Online courses you can take to improve your digital skills 

Improving your digital literacy doesn’t have to be hard, with access to learning right at your fingertips.

With the increasing usage of and reliance on technological devices, knowing your way around the digital space is important, and even knowledge of basic information can make a difference.  

Digital literacy can help you move up in your career by building upon the skills you already have or teaching you new abilities in different areas.  

Almost every industry requires at least some knowledge of computers and digital skills. Improving these skills can help you in fields such as business, digital marketing or cybersecurity.  

As long as you have a reliable computer and internet connection, it doesn’t take much to acquire digital skills. Learning is as easy as enrolling in an online course and completing your tasks without the need to commute anywhere.  

Here are some websites and online courses you can enrol in that can help you improve and grow your digital skills.  

Coursera 

Coursera is an online learning program that offers various online courses across the world. They work with universities, organizations and companies to deliver online lessons, degrees and certifications to users.  

Some of the course subjects available on Coursera include business, physical science, engineering and social sciences.  

In addition to all the subjects offered, you can learn digital tools such as the Microsoft Office suite, programming, social media, and computer science.  

If you’re interested in learning about web development, you could take this beginner course offered by the University of Leeds as an introduction to web development to get you started.  

There are various course levels on offer, from beginner, intermediate, advanced and mixed, allowing people at different stages to learn at their own pace and comfort level.  

Users are given a seven-day free trial to start, after which they must pay $67 per month to continue taking an individual course. You could also pay for Coursera Plus, which costs $80 per month or around $545 annually. These subscriptions give users access to over 7,000 courses and professional certificates.  

Skillshare 

Skillshare essentially is what its name entails. It’s a platform where professionals and experienced instructors share their skills and knowledge with users through video-based lessons. Users can enrol in an online class, watch video lessons and create projects. Skillshare is more geared towards the creative side of digital learning, with many lessons on graphic design, social media, video creation, and others.

If you ever want to learn more about YouTube and how to be more successful on the platform, you should check out the lesson taught by Marques Brownlee, a tech YouTuber with over 19 million subscribers.  

Skillshare costs $10.75 monthly or $129 a year for the individual premium plan that gives users unlimited access to over 35,000 classes. You will get a one-month free trial to start before getting billed after that month is finished, unless you cancel before then.  

LinkedIn Learning 

LinkedIn offers online courses for people to advance their careers through LinkedIn Learning — a perk of being a LinkedIn Premium subscriber. Many of the courses are taught in video form, with much of the content broken up into separate videos.  

LinkedIn Premium costs around $50 a month. If you’re willing to pay that amount, you’ll have access to over 21,000 courses on a wide range of subjects, including marketing, data analysis, and engineering. There are even lessons that give you advice on how to listen to customers or get what you want in your career. If you want to improve your digital skills and your basic knowledge of computers and software, you could take this beginner-level course on working with computers.

You can learn many things through LinkedIn Learning courses and improve your skills on a wide range of topics. Just browse through the course offerings and find out what suits you at this stage.  

Udemy, Inc. 

 According to their website, Udemy is an online learning and teaching marketplace with over 220,000 courses and 70 million students across the world. There is plenty of content and different subjects available with Udemy, including courses on IT and software, design, and photography and video.  

If you’re interested in learning about the Adobe Creative Suite, there is a course that will teach you more about Photoshop, Illustrator, Adobe XD and InDesign. Similarly, you could learn to get better with other software, such as this course on Microsoft Excel.  

While Udemy offers many courses compared to other websites, not all of them are available within a singular subscription like other online learning sites.  

Udemy’s personal plan for individuals will cost you $25.83 a month, giving you access to a curated list of over 11,000 courses. Some of the courses you’re interested in might not be available to you within your subscription, and for the most part, you’ll have to pay separately for a course you’re interested in.