Top 10 Online Course Providers

Introduction

Over the past several years, the online educational landscape has exploded as more providers than ever sought to offer their content online. With the popularity of Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), quality education has never been more available to people around the world. Courses on any topic, taught by professors from prestigious universities around the world, are now available to anyone at any time. However, this increase in content and providers created a new issue that was unimaginable decades before: the presence of too much content. With all that is available, how can students navigate the educational landscape? How can they decide which providers offer the best experience? To address this issue, OnlineCourses.com has a created a list of the best providers of online education to help students navigate this new environment and obtain their educational goals.

The following list is in no specific order, all have met our quality standards and recommend them fully to all students.

Featured Top Online Colleges

Providers

Cody Academy

With a current offering of 16 educational tracks in web development and programming languages, Code Academy seeks to revolutionize the world of education. Looking to the changes that the web has brought to commerce, healthcare, and others, Code Academy looks to transition from the traditional classroom and deliver an engaging educational experience entirely online. Designed with beginnings in mind, each track offers a carefully curated set of courses designed to ensure content mastery by the end the track. For those looking for a more personal experience, Code Academy offers Pro Content which features individual learning plans, access to instructors, and additional resources to ensure that you meet your individual goals.

To get started with Code Academy today, choose from one of their top courses:

Try one of these amazing courses today:

• Learn Git
• Learn Ruby on Rails

Coursera

Offering over 1,500 courses from 140 partner institutions in 20 countries, Coursera is a leader in providing universal access to a world class online educational experience. Their approach, based on the concept of mastery learning, ensures that students are comfortable with the material before moving to the next section and when combined with a peer assessment component allows students to receive immediate feedback to improve their experience. For those wanting a deeper delve into a specific topic or recognition of your skill mastery from an employer, Cousera offers Specialization certificates. Each Specialization provides a guided experience in a variety of subjects and ends with a Capstone Project to demonstrate your mastery of the topic to a current or future employer.

To get started with Coursera today, choose from one of their top courses:

Try one of these amazing courses today:

• Robotics: Aerial Robotics
• Introduction of Neuroeconomics: How the Brain Makes Decisions

DataCamp

Distinguishing itself from other online educational providers, DataCamp offers a current collection of 13 courses designed exclusively around data science. Using partnerships with academia and companies in the business world, DataCamp offers in demand data analysis skills in the R and Python programming languages. Each introductory programming course is offered free of charge so students can gage their interest before delving into more advanced topics for a monthly fee. Courses are taught in an interactive programming environment which does not require downloading the programming languages so all you need is an internet connection to get started.

To get started with DataCamp today, choose from one of their top courses:

Try one of these amazing courses today:

• A Hands-on Introduction to Statistics with R
• Data Visualization in R with ggplot2(1)

Edx

Offering 820 courses in 30 subjects from 85 institutional partners, Edx provides free high quality education to anyone, anywhere. With its foundations in academia, each course brings together experts in government, academia, and industry to provide an in depth education experience on your schedule. For those looking for a more structured experience, Edx offers XSeries Programs which allow students to delve deeply and develop masterly over a particular topic of interest. At the same time you are learning, EdX is partnering with top institutions who are conducting research and using their findings to further improve the learning experience.

To get started with EdX today, try one of their top courses:

Try one of these amazing courses today:

• Nutrition and Health Part 1: Macronutrients and Overnutrition
• Greatest Unsolved Mysteries of the Universe

Futurelearn

With over 140 courses in 13 categories from 76 partner institutions, FutureLearn fosters a unique social and interactive learning environment. The FutureLearn approach is built on the notion that sharing and debating ideas is how people learn best. Courses use storytelling principles to take learners through a narrative journey involving interactions with other learners, opportunities to reflect on what is learned, and celebration of the accomplishments of each learner. FutureLearn organizes its courses into a series of collections for learners looking to focus on a specific subject but also offers individual courses for casual learners.

