It can be challenging to meet the deadline of an assignment, especially if you involve yourself in many school activities. You probably don’t have enough time to crosscheck all the resources you get. You could also wonder if you are ready to take the test right around the corner. Luckily, several online platforms such as Course Hero can help you when you are in such predicaments.

Course Hero is an example of an e-learning platform that students use to access learning materials. It is, however, not limited to students only. Tutors, too, can access the platform. Some of the study materials include videos, essays, practice tests, flashcards, and notes. The learners can ask questions and receive responses from the tutors. The platform offers a large number of courses.

Is Course Hero Worth Paying For? 

The answer to that question depends on your purpose for using the platform. If you enjoy tutoring and would like to earn extra income from it, you are in the right place. The elite tutors in the program can earn $500 every week. The important thing is for you to have a lot of experience in the field you are tutoring. Note that you do not have to be a certified teacher. You, however, need evidence that shows your expertise in the specific subject.

The application process is quite easy. First, you need to create an account. Then select your subjects of interest. Next, upload your academic qualifications and ID. The last step is to get approval and commence your tutoring journey. The learners pay some money to access the study materials, and that is how the tutors get paid.

The earnings may vary from one teacher to another according to the following factors:

• The total of questions you can respond to.
• The subject or course you are handling.
• The quality of answers you provide.
• The question’s level of difficulty.

Some of the benefits of using the platform as a tutor include earning an extra income, doing your work from any part of the world that has a stable internet connection, and the ability to share your expertise with other people. Unlike other online learning platforms, you do not have to show your face or record your voice to be a tutor. That is because the tutoring takes place through a question-and-answer forum.

Course Hero allows both tutors and students to form their separate groups. They create a sense of belonging. The learning materials include lesson plans, lecture slides, and the curriculum.

If you want good-quality study materials, then you are also in good hands.

Is Course Hero a Reliable Source for Students?

You could consider the paid membership investment in your learning journey. Course Hero provides three plans: the monthly plan, which costs $39.99 every month; the quarterly plan, whose fee is $19.95 per month; and the annual that amounts to $9.95 every month. If you want to use the platform for a long time, the annual plan could be more cost-effective for you. That is if you require membership for the entire course. However, if it is for a short period, the annual plan would be okay.

Course Hero comes in handy when you did not understand or missed a lecture. They offer explanations that are easy to comprehend. Be sure the lesson will stick. If you are preparing for an exam, using Course Hero will be worth a try. Where you cannot find learning materials on other platforms because of financial reasons, you can visit Course Hero and upload a document to get an unlock.

Is the Use of Course Hero Unlawful?

It is not illegal to use a learning platform. The role of the course Hero is to provide guidance or inspiration to students from other students or tutors. It is also for students who need help in their studies or who require learning material. Some students, however, exploit that by copying the information provided and pasting it on their assignments. That beats the purpose of this platform.

Course Hero does not provide answers to tests or assignments. The platform supplements the learning the students acquire in their respective learning institutions. Please do not confuse it with a writing platform where you can pay someone else to do your tasks for you.

Note that Course Hero does not condone plagiarism, copyright infringement, or any other kind of cheating. Violating the stipulated laws leads to a permanent ban. That may include but is not limited to claiming another person’s document is yours or breaking the ethics code.

Is Course Hero Cheating and Can You Get Caught

If you copy a document you find on Course Hero and paste it on your assignment, you will get caught. That is because plagiarism detectors such as Turnitin and SafeAssign have access to content posted on the platform. Note that no one can know your account details for security reasons. Therefore do not be afraid to use the site maximally.

Regarding this issue, consult your lecturer on what cheating entails because it can constitute varying things in different learning institutions. Where the school dictates that you should not seek unauthorized assistance, in most cases, it means to avoid using the web for your research.

Is Course Hero a Trusted Resource?

The formation of Course Hero took place in 2006 in California. You could say that it running since then is proof that it is legit. It has a vast number of users worldwide. You can access the materials 24/7 as long as you have an internet connection.

The information you obtain here is the content that other people felt comfortable and confident sharing. Remember that Course Hero is like a huge study group formed by current and former learners. If you want the original information, you have to include other learning materials such as books.

If you have doubts about the information, you can go to the Textbook Solutions option and crosscheck the information. You can search for books or explanations using that option. When selecting documents to use, first look at the preview so that you do not end up downloading duplicate or unnecessary content.

