DEPRESSION

N kavya

Depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest, also called major depressive disorder or clinical depression. It affects how you feel, think, and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. Depression is not a weakness; you cannot simply “snap out “of it. Depression may require long-term treatment. But we should not feel discouraged because most people with depression feel better with medication, psychotherapy, or both.

Let us see know about the symptoms of depression –:

• Feelings of sadness, tearfulness, emptiness, or hopelessness
• Angry outbursts, irritability or frustration, even over small matters
• Loss of interest or pleasure in most or all normal activities, in their hobbies or sports
• Sleep disturbances, including insomnia or sleeping too much
• Tiredness and lack of energy, so even small tasks take extra effort
• Reduced appetite and weight loss or increased cravings for food and weight gain
• Anxiety, agitation, or restlessness
• Slowed thinking, speaking, or body movements
• Feelings of worthlessness or guilt fixating on past failures or self-blame
• Trouble thinking, concentrating, making decisions, and remembering things
• Frequent or recurrent thoughts of death, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempts, or suicide
• Unexplained physical problems, such as back pain or headaches.

People dealing with depression may occur only once during their life, people typically have multiple episodes, and during these episodes, symptoms occur most of the day, nearly every day which also affects their day-to-day activities, such as work, school, social activities, or relationships with others. Some people might even feel generally miserable without really knowing the exact reason.

• Depression in children and teens may include sadness, irritability, clinginess, worry, aches, pains, being extremely sensitive, feeling misunderstood, anger, and poor performance.
• Depression in symptoms in older adults may include memory, difficulties or personality changes, fatigue, and often wanting to stay at home, rather than go out to socialize or do new things.

Causes of depression –:

• Biological differences – People with depression appear to have physical changes in their brains. The significance of these changes is still uncertain.
• Brain chemistry – Neurotransmitters are naturally occurring brain chemicals that likely play a role in depression.
• Hormones – Changes in the body’s balance of hormones may be involved in causing or triggering depression.
• Inherited traits – Depression is more common in people whose blood relatives also have this condition. Research shows genes may be involved in causing depression.

Risk factors of depression –:

• Certain personality traits, such as low self-esteem and being too dependent, self-critical, or pessimistic
• Traumatic or stressful events, such as physical or sexual abuse, the death or loss of a loved one, a difficult relationship, or financial problems.
• History of other mental health disorders, such as anxiety disorder, eating disorders, or post-traumatic stress disorder. Abuse of alcohol or recreational drugs.
• Serious or chronic illness, including cancer, stroke, chronic pain, or heart disease. Certain medications may also trigger depression such as some high blood pressure medications or sleeping pills.

Complications in depression – :

• Excess weight or obesity, which can lead to heart disease and diabetes
• Pain or physical illness
• Alcohol or drug misuse
• Anxiety, panic disorder, or social phobia
• Family conflicts, relationship difficulties, and work or school problems
• Social isolation
• Suicidal feelings, suicide attempts, or suicide
• Self-mutation, such as cutting
• Premature death from medical conditions

Prevention of depression -:

There is no fixed way to prevent depression but these strategies may play a major role –
• Take steps to control stress
• Reach out to family and friends
• Get treatment at the earliest sign of a problem
• Consider getting long–term treatment because it helps to prevent a relapse of symptoms.

Types of depressive disorders -:

• Major depressive disorder
• Anxious distress, Melancholy, Agitated (Major depression looks different in different people. So they are characterized into three types.)
• Persistent depressive disorder
• Bipolar disorder
• Seasonal affective disorder (SAD)
• Psychotic disorder
• Peripartum (Postpartum) Depression
• Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder
• ‘Situational ’Depression
• Atypical depression
• Clinical depression

General issues on Environmental ecology

The environment plays a significant role to support life on earth. But there are some issues that are causing damages to life and the ecosystem of the earth. It is related to the not only environment but with everyone that lives on the planet. Besides, its main source is pollution, global warming, greenhouse gas, and many others. The everyday activities of human are constantly degrading the quality of the environment which ultimately results in the loss of survival condition from the earth.There are hundreds of issue that causing damage to the environment. But in this, we are going to discuss the main causes of environmental issues because they are very dangerous to life and the ecosystem.

