Monday 26 February 2024

FREE ONLINE EDUCATION .... EDUCATION FOR ALL

From Gmail to Maps, Google offers a ton of useful apps. For instance, this article was originally drafted on Google Docs, like most of our articles at Class Central. What many people don’t know is that Google also offers many online courses — and some of them include free certificates or badges!

Indeed, besides offering courses on platforms like Coursera and Udacity, Google itself runs a series of educational platforms with different goals. For example, the Grow with Google initiative and Google’s Digital Garage offer online courses to help learners gain digital skills or prepare them to run online businesses.

Fortunately, hundreds of these courses offer free certificates or badges. We even earned a few ourselves, as you’ll see below. So we decided to sift through Google’s entire online learning ecosystem to compile all their free certificate courses.

In total, we found 600 courses, covering topics such as digital marketing, Google Analytics, and Google Cloud. You can find the full list below.

More Free Certificates

If you don’t find what you need here, browse Class Central’s catalog of 150K courses or visit our thematic collections:

You can find all our free certificates articles here.

Without further ado, here are Google’s online courses with free certificates and badges.


Free Google Analytics Certifications

Dhawal‘s free Google Analytics 4 certification

In 2023, Google will complete the transition to the latest major version of its analytics platform, Google Analytics 4. For the occasion, Google has launched new online courses, including a free certification program with certificate:

But Google also continues to offer free certificates courses for its Universal Analytics platform through its Google Analytics Academy, as you can see below. While the Universal Analytics platform will stop working soon, the courses might still be helpful, since a lot of the concepts also apply to Google Analytics 4.

Rui‘s free Google Analytics certificate

Each course includes a series of videos and assessments. After getting a score of 80% or higher on each assessment, you’ll earn a free certificate of completion, like the one above. These will appear on your profile on the platform, but you can also download them and share them via LinkedIn.

Here are the free certificate courses offered on the platform:

Free Google Digital Marketing Certification

Google’s Fundamentals of Digital Marketing sample certificate

Google Digital Garage provides 160 online courses to learn digital skills on a wide variety of topics. Most notably, the course Fundamentals of Digital Marketing offered by Google includes a free certificate of completion. The course includes 26 modules, each with their own video and quiz.

For each module you complete, you’ll earn a badge. Once you complete all the modules, you’ll unlock a certificate like the one above. All your badges and certificates will be added to your profile page.

(If you’re interested in digital marketing, you may want to have a look at our dedicated compilation: 1000+ Free Digital Marketing Certificates & Badges.)

Free Google Skillshop Certifications

Rui‘s free Google Ads 360 certificate

Google Skillshop provides free training programs for a large number of Google services, including their marketing tools. There are courses on all the following subjects: Google Ads, Google AdMob, Google Marketing Platform, Google My Business, YouTube, and more.

Currently, Google Skillshop offers 14 online courses with a free certificate of completion. As usual, you’ll unlock the certificate once you complete the course assessments. One difference here is that these courses are all text-based. In all, Google Skillshop offers around 80 courses, most without certificates.

Google Skillshop Certificate courses:

Free Google Developer Certifications

Google Developers Platforms course catalog

The Google Developers Platform offers a wealth of resources for professional and aspiring developers. In particular, the platform has over 1000 online courses from beginner to advanced levels to learn:

  • Programming: Kotlin, JavaScript, Go…
  • Specific libraries: TensorFlow, Angular, Flutter…
  • Software & services: Kubernetes, Maps, Pay…

Notably, a substantial portion of the platform’s catalog is dedicated to Android development.

You can take individual courses, but if you’re looking for a deeper dive, you may prefer one of Google’s 130 learning pathways. These consist of a sequence of mini-courses and culminate in a quiz. After passing the quiz, you’ll receive a badge that appears on your developer profile.

Here’s a selection of courses you may take on the platform:

Free Google Certifications from Google Cloud Skill Boost (Qwiklabs)

Manoel‘s free Qwiklabs Cloud Essentials badge

Qwiklabs, a startup acquired by Google and since then rebranded to Google Cloud Skills Boost (though the Qwiklabs name lingers), lets you learn Google Cloud through a hands-on approach. On the platform, you can complete 600+ labs in a real cloud environment.

Lab Credits

While the platform offers free or free-to-audit courses, completing labs typically requires spending “credits”. However, there are multiple ways to get credits for free.

