Online learning was growing quickly before the pandemic. Now with so many of us stuck at home with time on our hands, interest is booming and providers are responding with new offerings.
There are currently tens of thousands of classes available and more are being added constantly. That's great but also baffling news for would-be students. With so many options to choose from, how do you sort through which classes are actually worth your time?
One solid approach is to look for classes that are highly reviewed by those who have already taken them. Class Central can help. This week, the online course clearinghouse is releasing a new, updated ranking of the best-rated classes among the 15,000 or so on the site, drawing on 125,000 student reviews to curate the list.
Not every class will be of interest to business owners (subjects range from geology to Chinese language to Shakespeare), so I sorted through the list for courses offered in English that are most likely to appeal to entrepreneurs. They fall into two broad categories: business and personal development.
Business
Lean Production from Technische Universität München
Six Sigma: Define and Measure from Technische Universität München
Presentation Skills: Designing Presentation Slides from Tomsk State University
Startup School from Y Combinator
Preparing to Manage Human Resources from University of Minnesota
Digital Marketing from UGC
Product Management Fundamentals from University System of Maryland
Marketing in a Digital World from University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Marketing Digital: Content & Community Manager from Galileo University
Competitive Strategy from Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Results-Based Project Management: Monitoring and Evaluation from University of the Witwatersrand
Introduction to Financial Accounting from University of Pennsylvania
Critical Perspectives on Management from IE Business School
Applied Scrum for Agile Project Management from University System of Maryland
Project Management: The Basics for Success from University of California, Irvine
Introduction to Marketing from University of Pennsylvania
Financial Markets from Yale University
Personal development
Learning How to Learn: Powerful Mental Tools to Help You Master Tough Subjects from University of California, San Diego
Mindshift: Break Through Obstacles to Learning and Discover Your Hidden Potential from McMaster University
Decision Making in a Complex and Uncertain World from University of Groningen
The Future of Work: Preparing for Disruption from Online Learning Campus, World Bank Group
Happier Employees and Return-On-Investment Course from the University of Texas, Austin
Know Thyself--The Value and Limits of Self-Knowledge: The Examined Life from University of Edinburgh
Psychology of Personal Growth from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology
Inspiring Leadership Through Emotional Intelligence from Case Western Reserve University
Happy learning. And if you'd like tips on how to get the most out of your course, science-backed advice on how to learn more effectively online is available.