Pollution – It is one of the main causes of an environmental issue because it poisons the air, water, soil, and noise. As we know that in the past few decades the numbers of industries have rapidly increased. Moreover, these industries discharge their untreated waste into the water bodies, on soil, and in air. Most of these wastes contain harmful and poisonous materials that spread very easily because of the movement of water bodies and wind. Greenhouse Gases – These are the gases which are responsible for the increase in the temperature of the earth surface. This gases directly relates to air pollution because of the pollution produced by the vehicle and factories which contains a toxic chemical that harms the life and environment of earth. Climate Changes – Due to environmental issue the climate is changing rapidly and things like smog, acid rains are getting common. Also, the number of natural calamities is also increasing and almost every year there is flood, famine, drought, landslides, earthquakes, and many more calamities are increasing.

Development recognises that social, economic and environmental issues are interconnected, and that decisions must incorporate each of these aspects if there are to be good decisions in the longer term.For sustainable development, accurate environment forecasts and warnings with effective information on pollution which are essential for planning and for ensuring safe and environmentally sound socio-economic activities should be made known.

THE EARTH IS WHAT WE
ALL HAVE IN COMMAN

Women organizations and their role in India

Women’s Organisations emerged in India as a result of the spread of education and the establishment of the notion of the new woman. There was an improved level of communication among women which made them aware of the different problems that they faced and their rights and accountabilities in society. This awareness led to the upsurge of women’s organizations that fought for and signified women’s causes

An exclusive feature of the Indian women’s crusade is the fact that early efforts at women’s liberation were set in motion by men. Social reformers such as Raja Ram Mohan Roy, Maharishi Karve, and Swami Dayanand Saraswati challenged the conventional subservience of women, stimulated widow remarriage, and supported female education and impartiality in matters of religion, among other issues. Mahila mandals organized by Hindu reformist organizations such as the Arya Samaj and Brahmo Samaj encouraged women to go out of the boundaries of their homes and interact with other members of society. Pandita Ramabai, who was considered as one of the innovators of the feminist movement, with the help of Justice Ranade established the Arya Mahila Samaj in 1882. She envisioned creating a support network for newly educated women through weekly lectures and lessons at homes, where women could learn and gain confidence through interactions.

Women’s auxiliaries of general reform associations also served as a ground for women to deliberate social issues, express opinions, and share experiences. The Bharata Mahila Parishad of the National Social Conference was the most protruding among such opportunities. Though the National Social Conference was formed at the third meeting of the Indian National Congress in 1887, the Mahila Parishad was launched only in 1905.

The pre‐Independence period saw women’s issues related to the nationalist agenda at various junctures. In this period, a major enhancement of women was in terms of political participation of women, calling for a redefinition of conventional gender roles. Women began openly demonstrating their opposition to foreign control by supporting civil disobedience actions and other forms of protest against the British. Opportunities to organize and participate in agitations gave women much‐needed confidence and a chance to develop their leadership skills. Cutting across communal and religious barriers, women associated themselves with larger problems of society and opposed sectarian issues such as communal electorates. Political awareness among women grew, owing to a general understanding that women’s issues could not be separated from the political environment of the country. During this period, the initial women’s organizations formed within the historical background of the social reform movement and the nationalist movement were as follows.

•The Women’s India Association (WIA).
National Council of Women in India (NCWI).
•The All India Women’s Conference (AIWC) in 1917, 1925, and 1927 correspondingly.
•Each of these organizations emphasized the importance of education in women’s progress.
•The WIA, created by Margaret Cousins in Madras, worked widely for the social and educational emancipation of women. •Associated with the Theosophical Society, it encouraged non‐sectarian religious activity and did creditable work in promoting literacy, setting up shelters for widows, and providing relief for disaster victims.
•Women in Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata through networks developed during World War I work, allied their associations together, and created the NCWI in 1925. A national branch of the International Council of Women, its most prominent member was Mehribai Tata, who aggressively campaigned against inert charity and advised men to support female education.
•The most important of the women’s organizations of the time was the All India Women’s Conference. Though its initial efforts were directed towards improving female education, its scope later extended to include a host of women’s issues such as women’s franchise, inheritance rights.

The Constitution of India enlisted in 1950 which permitted equal rights to men and women. Rights such as the right to vote, right to education, right to enter into public service, and political offices brought in satisfaction among women’s groups. In this period, there was limited activity in the area of women’s rights. Many women’s organizations such as the National Federation of Indian Women (1954) the Samajwadi Mahila Sabha (1559) were formed to work for supporting the cause of Indian women. Since the country was facing a social, political crisis after British rule, many demands of the women activists were not supported by the Government. But during this period from 1945, the Indian women got an opportunity to participate in confrontational politics.

