Android App development, Web Design or Data Sciences. You want to learn them, you probably want a profession in them, but your regular ‘degrees’ don’t give you that. Do they ? Fret Not. Got internet access ? That’s it. That’s all you require to head straight to SlideRule and start searching for your favourite subject from that immense 21K+ (and increasing) database.
Started by alumni from IITs, Wharton and UCLA, SlideRule is an engaging online course discovery platform which helps you find courses relevant to your field of study/interest through its extensive catalogue of over 21K courses. These courses are indexed from popular online learning websites like Lynda, Coursera and others.
And that number just doesn’t stop increasing ! It was somewhere near 18K in November and within 2 months, it has come to 21K ! Yes, folks at SlideRule really want you to search out the most varied interests and learn them.
But discovery isn’t the only thing which SlideRule does. It also offers you paid features like Workshops wherein you get a personalised mentor whom you can contact any time throughout the learning period. These personal, real-time sessions are carried out through Google Hangouts, which is one of the smartest use of Google’s Hangout tech, among the ones I’ve encountered.
However, if you wish to see the service before paying for it (which is mostly the case with us Indians), you can straight away head to those Learning Paths where in you are guided step-by-step towards learning the subject of your choice.
Learning Paths are absolutely free and are indeed very deep and comprehensive. They are written by experts in their respective fields and offer a step-by-step guide to your chosen interest. If suppose you wish to go for Android App Development, you’ll be presented with an opening screen which will detail the number of hours you are required to put into the learning path, the number of learners who’ve already taken that course and the number of resources which that Learning Path incorporates.
SlideRule also offers you courses varying in difficulty levels and teaching methods. You get the options to choose from text, video, audio or interactive courses. These courses are continuously reviewed by their takers and average rating is displayed in front of any course you wish to opt for.
If we take Indian market in perspective, SlideRule may have just arrived at the right time. Though SlideRule’s current major chunk of users are from the western hemisphere, it will definitely see a surge in its Indian user-base considering the current Government’s push towards a pan-India digitalisation in the Education sector.
Moreover, Online education is one sector where there literally is, a massive scope for growth in India. Though most of the Indian academics still depend on printed course materials and traditional subjects, a gradual shift towards a more digitalised learning along with extra skill learning is on the rise. Students from India’s Tier-II and Tier-III engineering colleges are rapidly moving towards online course materials to sharpen their programming skills.
Parul Gupta, one of the co-founders of SlideRule, tells me that though their early adopters have been predominantly from the US, they are seeing growing interest in Indian companies, student community and working professionals.
So how do you begin ? Just head over to MySlideRule.com, and you can almost immediately start learning anything from the available courses. And if you do not know where to start just begin by searching for your interest and start learning.
