Lynda.com is an online learning platform that offers thousands of e-learning courses (mostly video, but it includes downloadable materials, exercises and manuals). The vast range of courses cover business, software, technology and creative skills. The courses are delivered by recognised industry experts and are of the highest quality. Lots of the courses offered map directly to courses offered by the University, for example, programming, 3D design, photography, digital marketing, video production software and many more, as well as general software and business skills for employability and continuous professional development.

Having worked in training for a number of years, Lynda.com is a tool I’ve been aware of for a long time. Whenever I’ve had a chance to look at it and compare it with similar tools I’ve always been impressed with the range and quality of courses available. What was difficult, was justifying the cost of buying Lynda.com licenses to support the role of a relatively small IT Training team.

The last couple of years has seen ‘digital capabilities’ rise on the agenda for Higher Education (to be covered in a future blog post). The government and agencies like Jisc and UCISA have been emphasising the role universities have in meeting the digital skills gap and conferences have been promoting the digital capability framework and methods of meeting its requirements. One topic kept recurring and was the subject of a few presentations – the use of Lynda.com by universities. With increasing numbers of universities (now 70% in the UK) using Lynda.com, it suddenly seemed a viable option.

After gathering some interest from around the University I was given the go-ahead to submit an investment proposal in 2016 and aimed to match up the benefits of Lynda.com with the University and Education strategies. This meant showing how Lynda.com could be used to help provide a flexible digital environment, accessible anytime from any device, develop employability skills and support Continuing Professional Development (CPD). It also supports distance learners and can be used to extend and enhance the use of other digital resources by raising awareness and providing training for under-utilised tools such as Webex.

At this point, pre-launch, a number of us from around the University are working to get Lynda.com ready for students and staff to use in the new academic year. It has great potential to make a difference and enhance teaching and learning. It gives students and staff:

  • Unlimited access – more than 5000 video tutorials covering business, creative and technology topics.
  • Relevant recommendations – explore the most in-demand skills based on your interests.
  • Expert instructors – learn from industry leaders, all in the one place.
  • Convenient learning – access courses at your convenience, from any desktop or mobile device.

To be really successful, staff and students need to be engaged and using Lynda.com embedded in the curriculum. The ability to share playlists and publish courses through Moodle helps with this, with the potential for flipping the classroom and changing the way contact time is used makes things very exciting. Independent learning and opportunities for students and staff around employability and CPD are greatly increased.

Around the launch there will be articles on UoP News, you’ll see posters in the open access areas and briefing sessions will be organised. The aim is to have Lynda.com available for staff early in August and for students when they start the new term. There will be ongoing support from DCQE and IT Training. If you have any further questions, please feel free to contact me.

Lynda.com Google Community
@adrianjsharkey

Adrian Sharkey has recently joined the TEL Team from IS for a 12 month secondment. Adrian is working with TEL, the Library and other stakeholders to support digital literacy of staff/students around the university. A particular focus will be on how to make best use of Lynda.com, for which we will soon have a site license.

Welcome to the team, Adrian! 🙂