In post-independent India, the women’s crusade was divided, as the common opponent, foreign rule, was no longer there. Some of the women leaders formally joined the Indian National Congress and took a powerful position as Ministers, Governors, and Ambassadors. Free India’s Constitution gave universal adult franchise and by the mid-fifties, India had fairly liberal laws concerning women. Most of the demands of the women’s movement had been met and there seemed few issues left to organize around. Women’s organizations now observed that there was an issue of implementation and consequently there was a pause in the women’s movement.

Some women organizations such as the Banga Mahila Samaj, and the Ladies Theosophical Society functioned at local levels to promote contemporary ideas for women. These organizations deal with issues like women’s education, abolition of social evils like purdah and Child marriage, Hindu law reform, moral and material progress of women, equality of rights and opportunities.

It can be believed that the Indian women’s movement worked for two goals.

•Uplift of women.
•Equal rights for both men and women.

Currently, there are many women organizations in India:

•All India Federation of Women Lawyers
•All India Women’s Conference
•Appan Samachar
•Association of Theologically Trained Women of India
•Bharatiya Grameen Mahila Sangh
•Bharatiya Mahila Bank
•Confederation of Women Entrepreneurs
Durga Vahini
•Friends of Women’s World Banking
•Krantikari Adivasi Mahila Sangathan

The major objective of this organization is:

•Strengthening and building new initiatives, networks, forums, etc., for protecting women’s rights
•Monitoring the Government of India’s commitments, implementing the Platform for Action with special focus on the eight-point agenda discussed at the Conference of Commitment, CEDAW, the Human Rights, and other United Nations Convention.
•Advocacy, lobbying, and campaigning on women-related issues.
•Information Dissemination and Documentation.
•Solidarity and linkages with other regional and global forums.

Another women organization in India is Swadhina (Self-esteemed Women) which was formed in 1986. It is principally a civil society organization focused on the Empowerment of women and Child Development based on Sustainable Development and Right Lively hood. At Swadhina, it is believed that positive social change has a direct effect on the lives of women and that change is possible only through equal and spontaneous participation of Women. Organization members are active in five states across the country in remote tribal districts of Singbhums in Jharkhand, Purulia, and West Midnapur in West Bengal, Kanya Kumari in Tamil Nadu, Mayurbhanj in Orissa, and East Champaran in Bihar.

Due to the women’s movement, several legislations were passed like the Equal Remuneration Act, Minimum Wage Act, Maternity Benefit Act, etc. to ensure equal status to women in society & more importantly at work. However, illiteracy amongst the major women workforce (87% of women are employed in the unorganized sector), fear of losing employment & lack of awareness of the laws enacted to protect them, make it difficult for women to benefit from them.

A girl should be two things:
who and what she wants.

Disadvantages Of An Online Examination System

Online assessments have gotten something beyond a pattern in India. The remarkable ascent in internet learning has made online tests an important asset for instructive organizations and corporates. While understudies pick serious tests like Feline, JEE, Door, etc, working experts select tests like UPSC, GMAT, Bank PO, or CAT. The shared factor here is online assessments.

Pen and paper tests are as of now being enhanced or rather subbed by online evaluation stages, because of quick digitalization. An investigation by KPMG states that the online assessment industry is required to develop into an amazing USD 11 billion market by 2021. Appropriately so, since it is the second-biggest e-learning market after the US.

Let us look at the disadvantages of an online examination system:

Challenges in Technology Adoption
Infrastructural Barriers
Difficulty in Grading Long-answer Type
Susceptible to Cheating
Transitioning to Open-Book Exams

challenges in technology adaptation

Executing another framework may make a minor interruption and require time of acclimation by the clients. Any change from conventional procedure to the online mode will require some speculation from instructive establishments to update the frameworks. Nonetheless, acclimating the two understudies and educators with the progress is the ideal route forward. Such preparation would instruct understudies and educators about the new highlights and advantages of an online assessment framework.

infrastructural barriers

One of the significant weaknesses of the online assessment framework surfaces in distant areas where admittance to power stable web association and other fundamental framework prerequisites are hard to meet. Such boundaries obstruct online tests. Along these lines, while moving to the online mode, establishments should consider whether everything understudies can show up for the test and what plans can be made to guarantee something very similar.

difficulty in grading long-type answers

Despite the fact that online assessments have facilitated the invigilators’ work, the issue emerges generally with long answer-type questions. Abstract answers require manual reviewing, for which inspectors need to contribute extra time. This is the place where the cutting-edge framework covers with the customary one. As innovation in the instruction area keeps on advancing, the reviewing of emotional answers would get simpler.

suspectable to cheating

One of the significant impediments of an online assessment framework is cheating. Particularly in high-stakes tests, understudies regularly resort to pantomime, making colleges speculate test-takers’ character. Understudies may likewise get outer assistance through cell phones or smartwatches. The frameworks utilized by up-and-comers likewise offer various bamboozling openings, for example, interfacing outer capacity gadgets, screen sharing, and so forth.

transtioning to open-book exams

Normally, the configuration of online tests is seen as much the same as open-book tests. Dissimilar to a customary test setting where outer materials are not allowed inside the test corridor, there is no such arrangement in the advanced organization. Truth be told, it is hard to prevent understudies from alluding to their investigation materials during an online evaluation. Also, there is an absence of oversight during the test meeting, which risks the validity of these tests.

