The present generation heavily relies on technology in most of what they do, whether in school or their daily needs or struggles. Students nowadays engage in online learning since almost all of the information they need is readily available on the internet. This has led to the rise of online learning platforms like Udemy. Such a platform allows both students and teachers—and anyone with a passion for learning—to set their own learning pace and balance their time for work and studies.
In this guide, we’ve scoured every Udemy review and discussion to see what it offers and whether they’re worth the time, effort, and money.
Udemy Review: Overview
This Udemy review takes a look at the online learning platform where users can take different courses on various subjects and even create a Udemy platform course. It is a system where instructors can connect to students. But the platform is not exclusive to people in the academe; it’s also utilized by employers to enhance the knowledge and skills of their workforce.
Udemy has over 150,000 courses offered and has millions of learners and thousands of instructors since it was launched in 2010. Udemy courses are presented with modules and lessons that can include lesson videos, encoded notes, and tests to assess what you have learned. Most of the offered courses are paid, selling from $10-$20, while some courses are free of charge. With Udemy, instructors can also earn while sharing their expertise.
The courses in Udemy offer lifetime access; this includes upgrades on its contents upon purchasing a Udemy course.
If you are enjoying this Udemy review, check out our reviews of MasterClass and Skillshare.
How to Sign Up for Udemy
Udemy offers a platform where there is no subscription fee. All you need to do is sign up to create an account to access the course lessons and features that are offered.
To sign up for Udemy, you need to provide essential information such as your full name, email, and desired password. Upon completion, it creates your account for the site. Also, it’s for free so you don’t have to worry about initial payments.
Udemy Features
For this Udemy review, we also take a look at the platform’s interface and features. Here are some of the most notable things you can do on Udemy after you sign up.
Being an Instructor
Udemy offers lifetime access to top courses selected from Udemy.com, which can be accessed anytime you want and on any device you use. For those who want to make a business out of creating courses, Udemy would be a good place to start. You can start by making a demo lesson. This way, you can become a part of Udemy’s teaching family and earn money while sharing your knowledge with others.
Udemy will ask about your experience if you have any and will ask if you already have an audience. When you create your course, Udemy will give you options such as a test video to assess your teaching skills and proficiency in speaking while in front of the camera. It also allows you to ask experienced instructors and browse answers for your queries. Aside from that, it will provide you with insights and guides from the best instructors in the Udemy community.
Training Employees
Business employers can use Udemy for training their employees since its contents comprise lessons from 1,500 experts and real-world practitioners.
In Udemy, you can be both a learner and an instructor. Udemy creates a summary where you can view all the courses that you enrolled in, your collections, wishlist, and even archives of your files and lessons. When enrolling in Udemy, each course will offer videos and text notes beneficial in your online learning. It also provides an assessment test for the learner to take and examine if the course was effective.
Add to Cart Function
Udemy has a cart button similar to that on online shopping applications. This button enables you to add the courses you ought to buy and register. In short, it stores those wish-listed courses you want to take up but not at the moment.
Udemy Review: Pros and Cons of the Service
Our Udemy review aims to help make you make the decision: use it or lose it? Here are some reasons why you should join the Udemy community and a few that might prompt you to think twice.
What We Like About Udemy
Here are some of the positive things we like about Udemy as a learning platform.
Reasonable Cost
Udemy courses can be as cheap as $10. Besides the free courses that can be accessed, Udemy offers courses that are affordable or even free. There are also discounts and coupons that may help pay for those classes.
Udemy’s courses are very much affordable so that students can try out the platform. And since it involves online learning, students would not have to pay additional fees to use classrooms and hire tutors.
Wide Scope
Udemy offers a wide variety of subjects and courses in different categories for both academic and non-academic. Everybody knows that there is always room to learn new things, and there will always be something new for everyone to discover.
Learning at Your Own Pace
Udemy is an online learning platform where you can set your own learning pace at your available time. Udemy courses can be taken anywhere as long as you have an internet connection. Whether you are at work or in the comfort of your home, you can maximize this platform at your most convenient time. Also, there is no time limit on accessing the lessons or viewing courses, so you can take your time and learn at your own pace.
Updated Courses
Udemy instructors can update the course contents for any additional or changes related to a given course topic in real time. Updates and changes are necessary because some course lessons need regular maintenance to uphold relevance and timeliness.
Assessment
Besides the regular updates vital for the topics, instructors can also display questions and answers for students to use as their reviewers or references. Also, this feature benefits the students as they can access or view answers from other students and instructors. It enables them to internalize previous answers and also answer questions from other students.
Lastly, it promotes a support system for students to learn and adapt quickly; not all can understand every concept by merely watching videos and reading notes; some need additional guidance, explanation, and interaction.
