What is Udemy? Your Guide To The New Classroom.

So What Exactly is Udemy Anyway?

On our website we’ve seen a massive increase in interest for this online learning website. We’ve offered coupon codes for Udemy courses for years, but very recently it has become our most popular page.

We wanted to create an Ultimate Guide for curious readers on our website.

Here’s A Basic Definition:

Udemy is one of the newest (founded in 2006) and most popular sites for online learning. Their mission is “to help anyone learn anything.” It will amaze you because you can do exactly that at Udemy: learn just about anything that interests you.

On their website, instructors offer courses through online video classes. These courses are available on-demand, so your course can start on any day or at any time. Most courses are offered for a fee, but you’ll also find hundreds of free courses as well. Courses can cost anywhere from $0 to $299.

However these courses are for improving your skills or personal interests: you cannot obtain college or school credit through taking them. But, Udemy does have partnerships with some corporate trainers to create courses for their company employees and they will create courses for other corporations if they request them. You’ll find courses on business topics, personal improvement, hobbies and more. More than 9 million students are and have taken courses at Udemy.

A Few Facts About Udemy

• 9 Million + students take or have taken courses at this online learning marketplace.
• They have nearly 20K instructors.
• Instructors are experts in their field.
• There are more than 35K courses at Udemy to enjoy.
• Students have enrolled in 35 Million courses at Udemy.
• Courses are conveniently available in more than 80 languages.
• The headquarters for Udemy is located at 600 Harrison Street, 3rd floor, San Francisco, CA 94107.

How Udemy Got Its Start:

In 2007, Udemy’s founder Eren Bali lived in Turkey and had built software for a live virtual classroom. Bali realized there was potential if this was offered free for the public. He moved to Silicon Valley and two years later founded Udemy. Udemy launched as a site in 2010.

In the beginning, one thousand instructors created 2K courses. Udemy had about 10K users. Because there was public interest in their online learning marketplace, they were able to raise more funding: 1 million dollars to be exact.

More funding continued over the years and the site continued to grow. In 2014 Bali was replaced as CEO by Dennis Yang. June of 2015, Udemy raised $65 million in funding.

Courses at Udemy

One of the things that amazes us about this online learning site, is the variety of courses. Take a look at the main sections for courses:

• Development
• Business
• IT & Software
• Office Productivity
• Personal Development
• Design
• Marketing
• Lifestyle
• Photography
• Health & Fitness
• Teacher Training
• Music
• Academics
• Language
• Test Prep

These sections we’ve mentioned then have sub-sections. For example, here are the sub-sections for Business:

• Finance
• Entrepreneurship
• Communications
• Management
• Sales
• Strategy
• Operations
• Project Management
• Business Law
• Data & Analytics
• Home Business
• Human Resources
• Industry
• Media
• Real Estate
• Other

So What Can You Take At Udemy?

Whether you’d like to improve your business skills, start a new career, learn a hobby or develop personal skills, Udemy has courses you’ll enjoy. Here are just a few to take a look at:

1. “Start a Business You Love. Idea to Income in Thirty Days.”

Bestselling author and former economist Cathy Presland helps you to uncover what you love to do and turn it into a profitable business. Daily actions help you get clarity and stay focused.

Instructed by Cathy Presland.

Course Cost (without coupons): $97

The Complete iOS9 Developer Course – Build 18 Apps

Use Xcode 7 & Swift 2 to make real apps like Uber, Instagram & Flappy Bird. Includes free web hosting, assets & eBook.

Instructed by Rob Percival

Course Cost (without coupons): $199

Accounting Crash Course

This exercise-driven course is used at top investment banks and business schools to teach trainees key accounting topics.

Instructed by Wall Street Prep

Course Cost (without coupons): $39

NLP: Master Your Emotions – Control Your Destiny

Apply Science of Communication: cutting-edge NLP “Theatre in the Mind” techniques linked to the neuroscience of change.

Instructed by Patrick Howell, Positive Psychology Self Esteem Coach

Course Cost (without coupons): $249

Discover 8 Learning Styles and Become a Super Student!

Turn yourself into a Pro Student – Customize the learning experience to match your personal learning style!

Instructed by Silviu Marisca

Total Course Cost: Free!

The Speed Reading Process: Expand Your Knowledge!

Tackle a huge amount of informative literature in no time! Become the expert in any topic & set yourself up for success!

Instructed by Dries Couckuyt

Total Course Cost: Free!

As you can see, Udemy students can be confident they will find a course – or a selection of courses to choose from on the topic that interests them.

What it Feels Like Using Udemy as a Student:

When you sign up for a course, one of the first things you’ll notice is that your course is given to you through videos. These videos are short, typically anywhere from 2 to 6 minutes in length. Don’t be surprised if your course has many videos.

One of the best things about this video learning is it is great for visual learners. Most of us learn visually, by seeing examples of learning something new in front of us. Keep in mind that by having many videos you can easily break up watching the course as it is convenient for you. You can sit down and watch 10 videos at a time if that works well for you one day. Or you can watch 2 or 3 a day for awhile if that is what works perfectly for your schedule. This learning method offers you great flexibility.

Along with the video learning, your instructor has the ability to give you files. These might be PDFs, Word docs, a zip file or an audio. This is very helpful because it reinforces the lessons your instructor gives you. If they are sharing with you “how to tips” or instructions on how to do something, then the instructor may create a printable PDF so you’ll have the information right at your fingertips. While many of us like to take notes when taking a course, this also means you have exactly what the instructor said.

Another benefit of taking a course at Udemy is the message board that comes with your course. When you sign up for your course, you get 30 days access to a message board/forum where the instructor communicates with all who are taking their course. This is very helpful because if you have specific questions regarding one of the videos or a PDF, you can leave a question and receive a detailed answer. It simply enhances your learning experience all the more.

What Makes Udemy Different From Other Online Learning Sites?

If you enjoy online learning, you have many options today. You may wonder, what makes Udemy different from the other sites you might enjoy?

Lynda offers computer software and business skills classes but they do not offer personal interest or hobby courses. Udemy is the site to pick if you want to learn how to knit, take yoga or even learn a new language.

Coursera has many online classes, which are taught by professors at well-respected universities in the U.S.A.. You can find some personal interest courses here but no “hobby” courses such as the ones you’ll find at Udemy. Coursera’s courses are given in a more academic style. You are encouraged often to obtain a book that is read as a text for the course and sometimes there are other books for recommended reading.

Interested in online learning? Give Udemy a try!