LinkedIn Learning (Lynda.com)

A great scenario where LinkedIn Learning is fantastic is when working on a project where we miss specific skill sets. My coworker was skilled in Microsoft Power BI, while I was not. So I spent 3 hours going through a few LinkedIn Learning Power BI trainings to get up to speed. Another coworker was not experienced in Google Analytics, and again, LinkedIn Learning filled in the blanks.

A scenario where it's less appropriate is finding specific needs for your use case. While LinkedIn Learning is great for learning how something works and exploring test projects - don't expect it to hold your hand to do something very specific. For example - if you need to deploy a app using YOUR SPECIFIC WORKFLOW, you're not going to find a point-by-point tutorial. You'll find courses on how to deploy it in different ways, but not exactly the way you need it.

LinkedIn Learning is best for those that are in a particular field, but lack either the current skills or new skills to impress their future client/customer/employer. I have often recommended to people in career transition or business to utilize LIL in improving their marketability along with their monetary bottom line. It is also good in mastering skill sets where an instructor can not be there or the expense is out of an individuals price range. Where LinkedIn Learning is less appropriate would be as a sales tool. Not that it can not have some skill obtained there, but it would not be beneficial in that aspect.

We had an instance where one of our designers knew that there was a way to link an Excel document with fields to an Adobe InDesign template but they didn't exactly know how to make it all work. They found a training video and after a few minutes had a test page laid out and were able to show how the fields in the Microsoft Excel document were feeding into the new InDesign template.

I've learned hundreds of software applications over the last several decades, and trained teams in offices and one-on-one. At one point, books and trade magazines were a great way to get up to speed with an application, but they've become less and less effective for getting started. Video lessons have some strengths; you can get a rapid overview of a program's capabilities and watch an experienced user using its tools efficiently. On rare occasions they'll even point out bugs that could trip you up, but I wish instructors shared more of those issues.

However, it takes a very self-motivated learner to sit through training sessions. Most people don't fit that category, and a subscription may end up gathering dust like a pandemic gym membership. My account is sometimes dormant for months, but then I'll be watching lessons continually the following month. I've often wondered if it was worth it for that reason. I have some friends that voraciously devoured class after Lynda.com class, and built successful careers on that training. But many others never use their account. It's helpful to consider whether you're a self-motivated learner. If not, it may not be the best format for you.

More complicated software often can't be adequately introduced in a several-hour-long series of videos. I found Final Cut Pro (7) hard to learn online, also Logic Pro. Other somewhat complicated programs like DVD Pro were a snap to learn, and I learned a lot about PHP and Actionscript programming from Lynda.com. Some web and graphics software is exceptionally explained by real experts, such as Lynda's Photoshop classes, which are the best I've seen on that subject. Many of her web production courses will take you every step along the way to creating your own website, even if you haven't coded before. Adobe and Apple have both published similar project-based tutorial classes in book form, and I think they're a bit more polished, but the video instructor can help move you along through all the content more easily. Learning software seems to work better from an online video than a book these days; it's helpful to already be sitting at the computer where you're able to try everything out as it's explained. Most people don't seem to retain software principles unless they're trying them while learning.

A bad instructor can make it difficult to sit through a video class. Lynda.com and others generally have a large variety of content creators, so you're not as limited with instructors as you might be at a University, where the same instructor may teach several related applications. Departmental faculty may have much more targeted and creative applications for your software though, while paid corporate software training can be mind-numbingly bad. Continuing ed classes that I've taken usually seemed to just focus on learning the tools in a software product. They often don't or even can't show you how to apply the software for your purposes as full time faculty at a University might. Some Lynda.com instructors weren't great, but most seemed a cut above the continuing ed and corporate software trainers I've learned from or contracted. The majority of the classes seemed to apply the software for an impressive final project.

Redundancy is a real drawback among the online lessons. Often the advanced classes repeat many of the concepts from the introductory "Essentials" courses. If you know an earlier version of an application and just want to learn new features, a book may be a faster route to your goal. I originally suggested the "New Features" lessons that Lynda began to offer for updated releases, and I think they're especially helpful. It's much harder to skim through a video than a page of text, so I'd anticipate having to complement your Lynda.com lessons with other instructional materials.

Lynda.com didn't have as many of the "fluff" courses that LinkedIn is now offering. These titles read like articles from Cosmo. They might be better served to offer "How to respond to a connection request from a recruiter who works in a field completely unrelated to you."

Lynda.com is absolutely great to jump-start learning something new or brush-up your skills. Also classes are very practical so there is always chance that you can use what your learned right away or that you can find an answer to some work questions here. It would probably be not a place to get some academic knowledge or to get to the very specific areas of advanced programming.