5 innovative online training providers (and why we like them)
Online training providers are changing the traditional ways we consume training. In this article, I’ll look at five market leaders and break down what I like about each of them.
1. Lynda.com
Why we like Lynda.com:
- Granular course design: each course consists of around 40 videos, grouped into ‘chapters’ with bite-sized segments of around 8 minutes. And every video is stand-alone so it can be taken as an individual course without the rest of the module.
- Content is organised in learner pathways as ‘playlists’, collections of courses curated by Lynda.com. Anyone can create and share playlists, so learners can create their own pathways.
- The catalogue provides a selection of free videos in each course so you can browse before purchasing.
Subscription based, giving a choice of price and access. - Multi media multi channel – including digital materials from publishers such as Wiley, and interactive PDFs that can be downloaded and used in exercises as learners work with the videos.
- Basic membership includes unlimited access to the entire library.
- Premium members can download course to phone and tablet devices for offline use.
- Dynamic transcripts flow alongside videos.
- Users can make notes below the videos which helps transform the entire UI into a work space.
2. Google Primer
Why we like Google Primer:
- Breaks down information in a really simple way.
- Lessons take five minutes or less.
- Uses real case study material, insider tips and interactive tips and quizzes for you to see how you’re doing.
- The offline feature means you can learn anywhere, anytime (on the underground if you can get elbow room).
- Beautifully designed and easy to use.
3. Treehouse
Why we like Treehouse:
- Clear progression – idea of ‘Achievements’ in a course.
- Clear structure with timings.
- Raises the bar with high quality studio produced video lessons hosted by in-house team of trainers and contemporary visuals.
- Courses organized into ‘Tracks’. These are pre-selected sequences of training topics that you complete in a specific order
4. Duolingo
Why we like Duolingo:
- You can set yourself daily goals to achieve.
- Content is delivered in short learning chunks.
- Clear roadmap and progress markers for your learning path.
- Placement tests to put you start you at the right level.
- Discussion streams linked to the language you are learning.
- Spaced repetition – neat use of algorithms to determine when you should practice words to get them into your long-term memory.
- Gamified design unpins the whole experience.
5. Codecademy
Why we like Codecademy:
- Clear progression and scaffold approach (lessons build sequentially on what you’ve learned before).
- Interactive practice activities and quizzes to put learning into action.
- The content and practice is chunked into series of very short exercises so it’s easy to roll through or get back into after a break.
- Practice in walled-garden, so you can see the code changing the online elements without screwing up your actual website!
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