SkillShare is one of the many learning platform websites out there on the internet, it’s a thriving marketplace for learners and teachers and it’s been slowly, but surely making its mark as the go-to digital platform for elective learning since its inauguration in 2010.
But is
SkillShare is great for anyone who wants to gain more knowledge in a certain field or skills retaining to their field. It’s become increasingly popular since it was first created in 2010, and it’s only getting more popular.
It’s at this point you may be asking yourself, is this the right online learning platform for me (see also ‘Is Study.com A Reliable Source?‘)?
Well this is what this review aims to answer. We’re going to take a look at everything that SkillShare offers, how much it costs and if it’s worth it.
What Is SkillShare ?
SkillShare is a digital learning platform that allows students to take video classes at their own pace. These videos are taught by real-world experts, creators, entrepreneurs and professionals.
You’ll have a tough time finding something that isn’t taught on this platform.
Course subjects vary a lot, but they typically revolve around sharing desirable creative and entrepreneurial skills.
All it takes is a quick search of the platform to see if they offer a course you’re interested in, but more often than not, they’ll be one available for anything you can think of.
SkillShare is a cost-effective and useful tool for people who are wanting to boost their careers or to perk new interests from the different courses.
SkillShare divides its courses into these categories:
- Advertising
- Business
- Design
- Entrepreneurship
- Fashion and Style
- Gaming
- Food and Drink
- Music
- Social Media
- Writing and Publishing
- Technology
- Film and Video
- Photography
You can gain sufficient knowledge and skills through this e-learning platform, but the biggest issue is that it’s not accredited.
SkillShare is neither a college or school, so you won’t receive a certificate in the same way that these institutions can give you them for your accomplishments.
If the main thing you’re looking for is to undertake accredited courses, there’s other online learning platforms that do offer this.
How Does SkillShare Work?
Self Paced Courses
Once you become a
All you need to do is to search for your desired skill and dozens of related courses will pop up.
You can even use the filter option to find one even more suited to you, you can refine your search to show:
- ‘Free’, ‘Premium’ or ‘All Courses’
- How long do you wish the course to last? (Do you prefer courses to be 15 minutes in length or 60 minutes in length?)
- How old the course is. Has it been recently published? Or is it not relevant anymore.
Once you’ve found a class that you think you’ll enjoy, you can read more about the course in its ‘About’ section. Students will use this page to review the course, so you can find out if it’s worth your time and if it’ll meet your expectations.
You can also access your courses from anywhere, whether it’s from your phone or in your office from your laptop. As the courses are pre-recorded, you can learn anytime, anywhere at your own pace.
Workshops
If you want more structure to your learning,
They’ll usually last around 4 weeks and are done alongside other students, which allows you to learn from both your teacher and your peers.
This gives a more ‘classroom feel’, so if you’re missing that in your learning, this is definitely a feature for you.
Groups
Groups were a relatively new feature added to
- Learn new skills
- Explore your passion
- Take classes on the go.
"1 year in and still going, their content and courses are great"
There’s quite a few groups around the platform, so you’re sure to find one related to the knowledge and skills you’re currently learning. It’s a great way to further challenge your own skill development and benefit from peer-review.
How Much Is SkillShare ?
The biggest deciding factor for anything is usually the cost, so let’s get right into it.
How much SkillShare costs will depend on your membership level – free or premium.
SkillShare’s premium membership costs $15 per month in your pay monthly, and $99 if you pay annually (this equates to $8.25 per month). You can get 30 days of premium for free by using this coupon.
There are quite a few free
If you want to access the full 27,000+ class catalog, you’ll need to sign up for the premium membership.
This membership not only gives you lots of classes to choose from, but you’ll also be able to access these classes in offline mode – perfect for flights or long journeys. It also allows you to view classes without those annoying ads.
Is It Worth It?
In our opinion,
First of all, the courses are easy to find and the search option allows you to type in the skills you wish to learn and multiple classes will pop up that are related to that skill.
The course descriptions also allow you to decide whether or not the class is right for you before you embark on it.
Secondly, the courses are broken down into chapters as short videos, this means you can split up your learning and replay parts of the course in which you feel you haven’t learnt enough.
The ease of being able to switch to and from different chapters of the course allows you to get the most out of the course.
