I chose to evaluate the Google Digital Skills for Africa platform because I wanted to assess it as a source for online courses that I can recommend to my colleagues and students. At Ocean Academy all students take an "Enrichment Course (EC)," to help them build their resumes. ECs are virtual courses chosen by the students (guided by teachers) based on their interests.
While I do need to do more research, these are my preliminary findings and thoughts. Overall the courses offered are all topics that either myself, my colleagues or my students would be interested in taking. That said I have feedback about the platform itself.
1. Purpose of the site - to offer free career development learning content. It doesn't specify why the continent of Africa, even though that question is an FAQ. The response is a generalized statement about economic growth resulting from the technology revolution, and wanting to make the opportunity available to “you”.
2. Layout - the site feels welcoming, it is easy to navigate with its clean, simple design. While the filters were helpful, I do wish there was a search option.
3. Course offerings - The site offers 146 free, paid or audited courses. Only1 free certified course is offered and the other certified courses are paid. Course lengths vary between 1 hour to 700 hours. Difficulty level between beginner and intermediate.
4. Course Providers - Coursera - 37.6% of the courses, Google 32.7% of the courses, OpenClassrooms 11.6%, UDACITY 6.84%, the remaining 11.2% spread out through various providers.
So it seems one feature of Google digital skills for Africa is the curation of existing career development courses across multiple platforms in one place for easy access to its intended audience.
5. Local Coaching - free in-person digital marketing training and hands-on mentoring. However “locally” means you’re based in the UK.Why does a “for Africa” platform offer in-person training, mentoring, pop-ups and events for those based in the UK but not in Africa?
6. Awards - the platform lists six areas in which it has been internationally recognized, two of which are “ boosting digital skills in Europe” and “contributing to economic growth across Europe”. Why is a “for Africa” platform being recognized for economic growth in Europe?
That said all the success stories showcase persons from various African countries who have used their training to achieve individual and community success. With further research I am sure my questions will be answered, until then I reserve judgement about the platform. My general feeling is that the courses themselves are relevant and useful. I would use it as a site my colleagues and students can utilize for online courses in digital marketing ting, data & technology, and career development.