SkillShare: Top Online Skill Learning Platform
Updated: Jan 29, 2022
Gone are the days when you had to attend physical classes to learn skills. In this day and age where everyone is equipped with a laptop with an internet connection learning any skill is possible from the comfort of your home. Say Hello to Skillshare, an online-based subscription platform for a wide range of creative topics. Whether it is graphic designing, photography, creative writing, or web development any skill you can think of can be acquired through Skillshare.
Table of contents
Who is it for?
In case you are wondering who is Skillshare for then the answer is for anyone who wants to learn a skill or hone existing ones.
Why SkillShare?
Granted learning skill is possible through Youtube as well but it is hard to get into debt knowledge. Besides, we all know how irritating it gets when learning gets interrupted by Youtube ads which you won't experience on Skillshare. Personally, I have tried both and what I can tell is when it comes to acquiring indebt knowledge Skillshare wins by a huge margin.
Is it free?
Well, the answer is Yes and No. Yes in the sense that you get a 1-week free trial by adding a payment method (credit card or Paypal). However, after the trial ends you have to pay on subscription basis. I highly recommend you to try out the free trial and see whether it is for you or not. And if you are planning to get for the subscription go for the annual one as it is a lot cheaper.
Free vs paid version. What's the difference?
Although you can take classes on the trial version it has some flaws that you won't find in the paid version. First of all, signing up for a free trial will get you access to only a small portion of the thousands of classes that are available on Skillshare premium. Second, you can't partake in workshops, live sessions, or ask questions.
Pricing plan
If you opt to go for the premium membership you have the option to pay either monthly or annually.
Monthly: $15/month
Yearly: $8.25/month
Who are the teachers?
Apart from affordable pricing, a wide range of classes to choose from what makes Skillshare stand out from the other online learning platforms are the instructors who are experts in their own fields with years of experience in making teaching simple yet effective.
How do I know which classes are good or bad?
Truth be told, not all courses are good. Every once in a while you will come across a bad course that may not be worth your time. But luckily Skillshare courses come with ratings from previous students. So opt for those with good reviews and stay away from those with bad ones.
Do I get a certificate?
If you have taken a physical course you are likely to receive a certificate after its completion. However, Such certificate isn’t offered by Skillshare. But the skill that you will acquire through Skillshare can be applied in real-life situations and personally I value that over a piece of paper.
Pros and cons
Although Skillshare offers wonderful services it is not free from some shortcomings. But let's start with the pros.
Strengths
1. Thousands of courses
Skillshare has over 27,000 courses on a wide range of subjects from cooking to stock trading. Anything you can think of is out there on its website. Just 1 course can have thousands of classes to choose from.
2. Anywhere anytime
Skillshare allows you to attend classes of your choice anywhere at any time. This is possible since there are thousands of pre-recorded classes that you can access by just logging in to your account. Compared to the traditional way of learning, this is a huge game changer as people with a busy schedule can attend classes in their flexible time.
3. Free trial version
Recently companies are giving the users the option to try out their products without actually paying for them through a free trial. This is helpful for those who are not sure whether it is for them. Skillshare also offers such features in the form of a 7-day free trial.
4. Learn at your own pace
Skillshare allows its users to learn at a pace that best fits them. There are those who like to binge learn and in such case, they can go through the prerecorded classes and learn at a faster rate. On the other hand, there are people who want to take it slow when it comes to learning. They can just
5. SkillShare app
If you think taking Skillshare classes is only possible through your pc then you are wrong. Thanks to the Skillshare app, you can now take classes on the go. This is handy for those who are traveling all the time. The app has an offline feature that allows you to learn by watching pre-downloaded classes.
6. Ratings
Although there are thousands of teachers who are experts in their own field, there are some who are not so good. This is where the Skillshare scoring system comes into play. Through the ratings given by previous students, one can easily know whether a course is worth taking. The key is to take those courses with good ratings and avoid those with bad ones.
7. User-friendly
Upon using Skillshare initially, the first thing that impressed me was its user-friendly interface. Everything is self-explanatory and within minutes I learned to navigate through the pages with little to no difficulty.
Cons
Granted Skillshare is an amazing skill learning platform, it is not free from shortcomings which are:
1. Few bad instructors
As mentioned earlier, there are some instructors on Skillshare who are not the cream of the crop. Owing to how easily one can become an instructor on Skillshare, a number of not-so-good instructors are out there on this platform.
2. Full course not available for free users
The users who try out the platform by signing up for a free trial will not get access to the full course. This is one of the few weaknesses that I found in Skillshare.
3. No certificate
Usually, upon completion of a course, you will be handed a certificate as proof that you took a course and have mastered it. Such is not the case with Skillshare. Since the classes take place virtually one won't be handed out the certificate for a course.
4. Subscription charge
If you forget to cancel the free trial, you will be charged the annual subscription fee. Thousands of people have complained about it on the internet and it is one of the reasons for its low rating on Trustpilot.
5. Annoying ads
Getting free courses from Skillshare by just Signing up for a free trial sounds too good to be true but here is a catch: the videos have ads in them and you would feel like you are on Youtube.
If you have any question drop one in the comment section and I will try to answer them.
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