What are online courses and how can they benefit you?

Liz Makin Author

Aug 11, 2025 |

There has been a rapid growth in online learning, but what are online courses and what are the benefits of learning in this way?

Online learning has been expanding quickly over the last few years with online courses on a wide range of topics. 

What is an online course?

An online course is a structured learning experience delivered virtually on a web browser or mobile device. It is usually made up of a series of lectures which can be accessed any time anywhere, watched at your own pace in your own time and over a time period that you choose. The lectures are normally short videos, animated slides or screen casts. Online courses vary in length depending on the subject matter.

Where can you access an online course?

Online courses can be purchased from online course platforms who host and market instructor courses, from educational establishments or directly from an instructor's website. You may also be able to access online courses at work where organisations may have their own in house online courses or subscribe to one of the online course learning platforms and make the courses available to their employees.

What are the benefits of taking an online course?

The benefits of online learning include:

* Online learning is more accessible that more formal in person training courses. All you need is a computer, tablet or mobile phone.

* You can learn at your own pace in your own time and over a time period that is convenient to you. You may want to learn on your daily commute to work or on evenings and weekends.

* You can choose courses that match your way of learning. There are a wide variety of course instructors all teaching in their own style.

* The cost of online learning is usually much lower than formal in person learning.

* You can usually sign up and take an online course immediately. This may be to access some information quickly or to solve a current problem.

* You can learn almost any topic through online courses including personal development (e.g. stress management), career and professional development (e.g. people management skills), your profession (e.g. continuing professional education), education (e.g. Economics), technology (e.g. AI), your business (e.g. financial management) and interests (e.g. running techniques) and leisure activities (e.g. embroidery). 

Summary

Hopefully this blog post has sparked your interest in online learning and encouraged you to sign up for an online course. 

You can take a look at our range of online personal development courses and bundles, including current special offers, at https://makinithappen.newzenler.com/

Categories: : Online courses, Online learning, Personal development