Posted on Monday, January 27th, 2014 by Will Hagle
Udacity is the premier online destination for learning advanced skills that directly apply to jobs at companies in the real world.
Udacity is one of the foremost companies reinventing education through technology online. The company believes that higher education is a basic human right, and it seeks to bring affordable and effective courses to the masses. There are several websites around the Internet that offer similar services, but most are not as polished and useful as Udacity. The majority of the courses offered on Udacity relate to IT, computer science, data science and web development, and that narrowed focus is what makes them great. There are also courses such as “Applied Cryptography” and “Intro to Psychology” that don’t directly apply to computer skills but can definitely benefit a career in the field. Almost all of the courses on Udacity are beneficial in providing some of the most sought-after and profitable skills in the 21st century job marketplace, particularly programming and web development.
Udacity CEO Sebastian Thrun teaches at Stanford University and worked at Google, where he invented the autonomous car and helped launch Google Glass. His credentials, along with the rest of the Udacity team, are amazing, and that quality shines through in the courses offered on the site. The courses are not easy, but all of them feature project-based learning. Students complete projects designed by major tech companies such as Google and AT&T, learning skills that would directly be useful for employment at those corporations. As students progress through a course, they receive personalized feedback on their projects, as well as guidance from an assigned, personal coach. When a student finishes a course, he or she is awarded a certificate that demonstrates the newly acquired skills. Some features on Udacity, such as access to videos and exercises, are free. Other features, such as in-class projects and feedback, require payment. Of course, Udacity always keeps its prices lower than major universities, while offering a similar level of education.