ONLINE EDUCATION:-

WHAT IS ONLINE EDUCATION:-

A classroom is method of using cell phones and computers to make teacher and student in connection.This method of education is popularized during the corona.

ONLINE EDUCATION IS EFFECTIVE:-

In my perception online education is not that much effective when compare to the offline classes.Because we started schooling in offline class,Immediate change in method is not acceptable.In offline class we can ask doubts.But in online classes some not get good network.

ADVANTAGES OF ONLINE EDUCATION:-

* It reduce financial costs for students in transportation,meals.

* we can feel more comfortable than offline class.

* Another advantage of online education is that it allows students to attend classes from any location of their choice.

* online lectures can be recorded, archived, and shared for future reference.

DISADVANTAGES OF ONLINE EDUCATION:-

* Little or no face-to-face interaction.

* In online education we have to see screen more time cause headache,damage eyes.

* Another disadvantage is some have network issues unable to ask questions.

* Online courses require more time than on-campus classes.

* Online courses may create a sense of isolation.

HOW WE CAN MAKE ONLINE EDUCATION EFFECTIVE:-

* By Creating shorter content.

* Assign group and pair work.

* Take care in setting up your home environment.

* By giving break or reducing time of class.

* By creating individual learning plans.

Online Courses for Students

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Being stuck in a pandemic, students have been confined to the four walls of their home. Everyone, from preschoolers to college students pursuing degrees, has been forced to learn online. In such a time of despair, it is only wise to make the most of it.

In today’s times, we are privileged to have an access to the internet, and using it wisely can provide a wealth of information. Amongst the plethora of resources, there are a few platforms that offer great courses, curated for the youth of today, with aim to up their skills in their respective fields. These courses will help you to learn new things from the comfort of your home.

Here are a few such platforms and courses that you can do to update your skills.

Swayam.Gov.In-

SWAYAM is a Sanskrit acronym that stands for “Study Webs of Active-Learning for Young Aspiring Minds” is an Indian Massive open online course platform. It offers over 2,748 courses taught by close to 1,300 instructors from over 203 Indian universities. They are officially launched by the Ministry of Education, Government of India. It was launched on 9th July 2017 by Honourable President of India. The aim of Swayam is to give a coordinated stage and free entry to web courses, covering all advanced education, High School and skill sector courses. All the courses offered by SWAYAM are recognized by the government of India. certificates are awarded to students only after successful completion of the course which is valid pan India even while applying for jobs.

Oxford Home Study-

Oxford home study is UK’s leading Home Study Centre offering highly affordable home study courses. They deliver fully accredited courses in a variety of different fields; from art & design and management, through to interior design and work health & safety. Every course is created by a team of noted academics and experienced industry experts. This maintains the highest possible quality standards and provide the ultimate online learning experience for every student. These courses aren’t free; however, a student can take a loan or apply for scholarships. The certificates offered by these courses are valid and well recognised.

Udemy Courses-

Courses available on Udemy help you make the most of your time, from working at home to learn trending technical skills and self-improvement from wherever you are. They provide a wide range of courses, covering a variety of subject from writing, finance, commerce, e-commerce, lifestyle, fashion, designing and many more. Some of them are paid but many of them are free as well. Additionally, they provide a certificate too, however, only on paid courses.

Google Digital Garage-

The Digital Garage is a non-profit nationwide programme from Google delivering free digital skills training via an online learning platform. You can learn soft skills like personality development, building confidence or even practice our interview skills. The majority of courses are free, and are approved by industry experts, top entrepreneurs and some of the world’s leading employers. This ensures the student that they are learning from authentic sources. The speciality of these courses is that they are flexible i.e., can be learnt on own’s own pace, and extremely personalised. The most popular courses on this platform are Data and Tech, Digital marketing, online business. These are paid/free certificated courses. There are numerous reputed institutes providing courses on this platform; Monash University, university of Auckland, to name a few.