For instance, if you’re a student with a valid university email address, you can claim 200 free Qwiklabs credits through this page. That’s what I (Manoel) did a few years back, allowing me to earn the certificate above. Or take a look at this post on Medium for other ways to get free credits.

In addition to individual labs, you can take full courses and so-called “quests”. Some courses include labs, while quests typically consist of a series of labs. There are over 250+ courses and 148 quests. These may end with a timed assessment. Upon completion you’ll receive a badge.

Pat’s free Introduction to Generative AI badge

Finally, there are 35 learning paths, which consist of a series of quests and courses. The Introduction to Generative AI Learning Path is completely free, while some other learning paths incorporate labs. They are also free when you use free lab credits.

250 Qwiklabs Courses

Similar to quests, Qwiklabs courses consist of a sequence of lessons, quizzes, and labs. Upon completion of all the elements, you’ll unlock a badge for your Qwiklabs profile. Look out for how to get free lab credits for those courses with labs.

Here’s a selection of courses:

140+ Qwiklabs Quests

Qwiklabs quests, just like learning paths, consist of a series of labs. These are hands-on activities conducted within a real cloud environment. That’s what makes Qwiklabs special: you’re getting genuine hands-on practice.

For instance, if you start a Kubernetes quest, you’ll be dropped into a real GKE instance ⁠— that is, an actual virtual compute cluster created temporarily for you to practice on.

Again, free when you use free lab credits.

Here’s a selection of Qwiklabs quests:

DevOps Essentials from Google via Qwiklabs

Tags

You can find all our free certificates articles here.

Without further ado, here are Google’s online courses with free certificates and badges.


Free Google Analytics Certifications

Dhawal‘s free Google Analytics 4 certification

In 2023, Google will complete the transition to the latest major version of its analytics platform, Google Analytics 4. For the occasion, Google has launched new online courses, including a free certification program with certificate:

But Google also continues to offer free certificates courses for its Universal Analytics platform through its Google Analytics Academy, as you can see below. While the Universal Analytics platform will stop working soon, the courses might still be helpful, since a lot of the concepts also apply to Google Analytics 4.

Rui‘s free Google Analytics certificate

Each course includes a series of videos and assessments. After getting a score of 80% or higher on each assessment, you’ll earn a free certificate of completion, like the one above. These will appear on your profile on the platform, but you can also download them and share them via LinkedIn.

Here are the free certificate courses offered on the platform:

Free Google Digital Marketing Certification

Google’s Fundamentals of Digital Marketing sample certificate

Google Digital Garage provides 160 online courses to learn digital skills on a wide variety of topics. Most notably, the course Fundamentals of Digital Marketing offered by Google includes a free certificate of completion. The course includes 26 modules, each with their own video and quiz.

For each module you complete, you’ll earn a badge. Once you complete all the modules, you’ll unlock a certificate like the one above. All your badges and certificates will be added to your profile page.

(If you’re interested in digital marketing, you may want to have a look at our dedicated compilation: 1000+ Free Digital Marketing Certificates & Badges.)

Free Google Skillshop Certifications

Rui‘s free Google Ads 360 certificate

Google Skillshop provides free training programs for a large number of Google services, including their marketing tools. There are courses on all the following subjects: Google Ads, Google AdMob, Google Marketing Platform, Google My Business, YouTube, and more.

Currently, Google Skillshop offers 14 online courses with a free certificate of completion. As usual, you’ll unlock the certificate once you complete the course assessments. One difference here is that these courses are all text-based. In all, Google Skillshop offers around 80 courses, most without certificates.

Google Skillshop Certificate courses:

Free Google Developer Certifications

Google Developers Platforms course catalog

The Google Developers Platform offers a wealth of resources for professional and aspiring developers. In particular, the platform has over 1000 online courses from beginner to advanced levels to learn:

  • Programming: Kotlin, JavaScript, Go…
  • Specific libraries: TensorFlow, Angular, Flutter…
  • Software & services: Kubernetes, Maps, Pay…

Notably, a substantial portion of the platform’s catalog is dedicated to Android development.

You can take individual courses, but if you’re looking for a deeper dive, you may prefer one of Google’s 130 learning pathways. These consist of a sequence of mini-courses and culminate in a quiz. After passing the quiz, you’ll receive a badge that appears on your developer profile.

