2020 has started a new era of home working and study for most of us. 2021 is here, and we know that working at home will continue for a while. In the circumstance of an uncertain future and rapidly changing knowledge upgrade, are you ready with your study plan to capture those?

Since the beginning of the Corona epidemic, new online education or learning platforms have emerged on the Internet and social platforms every day, and traditional online education service providers have also made lots of effort to capture the new markets. Everyone has seen the huge business opportunities brought by the new Corona epidemic and working from home, particularly about online education and learning. According to Internet source data, the global online education and learning market will reach approximately US$100 billion in 2019, and by 2026, this market size will reach US$370 billion. This significant market growth will bring us unlimited online education and learning resources, therefore changing the way we learn and learn the knowledge.

From another perspective, major international companies, including the Fortune Global 500, are constantly adjusting their internal training strategies, shifting the training of their employees from traditional classroom training to a new type of remote online learning. The outbreak of the Corona epidemic provides an opportunity for the transformation of this strategy, and it is also a catalyst for the transformation. Many companies are accelerating the goals they planned to achieve in the next 3-5 years to 1-3 years, which also puts forward new requirements for employees within the company. How to formulate and implement an efficient learning and training plan according to your own needs and development needs, and find suitable online learning resources, in today’s article, I hope to share some of my observations.

How to develop an efficient learning plan? There are many ways to learn, and the costs varies. No matter which method you choose, the best learning plan should be the one that is most suitable for yourself.

First, clarify the goal and direction you want to achieve, and then identify the gap between your current situation and the goal you want to achieve. The way to find the gap can be through assessment, expert evaluation, or get coaching from the experienced person in the industry, etc. In this process, the important point is to have a comprehensive and objective evaluation of your own situation. This is not a simple process. Sometimes, you need to measure yourself from different dimensions. For example, if you are a sales representative now, your goal is to become a sales director in 10 years. Then, you have to understand the requirements of all aspects of the competences of the sales director from the company’s perspective, and then use this as a standard to measure your current level and find out where you have a gap and how big the gap is. In the evaluation process, you must position yourself accurately and don’t be afraid to find that the gap is too big, because discovering the gap is the best start to bridge the gap.

When you see the gap, you can see the direction of development and effort. You can then find the corresponding learning resources and make a learning plan for improvement. As mentioned above, the online training and learning resources are very rich now.

In terms of overseas platforms, some very influential online learning and learning platforms have become popular in recent years. I would like to focus on some analysis and introduction of several very influential platforms in today’s article. I hope that it will be useful to you.

Udemy.com

• Pros: The largest number of courses (130,000+), rich in variety and content; multilingual courses ; no membership fees, some individual courses are very cheap, and there is a 30-day refund policy.
• Cons: no free trial; no certificate, but there is a certificate of course completion

Overall evaluation: suitable for people with broad interests, good service.

Skillshare.com

• Pros: There are many courses (20,000+), the models focus on the improvement and cultivation of personal interests and hobbies, and the art related content is strong; the membership fee is reasonable, and there is a two-month free trial period.
• Cons: Only English courses, no certificates, and no certificate of completion

Overall evaluation: suitable for art majors and those who want to improve their hobbies.

Linkedin.com/learning

• Pros: There are many courses (16,000+), and models are focusing on industries and functional positions related to the workplace; multilingual courses, have a one-month free trial period.
• Cons: The membership fee is relatively high, no certificate, but there is a certificate of course completion

Overall evaluation: Suitable for people who want to develop in the workplace. Many functions are well matched with Linkedin.

Coursera.org

• Pros: The number of courses is reasonable (4,300+), with a large variety, and many courses have cooperation with world famous universities; multilingual courses. The certificate can be selected according to the course.
• Cons: The free trial period is only for 7 days, and the membership fee is relatively high, but you can also choose to charge for a single course.

Overall evaluation: suitable for all types of learning requirements, and can enjoy the teaching resources of internationally famous universities.

Edx.org

• Pros: There are many free courses, and the fees for a single course is reasonable; many courses have cooperation with famous universities in the world; multilingual courses. The certificate can be available according to the course.
• Cons: No free trial period, relatively few course options (2,500+).

Overall evaluation: suitable for all kinds of learning requirements, and can enjoy the teaching resources of internationally famous universities.

The above is a simple evaluation of these large-scale and popular online platforms. Here below you can find an overview of the comparisons of the above websites and the relevant information. 

Again, the best learning and learning plan should be the one that is most suitable for yourself. What is your experience? In addition to the above resources, what else do you know?