The rise of online learning during the pandemic

The pandemic has severly affected all the sectors ,and Educational sector was one of them ,but thanks to technology because of that we have an alternative mode of learning.Online or virtual mode of education became asset for the students life in the pandemic situation,but who thought that this online mode of learning would remain with us for such a long duration and still no one knows how long.

ADVANTAGES OF ONLINE LEARNING

Several arguments are associated with e-learning.

• Accessibility, affordability, flexibility, learning pedagogy, life-long learning, and policy are a number of the arguments associated with online pedagogy.

• It is said that online mode of learning is definitely accessible and may even reach to rural and remote areas.

• Flexibility is another interesting aspect of online learning; a learner can schedule or plan their time for completion of courses available online.

•Students can learn anytime and anywhere, thereby developing new skills within the process resulting in life-long learning.

•The government also recognizes the increasing importance of online learning during this dynamic world, as in future online mode of education would be the most helpful and trending part.

DISADVANTAGES OF ONLINE LEARNING.

• Personal attention is also a huge issue facing online learning,as no one knows who is paying attention during the classes and who is not.

•Sometimes, online content is all theoretical and does not let students practice and learn effectively,which is a huge disadvantage of e-learning.

• A lot of distraction sources are available during the online mode of teaching .

• A lot of health related problems can be developed in this mode be it mental or physical , continuous learning from electronic gadgets can lead to eye problems as well as mental stress and exhaustion could also be felt , physical movement is negligible in this mode.

What should be done to get better mode of education in the time of pandemic?

Combining face-to-face lectures with technology gives rise to blended learning and flipped classrooms; this type of learning environment can increase the training potential of the students.

Digital Education in India.

With the world getting a virtual transformation during the ongoing pandemic, the open digital education has become the need of the hour to assist the students with bridging the gap between time and knowledge. As Covid-19 gripped the world with its microscopic spikes and brought the entire world to the standstill, several sectors of the economy and market took a hit and had to be shut till they could be operated without risking the lives of their foot soldiers on duty.

Lockdowns were imposed all over the world and with that came the need to keep the world running and the virtual world came to the rescue. In India, lockdown started from 21^st March 2020 and is expected to last till 14^th April 7, 2020, however, given the rapid spread of coronavirus in the community, the decision of uplifting the lockdown remains much anticipated.

One of the major schedule and lifestyle change occurred in the life of students all across the country as the schools and colleges were shut down immediately under the protocol of lockdown to safeguard the future generations. Nevertheless, with the termination of the lockdown still being the topic of debate it is not known for sure when the classes could be resumed and hence many universities have now opted for the digital education as a step forward to help the students stay focused on education.

What is Digital Education?

The term digital education refers to the innovative use of digital tools to deliver learning through teaching using effective modern day technological tools. Learning services could be in the form of face to face, blended or fully online courses. This provided the benefit of accessing the content at a convenient time and location to the learner thus resulting in a more personalized learning experience.

Besides that, this new tool is known to improve the interaction between the educator and learner, and the ability to provide the teachers with better feedback which further helps to enhance the quality of teaching.

A lawyer can provide advice and assistance as needed throughout the individualized education program (IEP) process while you do most of the work, or a lawyer can be directly involved as your formal representative. You can find special education Lawyer near me.

Digital initiatives in Higher Education by Indian Government

To ensure the smooth learning process during the lockdown and for students to avail the full benefit of e-learning, Indian HRD ministry has launched various digital initiatives which will allow them to participate in online classes as they would do it physically in colleges, and also utilize the study material to its full potential.

We provide you below with the list of digital platforms curated by various branches of HRD ministry.

Audio-video e-content

This initiative by the human resource department ministry provides the e-Learning platform for all the courses from class 9 to post graduation. Courses are hosted in four quadrants:

Video learning
Reading serial material
Self assessment test
Online discussion portal

The learning is provided free of cost but to avail the certification an amount has to be made to the department.

SWAYAMPRABHA

As described by the ministry, The SWAYAMPRABHA is a group OF 32DTH channels devoted to telecasting of high quality education programmed on 24*7 basis using the GSAT-15 satellite. Every day, there will be new content for atleast (4) hours which would be repeated 5more times in a day, allowing the students to choose the time of their convenience. The channels are uplinked from BISAG, Gandhinagar.”

