The covid-19 pandemic has given us all enough time to rest, spend time with our families, read, binge-watch shows & movies, retrospect, etc. So some of it can definitely be used to hone your skills or learn new of them. Considering that, here are five websites where you can take courses from extensive fields. 

1.NPTEL:

The National Programme on Technology Enhanced Learning (NPTEL) is an e-learning website started by the seven IIT institutes of India in 2003 and is funded by the Government of India. The website provides certificate courses from the best institutes of India like IIT's and other top universities. Given the word ‘technology’ in its name, the website originally focused on courses related to engineering and technology only but now it provides courses from across each field like arts, humanities, science, etc.

The duration of the courses ranges from a few weeks to almost a month. Participants are provided with recorded lectures, study material, and weekly assignments and you receive all of it for free. But to receive a certificate, you have to attempt for the exam conducted at the end of your course. And I suggest you do opt for the certificate and exam because the fees are just minimal costing you only 1000 bucks. Also, if you are a university student, the certificate will end up giving you credits and benefit your academic performance. The centers for the exams are located across most of the cities of India. And the good news is- even if you're not an Indian, you can still take these courses.

So who wouldn't want a certificate from the IITs into your CV?

Here's a link to their website: 

2. FutureLearn:

FutureLearn is a British digital educational platform founded in December 2012 that offers more than 250 unique courses across various fields not only to students from the UK but also to international students. Amongst all the websites I'll list here, FutureLearn is my utmost favorite and you'll know why.

The courses last from 1 to a few weeks. One is provided with video lectures which are headed over by expert teachers in their areas, PDFs of study material, theory, plus in the comment section you can interact with other participants. After a week or so, you also have to submit assignments wherein you get to review your peers' assignments and vice versa. This is to hone your ability to take in criticism constructively and respect each other.

Here too, if you want additional benefits and a certificate, you can opt for the paid course but to be honest- even to a free-learning student they provide you with so much stuff that you might not even feel the need for additional benefits yet we can just imagine what they must be! They do provide you with an e-certificate via email even if you're not a paid learner.

Here's a link to their website:

3. The Open University:

The Open University (OU) is a public research university and the largest university in the UK for undergraduate education. The University is known for its distance learning courses. Talking about free courses, the university does present an extensive number of courses across every subject you desire and in all formats- audio, video, and theory courses. The duration of the courses is from 1 to 100 hours. Courses are sorted according to different levels- introductory, beginner, intermediate and advanced. You also earn badges based on the progress you make in your course.

They also have courses ranging from a few hours today which I found pretty unique and interesting. You can also find articles to read, illustrated videos, TV programs, collections, etc here.

Here's a link to their website:

4. Udemy:

Udemy is an American, gigantic online course provider website initiated in 2010. While most of the prominent courses here remain paid, still you can find a few short-term courses across a variety of fields for free like content writing, marketing, time management, photography, programming, etc. However, you will not get any certificate for your completion of the course.

It's best to take courses from here if you're already well-versed in an area but want to gain new knowledge related to the same. Short-term courses always work the best in such cases.

Here's a link to their website:

5. Reedsy Learning: 

Reedsy is a British online startup author services firm that links authors, publishing freelancers, and others in the publishing industry. Reedsy Learning is yet another of their venture and what a boon it is to the writing community! Now, this website is only for the ones looking for courses related to writing. And honestly, as someone who's exploring writing, I have never come across such mass variance of courses on every single aspect of writing. There's nothing that you can't find here!- ‘how to write a plot’, ‘what is an arc’, ‘what is traditional publishing’, ‘how to improve your dialog writing’, ‘marketing of your book’, you name it!

But the free courses that you'll find here last only for 10-days which all have 5-minute lessons. All these courses are supervised by experienced authors and publishing professionals. This is a must-do for all my fellow aspiring writers.

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Hope you guys found it helpful.

I'd like to connect with you all on Instagram. My Instagram id goes with the same name i.e. @bewitched_bystories. I post reviews and other bookish content there.

See you in my next blog.