Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Learn how UGA students, faculty and staff are using lynda.com.

The University of Georgia is now offering free access to lynda.com — an online learning company that provides easy-to-understand video tutorials on software, design and business skills — to all students, faculty and staff. Access to lynda.com became available on Nov. 1.

“We got very positive responses from students, faculty and staff when we previously offered lynda.com during a trial period,” said Lynn Latimer Wilson, assistant CIO for planning and engagement for the University’s Enterprise Information Technology Services (EITS). “There are lots of different options that will be useful to the UGA community. You can search by topic and software, and get the specific information you need without having to complete an entire course.”

Students, faculty and staff may access lynda.com anytime by using their UGA MyID by visiting lynda.uga.edu.

With about 1,500 video tutorials taught by industry experts, lynda.com offers an option for online training that can accommodate students, faculty and staff with a range of skill levels. Popular courses include those in Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver, MySQL, Excel, InDesign and JavaScript.

UGA’s offering of lynda.com is intended to help students improve their studies and create outstanding projects, allow faculty to incorporate courses from the website into their lessons, and allow staff to enhance their skills and boost productivity.

Lloyd P. Rieber — director of Innovation in Teaching and Technology for the UGA College of Education, and professor in the Department of Educational Psychology for Instructional Technology — has already been integrating lynda.com in his classroom instruction.

“I think this is going to be one of the most popular resources for anyone who wants to learn new skills and technology,” he said.

Judy James, senior human resources manager at the UGA Training and Development Center, said lynda.com offers a “new generation of learning” that features a strong multimedia delivery.

“When you’re looking for a technology skill, you don’t just want an overview, but someone going in depth,” she said.

Those who watch an entire course on lynda.com earn a certification of completion, which may be used to highlight someone’s career development, James explained. She encourages employees to use lynda.com to keep up with the latest software and technology.

Myra Yarbray, an administrative assistant at University Testing Services, has been using lynda.com to learn the essentials of Microsoft Access while picking up new skills on software that she already knows well. Yarbray has been taking advantage of the short instructional segments on lynda.com — ranging from just a few seconds to several minutes for each course — when she has the time.

“When I have those down times, it’s easy to pull up lynda.com and learn,” she said.

Those with access to lynda.com may watch its online tutorials 24/7 from a PC, laptop or mobile device — including iPhones, iPads and those phones with Android operating systems. lynda.com also offers an iOS app.

Access to lynda.com is being offered as part of a collaboration with the University’s Enterprise Information Technology Services (EITS), Human Resources, and the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL). In 2013, there will be other enhancements to online training and learning at the University.

For more information about all of the online training resources available through EITS, visit the Learning and Training section of our website.