The content includes

Curriculum based course content for University students
Curriculum based course content for students from class 9 to 12
Curriculum based courses that can meet the need of life for Indian citizens
Competitive exams preparation sets

Access Journals and E-books

National Digital Library

This initiative has led to the excess of free educational material to all, ranging from primary to post graduate level. It is believed to be extremely beneficial to all kinds of learners, students, teachers, lecturers, professors, research scholars etc. The material is available in more than 70 languages and extremely free of cost.

e-PG Pathshala

This is the platform providing e-Learning facilities to the postgraduate courses and it works through the following three verticals

1. e-Adhyayan

This platform provides video content and 700 + eBooks for various post graduate level courses

2. UGC MOOCS

UGC is one of the national level coordinator of SWAYAM and works on producing Postgraduate e-learning courses on SWAYAM.

3. e-Pathya

This is the vertical particularly created for the offline access of the e-learning material for the postgraduate students.

SHODHGANGA

Shodhganga is the platform that allows the Ph.D. scholars in all the streams deposit and publish their theses for access to the upcoming professional in their respective fields. Till now 250000 theses have been published on the esteemed site.

E – SHODHSINDHU

As stated on their respective website, e- Shodhsindhu aims to provide access to more than 15000 journals and a number of bibliographic and factual databases in a wide range of disciplines at a lower cost to educational institutions.

Accelerated hands on learning

1. e-Yantra

e- yantra is the platform founded by the IIT Bombay to train the engineers to solve the practical problems with practical solutions utilizing their engineering skillset.

It has divided its aim by inculcating various branches to look after the respective issues. Some of the initiatives are

e- yantra robotics competition
e- yantra ideas competition
e- yantra lab setup initiative
e-yantra symposium
e-yantra resource development canter

FOSSEE (Free and Open Source Software for Education)

This platform promotes the use of FLOSS(FireEye Labs Obfuscated String Solver)tools in academia and research.

Spoken tutorial

The aim of spoken tutorial is to popularize software learning. It provides wide range of subject learning for the utilization by school level to the university students especially addressing the Math and Science as areas of interest. The contents are available in multiple languages thus making it further accessible to our multilingual population.

Track your progress

VIDWAN

VIDWAN consists of database of profiles of research scholars, scientists and faculty members of leading academic institutions. It provides important information about their background, contact details, skills, accomplishments etc. This information is maintained by information and library network center and is very essential for the selection of various task force meant for different evaluation purposes in the country.

Shodh Shuddhi

Under this scheme, plagiarism detecting software, URKUND a Web Based Plagiarism Detection Software system, is provided to the thousand plus registered institutions across the country.

The Top Online Learning Platforms To Kickstart Your Career in 2021

Whether you want to gain new marketable talents or just want to learn something new for pleasure, online learning platforms are a terrific and convenient way to learn on your own time. These platforms, as an alternative to online universities, tend to be a little more flexible and may even offer more unique or uncommon classes that you wouldn’t find at a typical college, but prospective students should weigh their options to determine which is best for them.Here are just a few of our top picks for the greatest online learning platforms, ranging from Masterclass to Coursera, so you can get started right away.

My top selections for the greatest online course platforms to use this year are listed below.

Coursera

Coursera has created a name for itself in recent years by offering top-tier university courses to online students. More than 50 million students have accessed courses from universities such as Duke, Stanford, and Yale thanks to this California-based elearning network.I have to add that their iOS and Android mobile app is one of the best I’ve used. It actually makes it quite simple for students to follow courses while on the go — it even allows free courses to be viewed offline.

What are the advantages of Coursera:

Course quality: As you might expect from universities like Stanford, Duke, and Yale, Coursera’s courses are among the best.
Coursera offers a wide range of courses, including individual courses, specializations, and higher education degrees.
Because Coursera collaborates with these colleges, you’ll be able to receive authentic certifications for your courses.
Free courses: You can enroll in practically any Coursera class for free if you don’t plan on earning a completion certificate.

EDX

With over 34 million students having registered in one of their 3,000+ courses, edX has a large user base. The premise is similar to Coursera’s in that it makes top-tier university courses available to the general public.You can also enroll in a variety of different course kinds. MicroBachelors, MicroMasters, Professional Certificates, and Master’s Degrees, for example, are available. You’ll find the one that’s right for you.

What are the benefits of edX:

Official certifications: As edX works with colleges such as Harvard, Berkeley, MIT, and Boston University, you’ll be able to obtain authorized certificates.
Courses are available for free: Most courses will be available for free (assuming you aren’t seeking for a certificate).
Many courses can be started at any time that is convenient for you. In addition, you can enroll in a variety of courses.
Course quality: As you may expect, the quality of edX courses is extremely good because they are created by premier universities.

Udemy

It’s likely that you’ve heard of Udemy, an online educational platform. With over 50 million students and over 155,000 courses, Udemy is perhaps the most popular elearning platform.

