Beware of Free Online Courses: Know the Way to Go

Have you ever stopped to analyze how advantageous theonline coursesof qualification, updating and professional training? In a few clicks, it is possible to access a multitude of quality content and gain the ideal knowledge to stand out in the market. Comparing with the reality of teaching a few years ago, we have many differences. In the past, for you to be able to attend a course and enrich your curriculum with certificates, you had to go to traditional schools, facing traffic, paying high costs with transportation and food and even compromising your quality of life. Nowadays, distance learning courses , such as those offered by Educamundo - a national reference in online courses with a certificate- appear as facilitating tools, since the person interested can study at any time, from any place and take numerous courses simultaneously.

The data obtained byAbed Distance Learning Census(Brazilian Association of Distance Education) 2015-2016 prove this great interest in online courses : in total, more than 3 million Brazilians attend higher-level distance learning courses . Of these 3 million, 1/3 follow classes through thedistance learning. The scenario involving open courses is also interesting, since the largest volume of courses registered by the institution refers to online courses in the open modality: there are 19,000 open courses out of a total of 25,100registered with Abed.

But although there is all this ease and popularity, there are still some catches that can compromise the universe of distance learning : these are thefree online courses. At first, it may seem like "the deal of the century" to take free online courses : logically, you would have access to hundreds of distance courses , gain the much dreamed training, qualification or professional updating, enhance the curriculum and, best of all, I wouldn't spend anything on it. But that's not quite how it happens. You may not know it, but these so-called free online courses are not always what they really seem. To direct you, we have selected in our article today some tips that will help you in the search for really good and worthwhile online courses . Let's start? Good reading!

Are free online courses really worth it?

It is important to analyze the fact that some institutions providefree online courses, charging absolutely nothing for it. After all, we know that it is expensive to keep a distance learning platform on the air. In addition to the basic costs like maintaining the server so that it remains available and stable to subscribers 24/7 , there are a number of other costs behind it. Hiring a pedagogical team to curate quality content, in addition to a support team that is always online to answer questions, for example, are part of the package.

Now tell me: how to maintain the offer and quality of free online courses , when - in practice - there is no financial return for the institution? That's where the pitfalls are. See below 6 points that you should analyze to escape a big problem that can affect your trajectory in thedistance learning courses.

1. Fame and reputation of the institution

As we do before purchasing any product or service, the first step you must take before hitting the final hammer and choosing aonline courses with certificateis to research in detail about the company's reputation. We know that institutions that claim to be recognized and renowned are not always, in fact, reliable. There are a few ways to do this research and ensure relevant information:

· Social networks: if a customer is not satisfied with a product or service, he will certainly "make noise" in thesocial networks. Searching for complaints on the networks is a great way to measure the level of student satisfaction.

· Testimonials from students and former students: a point that counts too much, as a satisfied student who indicates the institution where he studied contributes to building a good image of the business. If most student groups offer good testimonials, it's almost always because it's worth investing in. Companies that offer free online courses usually receive hundreds of complaints, mainly due to the lack of transparency in the processes.

· Complain Here: the most accurate way to check, through consolidated data, the level of customer satisfaction. At Reclame Aqui, companies have the opportunity to respond to customer queries. That is: if the institution in question has many complaints, in addition to a low level of service, it is better to run away from it.

2. Modalities of distance courses

As we talked about there at the beginning of the article, there are a multitude of online courses available on the market, in numerous areas and modalities. In order not to make a mistake when choosing, you need to know what are the modalities offered by the institution you choose. Let's give some examples.

The distance learning courses for updating are indicated for professionals who wish to recycle the knowledge acquired in undergraduate, technical or professional courses, or even gained during their professional career. This is an option for those who dream of the long-awaited career promotion, for example. In the area of professional qualification, the courses qualify those interested in a specific function, offering even more solid and specific knowledge. Finally, improvement courses are useful for professionals who need to develop new skills and competencies.

It's no use for you to choosedistance learning coursesupdate if you need professional qualification courses. This attention should also be demanded to the types of certificate issued by the institution, but we will talk about that later on. In fact, you also need to know if the chosen modality will meet your needs. In time: if you intend to take a public tender and want to use the update with online courses in the title test, for example, the tip is to consult the public notice and make sure that this modality is valid in the selection process.

3. Content quality

The point that fails us the mostfree online coursesis, without a doubt, the lack of quality in the content. When someone takes online courses with a certificate , they expect something in return: receiving valid, relevant and quality knowledge, which will allow them to improve their professional career. But, unfortunately, this is not always the case.