Course Hero ensures the safety of the information you provide, such as phone numbers and credit card details.

Course Hero Alternatives

The following are all online learning platforms. They are all suitable for different settings.

Quizlet

The platform involves the use of both visual and text-based learning materials. There are also flashcards that students can add images to, tests, and games that advance over time. The basis of the questions is the performance of the individual students. The goal is to increase the level of difficulty as the learner progresses.

You organize the information into a study set. Only then can you start adding other pieces of data. Either a student or tutor can create the set. You probably think this is only applicable to children; however, the platform is relevant to any learner.

Pros

• It builds teamwork and collaboration skills amongst learners by placing them in random teams and competing against each other.
• It helps the tutor understand each student’s learning curve and retention capacity through quizzes, flashcards, and games.
• It makes it easier for learners to get ready for exams at any time or place.

Cons

• The ads distract the students.
• There is a possibility the information you learn may be incorrect if you create an incorrect study set.

Studypool

The platform connects students to tutors and vice versa. The students post questions, and the tutors make bids to answer them. The tutor does a commendable job so that the learner can work with them on another task. That is a good source of extra income for tutors. Flexible hours help to sweeten that deal.

Pros

• The tutors get fair compensation for work done.
• Commendable customer care services.

Cons

• Where issues arise, the company mostly sides with the client without verifying all details regardless of whether the student made a mistake.
• It is a very competitive site and may therefore be a bit scary to new tutors.

Kahoot

What happens is people share questions that appear on a screen in a room or video conference. The participants then enter a PIN that enables them to provide answers. Companies mostly use it for training sessions or during presentations. You can play games through the platform, which makes events entertaining. Speed is vital.

Pros

• It helps make learning sessions more interactive.
• The interface is easy to use.

Cons

• Most of the advanced features require you to pay some extra money.

Anki

That is an online learning platform that involves the use of flashcards. It is free on PCs and Android devices such as tablets. Users of iOS devices incur a small fee. If you have several devices, you can sync all that information. It is commonly used by people who want to learn new languages. Students mostly use it when exams are around the corner.

To use the system, you create a deck consisting of “Front,” which refers to questions, and “Back,” which refers to answers. After that, you can take a look at the cards. The question appears first, and when you tap the screen twice, the answer appears. Once you repeatedly get the correct response to a question, the system creates a time difference until the next time you see the card to help you retain the information.

Pros

• It improves memory retention.

Cons

• The app is quite expensive on iOS devices.
• The platform requires you to engage daily. If not, you have to go through so many cards once you get back to using the platform.

How to Use Course Hero Material

For you to access the learning material, you need to “unlock” it first. The unlock document button helps you to do that. To acquire “unlock points”, you can do either of the following: upload your documents, pay a subscription fee or rate submissions other people make. Uploading your document and rating submissions are both free. The more uploads or ratings you make, the more unlock points you earn. A five-star rating translates to one unlock. Ensure that the work has a good title and that there are not any photos. The content should also only contain facts. Random information or fiction will make the system disqualify the file. You can also create quizzes to get unlocks. Head to your unlocked documents and fill the quiz yourself prompt.

That may not be the best option where you have a task that requires immediate attention. In that case, the paid subscription would suffice. That is because it can take up to 24 hours for the system to process the document you upload, accept it and finally credit you as the owner. In most cases, the process takes 3 hours. Below are some of the features the system looks at in the uploading process:

• If the information fits a page or is longer and whether it is relevant.
• How useful and descriptive the title is.
• The existence of the sane document in the Course Hero database.
• The correspondence of the subject tag to the appropriate course.

The paid subscription option is less limited. The following are what it offers:

• You can unlock as many as 30 documents within a month.
• You get unlimited access to Textbook Solutions and Explanations.
• 24/7 help from the tutors.
• Unlimited access to Course Hero’s library.

You may be wondering, can I download the content? Yes, you can. To do so, login into your account, click the My Library button and then the My Unlocks button. That takes you to all the documents you can access. Next, click the specific document to view it. Click the download icon indicated.

In conclusion, Course Hero is legit and reliable. However, the users have several complaints, such as the small compensation tutors receive and poor customer service. You can supplement the information you obtain here with other learning materials such as books.

Go through the plans carefully before making any payment. You do not want to pay an annual fee, yet you only use the paid subscription for a month.