Udemy offers a range of IT courses but they are not free, they charge $15 per course. This would most likely have an impact on the uptake of the courses. Subjects include IT Help Desk Professional, How to Win at IT Freelancing and Break into IT – How to Land Your Dream Job in IT. Descriptions provided are very brief and there are not any preview or introduction videos. Each thumbnail lists how many lectures, time and skill level required. The website is well set out but I couldn’t say what the courses are like because I didn’t want to pay to check one out. 2 stars.
https://www.udemy.com/courses/search/?ref=home&src=ukw&q=it&lang=en
edX have 291 search results for Computer Science. They are of a variety that covers all aspects of IT subjects, some examples are; Foundations of Computer Science for Teachers; Computing: Art, Magic, Science; Computer Graphics. Once you click on a thumbnail features include introduction videos and a break down of length in weeks, effort (expected time per week), level, language and institute providing the course. You will also see a dot point of what you can expect to learn and a link to the instructors bio. Courses are free but there is an opportunity to order a verified certificate for some of the courses for a fee. This is an excellent range of IT subjects, as you would expect from edX. 5 stars.
https://www.edx.org/course/?subject=Computer%20Science
Coursera – Code Yourself! An Introduction to Programming is a coding MOOC created by The University of Edinburgh in conjunction with Universidad ORT Uruguay. The commitment is 15-20 hours over 5 weeks. A syllabus is included on the website so you can get a good idea of what it is you will be learning before committing to it. Reviews from past students are available to read with a star rating. There is not any introduction videos and instructor bios, but there is the names and photo’s of the instructors. There is information of “how it works” and the Universities. At the bottom of the page there is suggestions of other courses that you may like. 4.5 stars.
https://www.coursera.org/learn/intro-programming
Udacity offer what they call Nanodegrees for people wanting to “launch your career in Data Science, Machine Learning, Android, iOS, and more”. The courses are for areas that are emerging technologies; VR Developer; Artificial Intelligence; Self Driving Car Engineer. The quality of their website reflects their up-to-date content, it is a clean, uncluttered, user-friendly website. The courses are not free, but you can do the first week for free before deciding to commit. There are some big names involved in the content including Google, Amazon and Facebook. They give you information for the kind of salary you can expect if you go onto a job in the area of the course. There is a program syllabus to view, it all looks very impressive. 5 stars.
https://www.udacity.com/nanodegree
Aquent Gymnasium only offers IT courses. They have a colourful website with both full courses and what they call Gym Shorts – “short, snackable courses that all last under an hour”. The full courses are 3-6 hours of video tuition, quizzes, assignments and a final exam. There will be a certificate at the end. You need to create an account to access courses. The course information includes a course preview video, course outline, prerequisites and requirements. There is a bio and image of the instructors and suggestions of who this course would suit. There is a really good FAQ clearing up most of the questions people new to Gymnasium would want to ask. All courses are free – “That’s right — no hidden fees. No ‘freemium’ upgrade offers. All of our classes are absolutely free of charge. Sign up. Sign in. Learn and succeed. For free”. They speak in terms that would appeal to the under thirties, the website is fun and friendly. I’ll be showing this one to my kids. 5 stars.
robynsmeme 