The 5 best online learning platforms for mastering a creative skill
Now that most of us spend at least a few days remote working, we’ve all found ourselves with a bit more time on our hands. And if you’re like everyone else, you’ve probably been thinking about how you can take advantage of this better work-life balance. You might be spending more time reading, or you might be putting more time into developing hobbies that you’re passionate about. You might just be squeezing an extra few episodes of your favorite shows on Netflix. If you’re creating your next work of art, learning how to create your own clay vase or are thinking about the next recipe you want to try, there’s a good chance that you’ll be looking for the best place to learn. While we’re a little bit biased, and would argue that Rassa is the best place for you to develop and improve on a creative skill, we’ve put together a list of the top 5 platforms you can use when investing in your skillset.
YouTube
Although some may turn their noses up at YouTube, questioning the quality and how much you actually learn - the honest truth is, it depends on what you’re looking for. YouTube has the world’s largest library of video content, which means you’re almost guaranteed to find something to watch, regardless of what your search term is. This makes the platform great for two things.
Firstly, it’s great if you’re searching for something super specific, that you’re probably not going to be able to find anywhere else. If you’re looking for answers on a very specific part of a technique, or you’re trying to find answers to something that you can’t find anywhere else, there’s a good chance that someone has uploaded a video with an answer to your question. The flip of relying on user generated content is the quality. YouTube will allow you to upload just about anything to the platform, so there’s no guarantee that the video you watch will actually help, and of course, there’s probably not going to be anyone that you can ask except in the comments, which means as a learning tool, its effectiveness is somewhat limited.
With that said, the platform is still great for beginners. If you’re trying something out for the first time, and you’re not sure if it’s something that you want to invest in, the quantity of content that’s available will mean that you can expose yourself to a creative skill/hobby for free (or $11.99 p/m if you’re paying for YouTube premium). YouTube is perfect for dipping your toes into something, and finding out if it’s something that you want to spend more time developing.
Skillshare
Skillshare is a step up from YouTube and for only $13.99 you’re going to get much better quality content, at a similar price, so if you’ve found a skill or hobby that you’re enjoying and want to spend a little bit more time diving into it, you can’t really go wrong. Obviously one of the biggest benefits of Skillshare over YouTube, is you’re joining a ‘course’, meaning you’ll find hours of content that you can watch in your own time, on a specific topic that you’re interested in. That’s the opposite of YouTube’s independent videos (though you could argue that a YouTube playlist gets around that).
One of the biggest benefits that Skillshare brings to your screen is the community. There are thousands of other people that have been through the same course as you, meaning there’s an element of accountability that you don’t get with YouTube. Plus, you’ll probably find it easier to find courses that you want to explore more easily on Skillshare than on YouTube, as the platform is designed to help you develop skills and hobbies that you enjoy vs. just providing the video format.
In short, if you want to spend a little bit more time watching a library of content on a specific topic, and want to be able to see other people that have been through the courses on the platform, SkillShare is a step up in quality for a very similar price to YouTube premium.
