The events of the past year have proven that the future of education is online. The emergence of Zoom, Google Hangouts, and Microsoft Teams during the global pandemic allows for work and education to continue virtually. This reality provides a unique opportunity to those looking to gain marketable skills online. You can now learn to be a web developer without leaving the comfort of your home. But how do you choose between the countless remote programs and courses? Our Director of Career Services at LearningFuze, TJ Kinion, has broken down the numerous remote courses into three distinct sections for your ease of use. 

MOOC

This acronym stands for Massive Open Online Course. It’s the easiest and most common way to gain an entry-level understanding of web development. Suppose you’re interested in a career in web development. In that case, you’ve likely visited sites such as Free Code Academy, Khan Academy, and Udemy. They are all MOOCs. A primary benefit of this style is that it’s self-paced. You can take your time learning the basics of coding and seeing if you truly want to pursue a career in web development. However, there are drawbacks. Namely, you can’t learn everything you need to be a proficient web developer using these sites. Not to mention MOOCs maintain a horrendous completion, just 3% of students who start a MOOC will finish it. Don’t believe us? This statistic comes from MIT, one of the first educational institutions to put MOOCs together. Despite the negatives, at LearningFuze, we recommend all prospective web developers start their journey here. It’s critical to gain a foundation in the discipline and to know if you genuinely enjoy coding. Both of which can be found going through a MOOC. 

Hybrid

A Hybrid course is the end result when you add human interaction to a MOOC. For example, a hybrid course may be self-paced during the week, and on the weekend, there is an open discussion with others taking the course. Or the course may pair each student with one-on-one opportunities with a mentor. A drawback of this style is that the course is still self-paced and provides little accountability and motivation. Also, the discussion portion of the class is likely a Q&A and not a lecture. You should also consider that if the course includes a mentor, your learning style may not mesh well with that of the mentor. In the end, if you’re looking for a MOOC with the option to ask questions on learned content, then this platform is perfect for you. 

Virtual Classroom

This is the closest thing to being in-person. If you’re very serious about learning to be a web developer, then this is the option for you. The course will be structured alongside live instruction and constant human interaction. At LearningFuze, we utilize Zoom to participate in a live lecture by commenting in the chat and directing asking questions of the instructors. Students are often placed in breakout rooms to foster a positive team environment and provide ample opportunities for discussion. This course style is highly demanding but provides constant accountability and motivation. 

Altogether, if you’re interested in web development, you should spend time working through a MOOC. Try out different programming languages and find what sparks your interest. Take the time to enroll in a hybrid coding course. If you’re very serious about a future career in web development, you should definitely enroll in a Virtual Classroom. This course type will help you understand what it takes to be a web developer.