdom. He also works as an essay rewriter and loves to spend time with his friends and family whenever he is free.
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