Udemy is a global marketplace for online courses where you can discover classes on almost any subject from a variety of instructors (even in languages like Spanish, German, French or Chinese).

What are the advantages of Udemy:

Choice: Udemy has the most courses, so you’ll be able to locate
Free courses: Udemy has a large number of free courses. Make sure to check them out if you want to learn for free.
Return policy: A liberal 30-day refund policy is in place. Return the course if you are dissatisfied with it.

Skillshare

This online education platform, which originated in New York, has over 5 million students and provides a wide choice of courses for $99 a year ($15 if you pay monthly). Skillshare began as an elearning platform for creatives, but it has since expanded to include a wider range of topics (e.g. IT, business, language-learning, etc.).

Skillshare’s advantages are as follows:

Free courses: Skillshare offers 10% of its courses for free, and there are currently over 2,000 programs accessible. Please note that free members do not have access to offline viewing.
Choice: With over 25,000 courses, there aren’t many choices (aside from Udemy) that can match Skillshare’s selection.
Price: A Skillshare premium subscription costs $99 per year (if paid in advance) or $15 per month (if paid monthly) – less than Spotify.
Course quality: Because anybody can publish, course quality ranges from one to the next. Some lessons, however, are created by Skillshare and renowned firms such as Mailchimp or Google, and are usually of high quality.

MasterClass

Although MasterClass provides more than simply creative classes, its most popular are those that feature A-list actors, writers, painters, singers, and others as instructors.

And they aren’t just one-time “talk” sessions: Like a regular course, most courses feature roughly 20 lessons, allowing you to delve deeply into your chosen topic. If you want to understand more about these often-mysterious professions, there’s no better way than to hear from those who have previously succeeded.

These video-based courses combine straightforward lectures, workbooks, and class discussions with practical guidance and demonstrations.

You can take as many sessions as you wish within a monthly membership because MasterClass is a subscription-based platform. The cost of unrestricted access is around $15 per month, but students must sign up for a year at a time.

Conclusion

The most important thing is to make the most of your educational opportunities. This is the rule to follow when deciding which platform to utilize; select one that will help you get the most out of it.

ONLINE LEARNING: Expanding A Whole System Accidently

Two years ago from now, no one had thought about that the entire learning system will go online. No one was prepared for this change completely but now it is the only option left for the people to choose.

Basically, online learning provide students to learn in a complete virtual environment. Rather than going out to school or coaching centers students can access to their classes easily sitting at their home comfortably. Some will find this method a good one and some will not. Actually it all happened sudden and no one was prepared for it. Before we discuss further, let’s discuss about a little bit of history of this kind of education system or method.

Although the concept is not new for everyone. In the form of distance learning it was there. Online learning is about 170 years old concept. Great Britain’s instructors used to send the lessons via e-mails and received assingnments from the students through the same. So, this technique gave birth to distance learning. Students sitting geographically anywhere around the world can access to courses available on distance mode. Yes, not all courses were available for distance learning but now the condition is different.

Why expanding accidently

COVID-19 pandemic had forced everyone to adapt online learning techniques. Not only universities, schools and other educational institutions are also now bound to provide education through virtual mode. Pandemic had led to develop the whole education system accidently. Although, the same was the future but we are now compelled by the situation to adopt all this early.

Many higher education courses were made available on this platform to promote this kind of method which is followed by many advantages like anyone, anytime and from anywhere to access their lectures ,if lectures are provided in recorded form and if not then the students need to manage their time as instructed by their teacher. For many educational institutes it is a complete new way of providing education that they have had to adopt and some were a little of habitual of it as we were planning to adopt the method in coming future. Along with several advantages, online learning have some disadvantages also. Let us now discuss them briefly.

ADVANTAGES

Accessibility : This is the major advantage of e-learning. As stated above, anyone, anytime and from anywhere can easily access to their lectures. Educational institutions are also expanding their network of teaching breaking all geographical boundaries and connecting on virtual platform.
Improved students attendance : In the recent scenario it came to notice that the percentage of students attending lectures or classes have increased in online classes. In physical mode classes, a normal attendance was used to be 70-80% in schools which has now increased to 90-95% and it is only because of accessibility.
Affordability : Online education is far more affordable than physical classes for both students and institutions as well. It’s because e-learning eliminates the cost of infrastructure, maintenance, travelling, etc.
Better time management : Rather than moving from here and there, people can manage their work from where they are. Like, students and teachers both don’t need to travel to meet at institution to deliver or receive a lecture. This travelling tine is saved in e-learning.

