Google Online courses prepare students in the information age

June 25, 2017

Google online free courses — Image: theUSBport.com

Our society is starting to see the result of an outdated education system: Schools prepared students for jobs that aren’t there anymore. Luckily, companies like Google have invested time and resources on online platforms where anyone can acquire the necessary skills to become part of the workforce during the age of information.

The company has created online platforms to teach enthusiast how to code, create VR experiences, and work with AI, among other things. Also, Google is working with organizations like Udacity to educate people on subjects like digital marketing.

As of now, most of these courses are free, and anyone with an Internet connection can benefit from them. Until a few days, I thought the tech conglomerate wanted to make education as free and accessible as possible, but that changed last week.

On June 20, Google announced Americans would be able to look for jobs using Chrome, and it struck me. The organization might have been trying to change not only how we all learn things, but also influence the way companies hunt for talent. Here, we list options for professionals who want to make their résumés more attractive with online courses.

Digital Marketing – AdWords, Analytics, Apps, Social Media, and more

Digital marketing is a big thing for Google. Income from AdWords accounts for more than 95% of all revenue for the company year after year, so it is only natural they invest some of that money in educational resources that will pay themselves off with more people learning how to use the platform.

The Digital Garage is, as Google itself puts it, a “one-stop-shop” for all things related to digital marketing. It offers 23 short modules consisting of only a couple of lessons, and people can choose to take whichever they want or all of them.

Subjects range from getting started with your web presence, learning a thing or two about SEO, analytics, social media, ads, and even adapting to mobile and video platforms. Those who complete all 23 modules get a Digital Garage Certificate of Online Proficiency validated by Google.

The most ambitious of the bunch can also take a look at Google’s Online Marketing Challenge, an annual competition for marketers that also comprehends an official Digital Marketing Course. Some of these offerings are paid, though, but the prizes include AdWords Certifications and Social Impact Awards.

For those who want to learn more about analytics, the Google Analytics Academy has a couple of free courses that delve deeper into that data-driven world. Udacity, on the other hand, also has free options validated by the tech giant to learn about app monetization, marketing, and digital entrepreneurship.

Spanish speakers can also learn about digital marketing certified by Google through the Actívate initiative. It is a platform rather similar to The Digital Garage, but it also offers free courses on web development, cloud computing, e-commerce, and more. They are based in Spain and dictate face-to-face courses too.

Software Development – AI, VR, and Android

Of course, another area that Google is quite big on is development. The company is responsible for some of the most significant advancements and products in the industry, ranging from the massively popular Android platform to lesser known open source experiments of various kinds.

Luckily for all you curious developers, there are multiple courses and resources available to you for free and with Google’s seal of approval. Udacity is the go-to platform to find classes about anything you want to learn within the tech giant’s ecosystem.

There is an entire series of Android Basics tutorials that are free, although they require some background on mobile development for you to get the most out of them. You can get that right on Udacity too, but it will cost you to enroll in either a nanodegree or the Android Associate Developer Fast Track by Google.

Outside of Android, VR enthusiasts have three free courses from which to choose from: Introduction to Virtual Reality, VR Scenes and Objects, and VR Software Development. The WebVR official site also has open resources for people to try their hand at doing their own experiment.

Those who want to learn something about AI are in luck too, since Udacity hosts a free Deep Learning course as well on its site. Beyond that, the Google Cloud Platform offers a comprehensive course to Learn TensorFlow and Deep Learning without a Ph.D.

Other free resources by Google include Android Studio, which is available for download to anyone who wants to give a crack at making their app, and related free tools and tutorials at the Android Experiments, Chrome Experiments, AI Experiments, and WebVR Experiments sites.

Bonus: Make your course with Google Open Online Education

If you don’t want to take but make your course, then Google has a solution for you too. The Open Online Education initiative is aimed at educators and anyone who wants to impart knowledge digitally with help from the tech giant.

The main instrument of the platform is the Course Builder, a piece of software in which you can design your interactive site and lessons for free. The Digital Garage was built using this tool, so there is potential for anyone who wants to make a change and share whatever they have to teach to the world.