10 Free Online Classes To Take Your Smartness Up A Notch GET.com By Denise Bay. 18 Nov 2015

This article was originally on GET.com at: 10 Free Online Classes To Take Your Smartness Up A Notch .
When was the last time you learned something new and useful after ditching your role as a competitive Singaporean student?
It doesn’t matter whether you are 8 or 80 years old because every day presents opportunities for us to learn. To me, being able to learn is a privilege in itself.
Sure, you may have hated school when your teachers went on and on about imaginary numbers, or tried so hard to explain why transition metals are coloured.
But once you stepped into the working world, you soon realized that you actually miss learning, no matter how often you swore to burn the campus down.
If you, like me, didn’t get to learn a subject that you love in-depth at university due to unforeseen circumstances, take heart that a wealth of resources can be found online.
Plus, these courses are free! All you need is a mixture of a sustained level of interest and determination, some spare time, motivation and a functioning computer or device with internet access.
Here are the 10 free classes that we at GET.com think you may find of interest.
Finance
Image source: imperial.ac.uk
Course start date: April 5, 2016, self-paced
Duration: 5-6 hours/week for a total of 6 weeks
This course is quintessential as it is a gateway into the world of finance. As you know, everybody deals with finance in one way or another.
If you’re keen on learning how to think clearly about important everyday financial decisions then this course is ideal for you.
It will showcase the beauty and power of finance and it will also examine multiple applications. It will help you apply frameworks and tools that will let you make clever financial choices.
2. Financial Literacy (Alison)
Course start date: Self-paced
Duration: 6-10 hours
Financial Literacy is an introductory personal financial management 101 course that is suitable for anyone who’s keen to learn more about setting up their first bank account, financial products, budgeting, saving, and everything in between.
If you’re a novice like me, I reckon we start amping up our knowledge on personal finance since it is something that affects our entire lives!
Economics
Image source: cometostudyinuk.com
Course start date: September 21, 2015 - January 1, 2016, self-paced
Duration: 6 weeks
Economics and personal finance may not be your typical idea of fun, but they are all around us whether you like it or not.
For those who are keen to know more about economics and personal finance, you’ll be glad to find out that this course weaves in both disciplines and focuses on what you ought to know about economics, wealth and prosperity.
4. Public Economics (Coursera)
Course start date: Not available as of October 19, 2015 but you may sign up to be notified of a future course date
Duration: 1.5-2 hours/ lecture for a total of 6 lectures
This course provides a bird’s eye view of central themes of public economics and related disciplines that seek to teach concepts, logic and ideas rather than methods of analysis.
The Public Economics course covers the main economic functions and government roles including resource allocation, taxation, regulation, social service delivery, et cetera.
Take note that this course is recommended for those who are familiar with key microeconomic methods and concepts due to its rigour - so go for it if you’re already armed with the fundamentals of economics!
Online Marketing
Image source: ripenecommerce.com
5. SEO For SEO Beginners (Udemy)
Course start date: Self-paced
Duration: 15 lectures for a total of 1 hour
Heard of SEO but don’t really know what it’s all about? In case you didn’t already know, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization.
It is a vital online skill to optimise your site to get it to the top of the search results - it will let you stay on top of the game.
This fundamental course is especially useful for website owners, bloggers, startups or anyone who would like to improve their knowledge and proficiency in this area!
Course start date: November 2, 2015
Course duration: 1-2 hours/week for a total of 4 weeks
Dying to know how to get people to engage with your brand in today’s day and age, but not sure where to begin? This online course is for you!
You’ll learn the tricks to increase brand engagement through the creation and distribution of content using an owned digital channel approach.
Besides embracing the fact that businesses can no longer rely solely on traditional business models to build brand awareness, this course will shed light on this shift in the digital paradigm.
It will explain how it has changed the way brands engage with their audiences and the accompanying digital content marketing that is now integral to brand management.
Communication
Image source: salesforce.com
Course start date: Self-paced
Duration: 2-3 hours
If you’ve always detested the idea of presenting something in front of your audience at work or school, this is the course for you.
You’ll learn more about developing effective business presentation skills and how you can become a more confident speaker with heightened public speaking skills.
You will also pick up some tips on how you can prepare more effectively for a presentation, without all that nerve-racking fretting and palm sweating.
Course start date: Self-paced
Duration: 10 lectures (1 hour total)
As its name suggests, this course focuses on the fundamentals of communication at the workplace; including web search and effective email and letter-writing techniques.
Honestly, how many times have we come across rude-sounding, demanding emails? Let’s all put an end to terrible work etiquette, shall we?
Whether you’re just starting to build your career or are already holding an advanced position, we can all benefit from equipping ourselves with better communication skills since it is a crucial skill set that we need in all aspects of life.
Design
Image source: huffingtonpost.com
Course start date: Self-paced
Duration: 1.5 hours
From a logo to a layout and even a character or environment design, concept sketching can take different forms!
For those with a budding creative flair, you can explore concept sketching and learn where it fits into a creative pipeline through this easy-to-follow course with its series of step-by-step videos.
Don't worry about not being able to catch up as the videos were made with new artists in mind. Hence the pace will be a comfortable one that ensures that you understand the terms and basic techniques of concept sketching.
Course start date: Self-paced
Duration: 42 minutes
Adobe Illustrator is a programme commonly used by artists and graphic designers to create vector images which can then be used for logos, promotional uses or even personal work in both print and digital form.
This informative video is a godsend for novices starting out with graphic design software.
It helps beginners get started on Illustrator through step-by-step guidance, and it even has a screen depicting what the trainer is doing to help learners grasp it quicker in a visual way!
If you're keen on taking classes from other disciplines that we didn’t touch here, you can simply look them up online by keying in keywords like "MOOC" and "free online classes". Have fun learning!
What do you think? Share your comments with us below!
Compare home loans, personal loans and credit cards at GET.com - Singapore's first and only transparent comparison website for financial products.
Find the best credit card discounts near you for dining, shopping, lifestyle and more. Download thefree GETdeals™ App.
Other Articles You May Like From GET.com

Source: https://sg.finance.yahoo.com/news/10-free-online-classes-smartness-010123153.html

Comments

Post a Comment