Here’s a selection of courses you may take on the platform:

Free Google Certifications from Google Cloud Skill Boost (Qwiklabs)

Manoel‘s free Qwiklabs Cloud Essentials badge

Qwiklabs, a startup acquired by Google and since then rebranded to Google Cloud Skills Boost (though the Qwiklabs name lingers), lets you learn Google Cloud through a hands-on approach. On the platform, you can complete 600+ labs in a real cloud environment.

Lab Credits

While the platform offers free or free-to-audit courses, completing labs typically requires spending “credits”. However, there are multiple ways to get credits for free.

For instance, if you’re a student with a valid university email address, you can claim 200 free Qwiklabs credits through this page. That’s what I (Manoel) did a few years back, allowing me to earn the certificate above. Or take a look at this post on Medium for other ways to get free credits.

In addition to individual labs, you can take full courses and so-called “quests”. Some courses include labs, while quests typically consist of a series of labs. There are over 250+ courses and 148 quests. These may end with a timed assessment. Upon completion you’ll receive a badge.

Pat’s free Introduction to Generative AI badge

Finally, there are 35 learning paths, which consist of a series of quests and courses. The Introduction to Generative AI Learning Path is completely free, while some other learning paths incorporate labs. They are also free when you use free lab credits.

250 Qwiklabs Courses

Similar to quests, Qwiklabs courses consist of a sequence of lessons, quizzes, and labs. Upon completion of all the elements, you’ll unlock a badge for your Qwiklabs profile. Look out for how to get free lab credits for those courses with labs.

Here’s a selection of courses:

140+ Qwiklabs Quests

Qwiklabs quests, just like learning paths, consist of a series of labs. These are hands-on activities conducted within a real cloud environment. That’s what makes Qwiklabs special: you’re getting genuine hands-on practice.

For instance, if you start a Kubernetes quest, you’ll be dropped into a real GKE instance ⁠— that is, an actual virtual compute cluster created temporarily for you to practice on.

Again, free when you use free lab credits.

Here’s a selection of Qwiklabs quests:

Disclosure: Class Central is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

SOURCE: Class Central 

LINK:  https://www.classcentral.com/report/free-google-certifications/

AMAKHOSI YOUTH

Kaizer Chiefs Juniors Celebrate Triple Glory

By Thandisizwe Mgudlwa

CAPE TOWN/South Africa: 2023 belongs to Kaizer Chiefs Juniors. This past weekend AMAKHOSI showed why they continue to be a force to be reckoned with in the southern African soccer landscape.

On Sunday, AMAKHOSI walked away with three of the four age-group titles contested on the day.

As reports confirm, Kaizer Chiefs dominated Cup Final day in the 2023 SAFA Gauteng Development League (GDL) Youth Cup at Marks Park.

The Under 13s had a remarkable unbeaten season with victory over Mamelodi Sundowns to complete the league and cup double.

And the Under 17s won against the Transnet School of Excellence after a nail-biting penalty shootout to lift the trophy.

The Under 19s joined in, by adding “the third piece of silverware following their triumph over North West University to put the icing on the cake for the Academy, whose hard work and commitment have been handsomely rewarded,” Chiefs noted.

AMAKHOSI added, “The team had won through to their respective finals the previous day at the same venue, where Chiefs Under 13s and Under 17s comfortably despatched their Joburg City counterparts before the Under 19s edged past TS Galaxy on penalties to progress to the final.”

The Club remarked, “Congratulations to the Youth Academy administration, management, technical staff and players for your outstanding accomplishment. You are providing a fertile breeding ground for our young talent to develop into Amakhosi stars of the future.”

Meanwhile, Jessica Motaung, Kaizer Chiefs Marketing and Commercial Director was elected as the First Deputy Chairperson of the African Clubs Association at the ACA’s official launch in the Egyptian capital, Cairo on Thursday last week.

Jessica will occupy this prestigious position for the next two years.

The Club said this is a remarkable acknowledgement of her unwavering dedication and exemplary work in the football industry over the past 25 years.

Kaizer Chiefs Chairman, Dr. Kaizer Motaung extended his heartfelt congratulations to Jessica on this well-deserved recognition.

He acknowledges her relentless efforts and commitment to the growth and development of football in South Africa and on the African continent.

SOURCE:  NDOKWA REPORTERS

LINK: https://www.ndokwareporters.com/kaizer-chiefs-juniors-celebrate-triple-glory/