To get started with FutureLearn today, choose from one their top courses:

*In absence of any rating structure or participatory numbers, courses are chosen to give the user a general overall of courses available at this site*

Try one of these amazing courses today:

• Smart Cities
• Transmedia Storytelling

Khan Academy

Starting from the humble origins of one man tutoring his nephew, Khan Academy has grown into a leading provider of world class education. Keeping with its original intent, Khan Academy provides over 36 million learners with a personalized learning experience for students of all ages. Each student has access to courses anytime, anywhere and can view their progress through the personalized learning dashboard. Each course is designed not only to develop masterly of a subject but to encourage a mindset of lifelong learning. Khan Academy also offers a unique coaching platform so instructors or parents can view the individual strengths and weaknesses of students after each course.

To get started with Khan Academy today, choose from one of their top courses:

• Mars: Ancient Observations (Exploring the Universe)
• Intro to JS: Drawing and Animation (Computer Programming)
• Intro to HTML/CSS: Making webpages (Computer Programming)
• Chemistry of Life (Biology)
• Water, acids, and bases (Biology)
• Getting Started (College Admission)
• Making high school count (College Admission)
• First things first (Art History)
• Tool for understanding art (Art History)

*In absence of any rating structure or participatory numbers, courses are chosen based topic areas recommended by the site itself*

Try one of these amazing courses today:

• Human Anatomy and Physiology
• Crash Course: World History

Lynda

Offering over 4,000 courses in 12 subject areas, Lynda helps learners achieve their full potential on their schedule. With courses ranging from business, technology, and creative skills taught by industry experts, Lynda provides quality instruction to individuals, businesses, and governments. Courses are taught at a variety of levels to ensure individuals starting out will find the material just as valuable as experienced professionals. Seeking to match the mobility of learners in the modern world, Lynda courses are available on a variety of platforms to ensure that learners have access at home or on the go.

To get started with Lynda today, choose from one of the top courses:

Try one of these amazing courses today:

• Foundations of Animation
• Gamification of Learning

The Great Courses

Breaking from its origins in the classroom, The Great Courses removes the trappings of the university lecture hall while providing you with an engaging and informative educational experience. Offering over 500 courses in 12 subject categories, The Great Courses provides lectures from world class professors in video and audio format to suit your schedule. Taking a unique approach to course development, The Great Courses enlists the assistance of learners in choosing each course and professor. This ensures the course offering are responsive to learner’s interests and remain at the highest quality.

Get started today with the top courses offered by The Great Courses:

Try one of these amazing courses today:

• How Great Science Fiction Works
• Redefining Reality: The Intellectual Implications of Modern Science

Udacity

Offering over 100 courses with 13 specializations in 7 in demand areas, Udacity provides an affordable, engaging and accessible higher educational experience to learners around the world. Driven by the belief that higher education is a basic human right and partnering with industry leaders in the technology sector, Udacity brings an affordable educational experience that is endorsed by employers. What truly sets Udacity apart from competitors are the Nanodegrees designed to get students hired as Data Analysts, Mobile Developers, Web Developers etc. with leading technology companies. They are so confident that their degrees will get students hired that they offer partial or full tuition reimbursements if you are not hired with 6 months of completing the degree.

To get started with Udacity today, chose from one of their top courses:

Try one of these amazing courses today:

• How to Create anything in Android
• Rapid Prototyping

Udemy

Focusing strictly on you and what you want to learn, Udemy offers over 35,000 courses from 19,000 instructors in over 190 countries on a wide variety of topics. With a goal of allowing students anywhere to learn anything on their own schedule, Udemy is designed to be easy to use and accessible on any device. However, what makes Udemy stand out from other providers is their commitment to creating new content and allowing experts in any topic to reach students. Experts with backgrounds as Yoga and Computer Science can teach classes and use their experience to impact the daily lives of students.

To get started with Udemy today, choose from one of their top courses:

Try one of these amazing courses today:

• Become a SuperLearner: Learn Speed Reading and Advanced Memory
• Create Your First Profitable Online Business