Finding The Best Online NLP Courses For 2021

As humans, we express (either verbally or in writing) our views that carry vast amounts of information and subtle nuances behind them. Every word we speak and paragraph we write has a meaning and contextual reference attached to it. Note that these references depend on factors like situation and time and may differ from one person to another.

Computers are great at working with structured data like spreadsheets and database tables. Still, a plethora of information in the world is unstructured — plain, raw text in English or another human dialect. How do we make computers understand humans' language, which does not have a structure, pattern, or guideline to follow?

Natural language processing (NLP) is an area of study that teaches computers about understanding the long-term context behind the language we know. We generate more than a petabyte of natural language data per minute; efficient processing is imperative for general intelligence.

Everyone has a different requirement when it comes to the value they are seeking from online courses. Perhaps you already have prerequisite knowledge in the domain or you're a novice in the subject. Many online courses cater to audiences having varied interests, from beginner to advanced levels.

As a learner, before devoting your time and effort in an online class, you should analyze the course offerings carefully. One course may have good reviews or great projects, but it may not be an excellent fit for you if it does not align with your current knowledge of the subject. To help get started in NLP, here are some things you should look for in online courses.

To become an all-round professional in NLP, you should carefully choose the course. A complete course should have attributes like industry-relevant projects, a well-thought-out curriculum and detailed explanations while offering a great pathway to sharpening your knowledge in NLP to help achieve your goals.

Become a Natural Language Processing Expert by Udacity is one such course that offers an in-depth understanding of natural language processing and its practical implications on real problems. You have access to industry-grade experts in NLP who teach you how to apply concepts to varied real-world use cases. However, course takers should be aware of the rigor and effort required to complete the program. You have a chance to dive into real-world projects and receive mentor support, and you have the flexibility of time to complete the program. Additionally, you get personalized feedback and other essential services such as resume writing to boost your job opportunities. The only downside is the high cost compared to other alternatives.

For someone looking to dive deep into the subject of NLP, advanced courses are a way to go. These types of programs avoid preliminary concepts and focus on complex ideas. Generally speaking, the pedagogy includes a lot of exciting research work built on basic concepts. These courses should be a good fit for people who are looking to go a step further in NLP.

If you want to challenge yourself, then the Deep Learning for Natural Language Processing program offered by the University of Oxford will not disappoint you. Moreover, these advanced courses demand a certain level of fundamental theoretical and programming knowledge in NLP to get started.

If you are looking for a course that provides maximum value, find a program that covers different concepts and use cases. Only a handful of online courses cover the subject from its advent to the current state of research. If you are willing to gain comprehensive knowledge in NLP, Natural language Processing by the Higher School of Economics should be on top of your list. It covers almost everything you can ask for, from basics to contemporary research. You should not expect an intense explanation of concepts, but rather an overview of them. Sometimes, you need to know different ideas to choose a path of interest in the subject.

Some courses emphasize a "learn by doing" pedagogy that helps people grasp difficult theoretical concepts. I believe that the more you do, the more you learn. The hands-on courses provide a great sense of liberty to you because they help you to understand the concepts in a more practical sense. They answer broad questions such as, "Why are we learning this concept?" You should look for what kind of projects and frameworks the course includes before jumping into it. The NLP course by Fastai is taught in Python with Jupyter Notebooks and uses standard libraries such as NLTK, PyTorch and Fastai. Familiarity with working with data in Python and machine learning concepts (such as training and test sets) is a prerequisite. Experience with PyTorch and neural networks is a bonus.

In most cases, the course aspirants are looking for entry-level courses to start their NLP journey. If you are one of them, analyzing the course offerings might not be fruitful due to limited background in the subject. Instead, interacting with professionals who have worked in the NLP domain can help you select the right course. Additionally, you can read reviews from people who have taken the course before. You might get a clue whether it is an excellent first course for you or not.

For instance, there are beginner-level courses, such as Introduction to Natural Language Processing in Python, where you can brush up on NLP fundamentals. This course's core components are regular expressions and word tokenization, simple topic identification, and named-entity recognition. The program has a prerequisite of basic python programming. Furthermore, it has more than 50 interactive quizzes to test your learning.

During these strange times, it is vital to upskill regularly and take control of your professional destiny. Online courses create a level playing field and present a great advantage to us by providing invaluable resources for learning an up-and-coming technology like NLP.