Have you visited Lynda yet?
Lynda.com is the online software training company that is currently free for AUSU members. AU’s Student Union has arranged for free one-year access for AU undergraduate students, but time is running out.
We first looked at lynda.com in this February 7, 2014 article in The Voice Magazine. If you didn’t find a course that interested you back then, lynda.com is worth a second look. Over 800 courses have been added in the past year, and more are introduced every month. Intriguing new categories have been added, such as Ebooks (21 courses,) Higher Education (33 courses,) and Public Relations (2 courses.)
Courses are in an online video tutorial format and vary in length from minutes to hours. Jump in or out of a course at any point, and resume where you left off. The transcript of each tutorial scrolls just below the video and you can navigate to any point in the video by clicking on the relevant place in the transcript. Search for courses by category or keyword, save courses in your playlist to access later, and request certificates of completion.
Although lynda.com’s main thrust is computer programming, graphics, and design, there are plenty of courses in other categories. There is sure to be something to interest everyone. After all, It’s free!
For AU students, there are a number of courses that are directly relevant to learning:
Student Tools (42 courses.) In addition to tips on using some of the basic software (Word, Excel, Blackboard, Moodle, Outlook, Powerpoint, Evernote,) you’ll find Writing Research Papers, Managing Your Time, and Time Management Fundamentals.
Education (121 courses.) Discover the physical process of learning with The Neuroscience of Learning. Unearth some apps to increase your productivity in school with Google Apps For Students. And how about some basics such as Improving Your Memory or Speed Reading Fundamentals?
Productivity (126 courses.) Learn efficiency tips on various software, plus personal productivity courses such as Getting Things Done, Typing Fundamentals, and Overcoming Procrastination.
Career Development (58 courses.) Enhance your job prospects with Building Your Professional Networks, Giving Your Elevator Pitch, and Acing Your Interview, or go the entrepreneurial route with Raising Startup Capital, Building Business Relationships, and Coaching and Developing Employees.
And since life shouldn’t be all work and no play, lynda.com has hundreds of fun and creative courses too:
3D Printing (11 courses.) Everything from Getting Started With MakerBot 3D Printers to 3D Printing a Scale Model With AutoCAD.
Blogs (62 courses.) Launch your blog with training on a number of platforms, such as WordPress and Bootstrap, then customize with themes, plug-ins, and images.
Illustration (77 courses.) Exercise your computer creativity with Artistic Painting With Illustrator and Designing Your Own Online Avatar, or pursue the traditional artists? methods with Foundations of Drawing: Light and Shadow.
Photography (492 courses.) Courses on every aspect of photography and photo processing, including choosing equipment, photography basics, raw processing, colour correction, and printing and sharing photos.
Social Networks (22 courses.) Get up to speed with courses covering Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Snapchat, and Vine.
If You’re an AU undergraduate student, you can access lynda.com for one year for free. To sign up, follow the instructions on the AUSU website. On each visit, access your lynda.com account by first logging in to your ausu.org student account.
A note for procrastinators: AUSU’s 3-year licence for lynda.com expires in December 2015. If you haven’t already taken advantage of lynda.com, now is the time to sign up and take advantage of what’s left of your free year.
don’t turn down the opportunity to learn something new.
Barbara Lehtiniemi is a writer, photographer, and AU student. She lives on a windswept rural road in Eastern Ontario
