There have been several recent developments in the e-learning space and the experience is becoming less daunting and friendlier. The courses are also becoming more immersive and increasingly interactive – social features also give the user the impression that they are part of a classroom instead of being isolated and independent. I have taken paid and free courses online and a few of the free online courses are surprisingly better.

I love Codecademy. You learn at your own pace and they have been adding tracks at a dizzying pace the past couple of weeks. The hands-on coding exercises are great and the discussion forum serves as a way to interact with users taking the same tracks.

I have also tried Coursera and must say that the courses there are very intensive and quite a few give you credit via a certificate or letter of attendance. Main difference here is that courses run on a set schedule and you must be able to complete a week’s worth of coursework to keep up. It does take more discipline to finish assignments before deadline and you are required to grade your peer’s assignments as well.

I’m also delighted with ixl.com with regards to supplementing my daughter’s learning at school. It provides several math exercises based on the school curriculum. It is very well designed and my daughter loves the immediate feedback. So instead of generating your own practice questions, IXL provides the questions and based on how well your son/daughter is doing – it adjusts the difficulty level automatically.

The future of e-learning is looking very promising indeed and perhaps there will come a day when this would be how the majority of people get their education.