Many platforms that providefree online courses with certificatedo not focus their efforts on compiling complete materials that really help in the process of updating, qualifying or improving. For this curatorship work to be carried out successfully, companies must maintain specialized teams for this purpose. Only those who truly understand the subject can offer good programmatic content - as is the case of Educamundo.

There is also a trap often used by free online courses : some institutions make books available in digital formats to their students, compiling information on a certain training area and claiming that a single book is the entire course. Beware: A single e-book cannot be listed as a professional qualification course or similar. The training process goes much further: the platform must provide articles, videos, links to research, in order to truly train the student. Be careful not to get hurt along the course.

4. Learning methodology

The great attraction of online courses is the independence and freedom to study when, where and how you want. However, for you to fully and optimally absorb the proposed contents, you must use the ideal learning methodology. When we talk about distance learning , it is necessary to combine the methods used by the institution that the student chose with their personal preferences, making the whole process light and truly productive.

Quality distance learning institutions usually bet on Learning Autonomy, a methodology that allows students to take courses at their own pace, without the need to comply with pre-defined schedules or complete workloads in a given period of time. The great advantage is that the subscriber can advance in the content faster or more slowly, everything will depend on the ease of understanding and assimilation of the content.

5. Student support

When we attend face-to-face courses, contact with the institution is more open and simple, as all you have to do is go to the Secretariat, for example, and everything will be resolved. In an online environment, it is a little more complicated, as you need to solve your questions at a distance, without personal contact. In this sense, it is essential that the distance education institution be transparent regarding the means of contact and support, further strengthening the student-platform relationship. Ideally, all channels should be well fixed and clear on the institution's page, and can be accessed in a practical way at any time.

Good institutions provide contact channels via telephone and through specific service areas within the website, making it possible to open calls related to doubts about courses, content, certificates, etc. Before completing your registration, check all these items, so that you are not caught by surprise when you need to solve doubts about any issue.

6. Issue of certificate

It is very common to find free online courses out there that miraculously promise quick completion certificates in a few days. Which is totally impossible, see the need to follow the contents in the ideal time. Let's look at a simple example: for you to earn a certificate for online courses in 5 days with a workload of 420 hours, you would need to study 24 hours a day for 15 days, humanly impossible. Now tell me, how can an institution advertise this service? You can't, because you can't. And you should take a good look at these tempting offers.

In addition to this problem, the quick certificates issued by some free online courses can still jeopardize your achievement for a new job: have you ever thought of presenting such a certificate in a selection process and not being able to prove your qualifications through the tests applied by the Human Resources? In addition to being discarded right away, you will still experience great embarrassment.

It is worth remembering that some institutions advertise that their certificates are recognized by theMEC and everything else. But there's one thing you probably don't know: free online courses don't need this recognition, as the modality doesn't require it. According to the Law of Guidelines and Bases of National EducationNo. 9,394, the Presidential DecreeNo. 5,154of July 23, 2004 and the rules of theCNE Resolution No. 04/99– MEC (art. 7, paragraph 3) of October 7, 1999, refresher courses, training and improvement of professionals can be made available in free offer, being unnecessary the link with the Ministry of Education and Culture.

Educamundo certificates can be used to:

Extra tip : it is interesting for you to evaluate, whether free online courses with certificates or paid, as the institution provides certificates of completion. Ideally, both the digital version and the physical version of the document should be offered. Many people need to present the printed certificate in selection processes. Some groups choose to save paper and prefer the practicality of the digital version. It is worth mentioning that in the best and most serious institutions on the market you can choose between the two versions, considering which one best suits your needs. In short, offering both possibilities to the enrolled student is essential.

One thing is certain: we believe that it is much more worthwhile for you to plan financially and take paid and quality online courses than to bet all your chips on free online courses with a certificate and be disappointed later on. Because the cost isn't even that high. At Educamundo, for example, you invest BRL 79.90 and have unlimited access, for 1 year, to approximately 1,500 courses. Another advantage: you can suggest the creation of new courses on the platform and, if your idea is approved, you have full access to the course, without extra costs. You can search: this condition is not offered by any distance learning platform.

Thousands of students have already passed through Educamundo and taken our courses in areas such asAdministration,Education,Right,Environment, among others. This proves that we really are experts in what we do. And you'll be left out? make yoursubscriptionand start a new professional path today! If you have any questions about the process, contact us through the comments and we'll get back to you shortly. Good studies!