With thousands of online courses available, it can be difficult to choose the one that’s right for you. Here are 6 questions to ask yourself when you’re choosing your next online course.
- Price. How much are you willing to spend? It’s great to start with free courses, but the course that’s best for you may have a small fee. About 20% of Everpath’s courses are free; an additional 60% are less than $30. Most paid courses also have a free trial period, and/or a money back guarantee, so it’s easy to try before you buy. (It’s still a lot less expensive than a textbook or the cost of going back to school!)
- Availability. Do you want to learn now, or are you willing to wait? About 90% of Everpath’s courses are always available, but 10% occur only at scheduled times. The scheduled courses are typically offered by universities (aka MOOCs). You can always bookmark these for later in your Saved Courses.
- Effort. How flexible is your schedule? About 90% of Everpath’s courses are totally flexible and can be taken at your own pace, when you have the time. But some expect you to keep pace with a minimum number of hours per week.
- Length. What’s the total time you’re willing to spend? Everpath has courses ranging from 10 minutes to 20 weeks in length.
- Difficulty. What is the expected level of knowledge before you start a class? About 80% of Everpath’s courses are suitable for beginners.
- Help. Do you need help from instructors, teaching assistants, or other students? If so, check whether office hours or Q&A forums are available as part of the course.
What else do you look for when choosing an online course? Let us know in the comments!