Skillshare Have you ever got a “Skillshare sponsored” communication when watching YouTube videos? This online learning platform has made its name by sponsoring top-tier YouTubers’ videos. Many even claim that they learned the skills that the audience sees in Skillshare videos.

"What

Is it good that everyone subscribe to this service and learn the skills we need on this platform?

I registered an account a month ago and tried out as many features as possible. Below are some pros and cons from my personal experience, not sponsored.

Skillshare Is Generous In Giving Out A Free Trial

There are many benefits I’ve found within the past one trial month using the platform. However, this trial period is the first thing I like about Skillshare.

In other learning platforms, chances are you get a fixed length of period for your free trial. After that, you’ll either have to complete some tasks to get an extension trial or subscribe to a membership program with a monthly payment.

In Comparison To These Platforms

The way you get a free trial extended on Skillshare is straight and simple. If you go to Skillshare’s homepage and sign up for an account, you’ll get yourself seven days of a free trial. Then, if you download their app, you get one month. Finally, clicking on other people’s referral links will take two weeks. These three ways are how you can get free trials through the referral program while signing up for an account.

You can also create your referral link like this one too. Whenever someone clicks in and finishes the first payment, you get another month free to use the platform.

I started my 14-day free trial for having a taste of what it is like to use the platform. I wasn’t planning to make a subscription at the beginning. What kept me on the podium was when I was cancelling my subscription, it handed me another 1-month free trial. Why not? A popular marketing strategy we keep seeing recently. I’ll happily take the offer.

Instructors Are Providing The Best Tips They Have

Instructors on this platform are like anyone of us on Medium. They are content creators trying to make a living by sharing what they know. They get money through “time of watch” on the platform. They try their best to give what they have.

In the resources section of each class, you can find helpful templates, guidelines, and notes. These allow you to have something to start with at the very beginning of your learning process. Unfortunately, you’ll only have access after signing up for a membership. The good news is, using your free trials also means you’re a member, which allows you to download all the learning materials you find helpful.

Learners Give Transparent Feedback On Courses

Reviews on Skillshare are brutally transparent. If people find the course not helpful and think it is a waste of time, they say it directly. Looking at the review section before actually spending hours learning will let you know if the course will meet your expectations.

I usually will look first at the “Expectations Met?” column and only take the course when “Exceeded!” and “Yes” combined are over 75 per cent. Then I go through both the highest and lowest reviews to see what others have said to get more information. This strategy worked out quite well for me for course selection. I’m generally satisfied with the hours I’ve put in.

If You Are A Perfectionist Like I Am, Here Are A Few Cons Of Skillshare

They’ve got exceptional audio quality if you play at an average speed

  • I’m a fast learner. When I watched tutorials on YouTube, I speed it up to 1.5x or even 2x faster. This way, I consume more content with the time I have.
  • I wanted to do this while taking classes on Skillshare too. But the audio quality goes down as I speed up the videos. So it sounds terrible, and somehow in a lower sound.
  • Two possible factors made this happen. First, Skillshare doesn’t want us to speed up the video, so users stay longer on the platform. The other factor: they need an upgrade from their engineers.
  • Learn the same thing once, twice, three times and more
  • So you might be thinking about what skills you want to learn. There are tons of options for you to choose from, UI/UX design, video editing, animation, interior design, life science… and more.
  • The problem is, you can see much duplication for popular topics like these. Because every instructor wants to include everything they can teach about a particular topic within the course. So you’ll see the same topic and content repeatedly as you take different classes on the same topic.
  • Thinking positively also means you have more chances to review and practice the same concepts.

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