DISADVANTAGES

Technology issues : No one have control over these issues. Biggest example that you can relate to this situation is network connectivity. Disturbance on either student or teacher side eliminates the smooth conduct of classes.
Inability to focus on screens : Many students cannot focus on screens for a long duration. Despite of online classes, other social platforms are also there where students use to spend there time.
Require strong self motivation : S student can only learn through online mode when (s)he is strongly self motivated. there are numerous factors to distract students from their studies. In this kind of situation, only self motivation can help one to stay away from those hurdles.
Lack of practical knowledge : This factor can be identifies as a biggest drawback of e-learning. Students are not able to do practicals and due to this they may become inconfident. Rather than practical , it focuses more on theory.

So, in order to gain complete benefits of e-leaning it is important to make everyone use of the gadgets used in e-learning and a proper training of staff members id also necessary as many people don’t know how to operate.

ONLINE LEARNING

The COVID-19 pandemic has triggered new ways of learning. All around the world, educational institutions are looking toward online learning platforms to continue with the process of educating students. The new normal now is a transformed concept of education with online learning at the core of this transformation. Today, digital learning has emerged as a necessary resource for students and schools all over the world. For many educational institutes, this is an entirely new way of education that they have had to adopt. Online learning is now applicable not just to learn academics but it also extends to learning extracurricular activities for students as well. In recent months, the demand for online learning has risen significantly, and it will continue doing so in the future.
As with most teaching methods, online learning also has its own set of positives and negatives. Decoding and understanding these positives and negatives will help institutes in creating strategies for more efficiently delivering the lessons, ensuring an uninterrupted learning journey for students.
Advantages of Online Learning:

Efficiency-Online learning offers teachers an efficient way to deliver lessons to students. Online learning has a number of tools such as videos, PDFs, podcasts, and teachers can use all these tools as part of their lesson plans. By extending the lesson plan beyond traditional textbooks to include online resources, teachers are able to become more efficient educators.
Accessibility Of Time And Place-Another advantage of online education is that it allows students to attend classes from any location of their choice. It also allows schools to reach out to a more extensive network of students, instead of being restricted by geographical boundaries. Additionally, online lectures can be recorded, archived, and shared for future reference. This allows students to access the learning material at a time of their comfort.Thus, online learning offers students the accessibility of time and place in education.
Affordability -Another advantage of online learning is reduced financial costs. Online education is far more affordable as compared to physical learning. This is because online learning eliminates the cost points of student transportation, student meals, and most importantly, real estate. Additionally, all the course or study materials are available online, thus creating a paperless learning environment which is more affordable, while also being beneficial to the environment.
Improved Student Attendance -Since online classes can be taken from home or location of choice, there are fewer chances of students missing out on lessons.
Suits A Variety Of Learning Styles -Every student has a different learning journey and a different learning style. Some students are visual learners, while some students prefer to learn through audio. Similarly, some students thrive in the classroom, and other students are solo learners who get distracted by large groups. Disadvantages of Online Learning
Inability To Focus On Screens-For many students, one of the biggest challenges of online learning is the struggle with focusing on the screen for long periods of time. With online learning, there is also a greater chance for students to be easily distracted by social media or other sites. Therefore, it is imperative for the teachers to keep their online classes crisp, engaging, and interactive to help students stay focused on the lesson.
Technology Issues -Another key challenge of online classes is internet connectivity. While internet penetration has grown in leaps and bounds over the past few years, in smaller cities and towns, a consistent connection with decent speed is a problem. Without a consistent internet connection for students or teachers, there can be a lack of continuity in learning for the child. This is detrimental to the education process.
Sense Of Isolation -Students can learn a lot from being in the company of their peers. However, in an online class, there are minimal physical interactions between students and teachers. This often results in a sense of isolation for the students. In this situation, it is imperative that the school allow for other forms of communication between the students, peers, and teachers. This can include online messages, emails and video conferencing that will allow for face-to-face interaction and reduce the sense of isolation.
Teacher Training -Online learning requires teachers to have a basic understanding of using digital forms of learning. However, this is not the case always. Very often, teachers have a very basic understanding of technology. Sometimes, they don’t even have the necessary resources and tools to conducts online classes.To combat this, it is important for schools to invest in training teachers with the latest technology updates so that they can conduct their online classes seamlessly.
Manage Screen Time-Many parents are concerned about the health hazards of having their children spend so many hours staring at a screen. This increase in screen time is one of the biggest concerns and disadvantages of online learning. Sometimes students also develop bad posture and other physical problems due to staying hunched in front of a screen.A good solution to this would be to give the students plenty of breaks from the screen to refresh their mind and their body.