Lifetime Access
The online learning service that Udemy offers is unlimited since learning does not have an expiration date. When you purchase or enroll in a course, you can access it as long as it is offered and as long as your account in Udemy stays active. With this, you won’t have to pay twice for a course that you already paid for and can always go back anytime and as often as you want.
What Falls Short
Although Udemy offers a learning system where students can gain knowledge and instructors are given opportunities, it also has some downsides and shortcomings.
Quality Control
Udemy’s system allows anyone to be a part of their community. Unlike other websites, Udemy allows anyone to create a course. Although some instructors are really from educational institutions, some instructors are not qualified and have no teaching experience. While it gives fair judgment, Udemy has a problem with its quality control process, and this does not guarantee the quality and support you get from instructors.
Limited Interaction
Interaction between instructors and students is enhanced by the question and answer feature. However, we cannot deny that the interaction is more restrictive than having face-to-face classes wherein students can freely ask and chat with other students to gain more ideas and compare opinions.
No Certification
Other employers might not recognize Udemy certifications. If you are looking for an online platform that gives accredited certifications, you might want to look elsewhere. The goal of Udemy is to focus clearly on learning and not racking up degrees.
Lack of Support
The online platform is the given mode of communication between the instructor and student. You can only get help and support through the online forum. Although the venue gets the job done, sometimes it’s still nice to talk to a person.
Quality of the Courses
Udemy does not offer a subscription plan where you pay before accessing the system. You only pay for courses that you want to take that are not free. However, the quality of said courses can be inconsistent and you do not have a guarantee whether you will actually get what you pay for.
Due to this inconsistency, some users deceive other students. This is possible through the use of outdated knowledge, methods, and materials. Although this can be changed and updated, verifications are needed since it is difficult to identify at first glance from new courses.
Udemy vs. Competitors
Competitors are common in the business world, and a comparison is an important step in searching for the best in the industry. This part of our Udemy review will focus on how Udemy stacks up against its competitors. Here are some of the platforms that offer similar features as Udemy.
Udemy vs. Skillshare
Udemy and Skillshare feature a wide array of courses and instructors. Both platforms offer an opportunity to be both a student and an instructor. A key difference is that Skillshare allows the instructors to create a course in less than 30 minutes. For this, some Udemy instructors will break down their massive and long courses to battle with Skillshare.
Instructors have different styles and approaches on how to deliver a lesson. For Udemy, merely talking and PowerPoint presentations are supplemental as teaching aids. Also, question-and-answer and quizzes are incorporated by Udemy; this helps students engage in the lesson.
For Skillshare, courses will assign you a project. In this light, students are encouraged to submit their projects to get feedback and comments from other students and instructors. Skillshare emphasizes that doing it in person is a form of learning.
When you want to test the water and experiment on your teaching skills, you can start on Skillshare and then move to Udemy to spread your wings and feel more confident.
When it comes to language courses and content, Udemy has the upper hand. This is because Skillshare is very English-centric. If your goal is to earn money, it is better to start in Udemy as there is more potential.
Meanwhile, Skillshare has a different way of payout for instructors. For Skillshare, instructors are eligible to earn a payout every time their created course videos have been watched for 30 minutes. Instructors can also earn from referring fellow experts who will then need to create a course within a set time.
Udemy vs. MasterClass
Udemy and Masterclass are both attractive choices for online learning. Masterclass has prominent celebrities and industry leaders to teach their lessons and courses.
Videos on Masterclass can only be found on the site. However, similar to Udemy, Masterclass can be accessed anywhere as long as users have a reliable internet connection and can pay the course fee.
MasterClass aims to immerse and involve students as much as possible. In this platform, pre-recorded videos of the course content are created by instructors. Interactive assignments, activities, and workbooks are also incorporated and available for students.
On the other hand, Udemy is a platform where instructors play the role of teachers and sellers. This edge gives Udemy the advantage to gain more reach and profit. It also helps that Udemy does not require a monthly subscription fee. That means learners have the freedom to only pay for the courses they want.
Is Udemy Worth Subscribing To?
Today, online learning paves a new way to discover and develop new skills, explore new hobbies within the comforts of your home, and excel at your own pace. In the end, Udemy has its good and bad sides that both learners and educators should watch out for.
Udemy offers a broad scope of courses. It is budget-friendly and can be accessed by anyone. The question is, is it worth it? You might be pondering on the thought: why Udemy and not other educational platforms?
Many negative reviews revolve around Udemy’s bugs and poor customer service. However, Udemy has already dealt with old problems and evolved enough. It is true that some courses seriously kill the quality of other ones. However, the majority of the courses offered are still worth the time and worth every buck.
Other factors might even affect your decision in choosing Udemy, but take a look at the pros and cons listed above and use it as your basis to decide.
