By Kounal Gupta
The Coronavirus pandemic has locked doors of markets, factories, offices, schools and universities in India and people are forced to stay inside their homes. But in this extended lockdown India is witnessing a positive trend as e-learning platforms have opened up hundreds of windows for learning.
Massive Rise in demand of Online Courses
There is a massive upsurge in the traffic of online learning platforms as more and more Indians (of all age groups) want to engage in meaningful learning. Students of K-12 and university level are more inclined towards academic courses whereas working professionals want to utilize their time to enhance knowledge, acquire new skills or re-skill and upskill themselves.
10 Edtech Platforms for Young Learners
There is a long list of companies offering online courses to students and fulfilling their various needs- from personalized classroom teaching to preparing for competitive exams. Here is a list of 10 randomly selected Edtech companies that can be useful for the young learners looking to fill in the gap created by closing down of the educational institutions.
1) Byju’s
2) Henry Harvin
3) Oliveboard
4) Udemy
5) Coursera
6) Unacademy
7) IGNOU
8) GuruQ
9) Vedantu
10) Toppr
These and many other similar Edtech platforms help students in subject-specific learning to prepare for Boards and beyond, like SSB of the IIT JAM, Indian Armed Forces, GATE, CLAT, etc. These virtual, interactive classrooms are seen as great help by the students.
10 Online Platforms for Professionals
Amidst self-isolation and work-from-home scenarios, professionals are grabbing this rare opportunity to utilize their time to enhance knowledge as they want to stay relevant in the future. These 10 randomly selected digital platforms have witnessed a massive upsurge in the traffic on their sites.
1) LinkedIn Learning
2) Upgrad
3) Henry Harvin
4) LinkedIn Learning
5) Udacity
6) Treehouse
7) LinkedIn
8) UXReactor
9) edX
10) FutureLearn
In this segment traditional favourites are courses like Machine Learning, Data Science, Python Basics but some non-traditional courses like Content Writing Course are among the most hot-selling online courses.
Professionals are also showing a keen interest in learning communication skills and remote working courses, as they want to perfect their work-from-home experience.
Wide Ranging Miscellaneous Short Courses
It is not only educational and professional courses that are seeing an upswing in the traffic; courses relating to health, hygiene, meditation, wellness, hobbies, etc are also in great demand as people can’t go out and have enough time in hand. If the research data is to be believed, the online learning sites are seeing a huge spike in searches for all kinds of courses. The biggest draw to these courses can be the positivity and sense of satisfaction it brings in these uncertain times. The flexibility and convenience offered by the digital platforms is also being loved by the learners at large.
Digital Learning is here to stay
To keep up with the high and varied demands from learners, the online companies have strengthened their infrastructural base, added new courses, and multiplied human resources.The online learning has finally come of age and proven its worth in these trying times.
(The author is Founder and CEO- Henry Harvin – online learning and upskilling platform. Views expressed are personal.)
