Have you ever attended online courses from MOOC platforms?

Question

There are two camps. On the one hand, mass online education platforms provide all the necessary ressources in one place, and incentivize to study regularly with gamification mechanics.
On the other hand, all the same information is usually available online for free. MOOC platforms are also often accused for misleading advertizing.

So, what's your experience with online education platforms? Did you learn new skills? Or was it a waste of money?

Fares · Accepted Answer

Honestly, the only advantage of paying platforms is the fact that we are motivated because we have paid! And as a result, depending on the amount invested, we end up losing our motivation.
On the other hand, when we are really interested / motivated, free platforms are enough.

Tarun Karthikeyan · Answer

Question to hiring managers as well: Do you value courses from MOOC? Any specific roles where you do/don't?

Personally, I don't look a lot into a person's education history at all these days. Their experience shines through more and their ability to hold up in specific conversations about their role demonstrates more than any cert ever did. A lot of candidates also list a *lot* of online courses on their profiles and tbh I've never felt it added much, because I know how many useless ones I've just done online but still would struggle to actually implement.

To take a step back: is having *some* course better than none? Maybe. But not by much.

Camille Adamczyk · Answer

I usually try to follow courses that relate to my job so I can learn about the environment I work in

Fares · Answer

@camille_adamczyk It's a great thing

Guillaume Mathieu · Answer

@tarun_karthikeyan Tend to agree on this. It might reflect that the person is willing to lean and proactive in keeping knowledge/skill up to date, but you might also directly find this out through the interview on their experience.

Qudsia Ali · Answer

In my opinion, large MOOC platforms such as Coursera and edX have generated a lot of hype by advertising their courses. Many people are disappointed with them because they do not offer unique content that cannot be found elsewhere on the internet for free. However, some courses do offer excellent value for money.

Brad · Answer

Yes, I have and it was very helpful.

Daniel Engels · Answer

@qudsia_ali actually I found Coursera among the most reputable and valuable MOOC platforms. In contrast with many others that rushed into this domain for quick money.

Have you ever attended online courses from MOOC platforms?

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