As with any rapidly evolving industry, information goes out of date fairly quickly. So, if you’re interested in keeping pace with the hottest crypto trends and other breaking news, taking a course on blockchain won’t help you do that. But, it will give you a decent grasp of the fundamental technology underpinning cryptocurrencies–as well as how it can be used within different industries.
Depending on your preferences and how far you want to go into your learning, you can study most of what you need for free, or for a very small fee. There’s no shortage of video material, courses, and guides for all levels. Check out the top five online basic blockchain courses (starting with the easiest first).
5. Khan Academy
If you want to brush up on your Bitcoin knowledge or start learning about cryptocurrency from scratch, you can do so with the Khan Academy for no fee at all. They have a range of courses that are quite basic, yet surprisingly thorough, and will get your blockchain journey going in the right direction.
Their course Bitcoin: What Is It?, for example, takes you through eight separate steps from a basic overview to an explanation of cryptographic hash functions, digital signatures, Proof of Work, and blockchain security. Definitely worth a look.
4. Udemy
You’re not going to get a Harvard education out of taking a 2-hour online course. But actually, as a blockchain enthusiast, Udemy may be more useful. Depending on your level of skill, there’s pretty much something for everyone here. For those who want to want to understand the basics of blockchain, there’s a good course called Blockchain and Bitcoin Fundamentals.
Udemy courses aren’t free, but they’re cheap, hovering around the $10-15 range. With the above course, you get 2 hours worth of lectures, downloadable resources and the chance to access the course whenever you want even after its completion. You also get a certificate, if that motivates you. But best of all, you’ll get a solid grasp of the fundamental concepts of Bitcoin.
3. Lynda
Lynda from LinkedIn houses a ton of different course spanning all levels. It has a subscription model which gives you a free month and then costs $14.99 pm after that.
The platform seems to be a good choice for companies who want to offer training to several departments since there are so many niche’ courses on offer.
But there is a nice course called Blockchain Basics that provides a one-hour overview for beginners. You get one month free, so if you’re not captivated by blockchain by then, you can always cut and run.
2. Coursera
Coursera courses vary in price and complexity, although, they do have some free options that encourage you to purchase separate complementary course material. With blockchain courses created and taught by professors from the likes of Stanford, MIT, and Princeton, Coursera is a smart choice if you’re looking for quality tutors.
You won’t get a Princeton certificate for passing these courses, but you will get access to some of academia’s brightest minds. One course that stands out, in particular, is ‘Bitcoin and Cryptocurrency Technologies‘ which is being taught by four major Princeton professors.
It’s an extensive 11-week program covering cryptography, bitcoin mining, regulation, mining puzzles, and even has a section on altcoins. Additionally, the course also includes detailed lectures, exercises, further reading, and homework.
1. PluralSight
PluralSight runs on a subscription model starting at $29 per month or $299 per year. It’s packed full of up-to-date technology courses that are really hands-on and specific. If you want to learn programming languages like MySQL or Javascript, for example, this is the place for you–and you’ll get certified, too.
Courses range from Big Data to video game design, and cybersecurity, so they’re pretty specific. That said, there’s still room for beginners with their Blockchain Fundamentals course.
While the course is aimed at “beginners” so as to speak, it does primarily target enthusiasts who have some sort of background in development (or at least a pretty good working knowledge of it).
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