I posted this on Facebook — comparing and contrasting Masterclass, Coursera and Udemy
I signed up for a season of Masterclass. I feel conflicted about this because I think it’s too expensive for the value I’m getting. If I compare the amount of information per $ to what I would get buying a season of a TV show on DVD, it is a bad deal. The videos are gorgeous though, and a beneficial side effect is that I’ve gotten inspired to review my previous online courses on Coursera and Udemy.
I will now “compare and contrast” 😉
The Coursera courses that I have watched were videotaped lectures of college classes. They were well organized and very informative, but plain vanilla.
Udemy classes are not college-based; they can be created by anyone. My favorite music instructor is a hipster PhD who alternates between talking-head scenes (with a backdrop of what appears to be his rather cluttered apartment) and a view of his music software (which he uses like a blackboard). He hems and haws and repeats himself. But in spite of these drawbacks, his style of explanation is just right for my level of expertise. The good parts of his videos are very good.
The difference between Masterclass and Udemy is like night and day. The Masterclass lectures are tightly edited and BEAUTIFULLY filmed. It’s expensive “eye candy”. But I’m really enjoying it.Cheap when on sale; anybody can put together a course; lecture quality varies widely.
Many classes are videotaped college lectures. Most of them can be taken for free, but if you want to have the homework assignments graded and/or to get a certificate of participation, there is a fee. There is an online discussion forum associated with each class. In order to get the full benefit of the forums, most of the classes have a set starting and ending point (unlike Udemy, whose classes are available to watch any time).