Is it worth your time and money to subscribe to LinkedIn Learning? If your job or life demand that you learn software applications that instructional designers use, then you will probably be interested in this LinkedIn Learning review. If you need to expand your design, business or programming skills, this review is also relevant.
I’d been a subscriber to the Lynda.com training library for years and their courses have now been transferred to LinkedIn Learning. There were many times in the past when I found their software courses to be a life saver, such as when working under tight deadlines with little time to learn something new.
There’s nothing like sitting in a coffee shop with your laptop, sipping a latte, eating pastries (only the healthy ones) while learning advanced techniques in Storyline, Photoshop, Illustrator with LinkedIn Learning’s excellent online software tutorials.
For a reasonable monthly fee and no long-term commitment required, LinkedIn Learning gives you access to all of their well-designed courses. These tutorials teach how to use a wide variety of software programs as well as delving into topics like: gamification, web development, business, design, game design, photography, and audio and video production.
The Best Features of LinkedIn Learning
To start this LinkedIn Learning review, here are the positive features of the service.
- The courses are organized into short segments.
Even though many courses are long, they are organized into short lesson segments. A particular lesson might only last five minutes. That means you can use the courses to quickly learn one procedure. Or you can use the courses for comprehensive training. I often go there just to get the answer to one problem. I have heard complaints that the courses are dull. Since I use them in short increments, that’s not my typical experience. - Most courses are instructionally sound.
I’ve found that the software tutorials use effective instructional strategies. They progress in a systematic fashion, use realistic examples, are organized logically, and assume the intelligence of the audience. Though I have come across the occasional sub-par experience, I’ve most courses are instructionally sound. And many courses provide exercise files. - The selection is broad.
LinkedIn Learning states that it offers around 13,000 courses in business, technology and creative skills. There are courses on: animation, audio, authoring tools, business, gamification, interactive design, photography, video and user experience design. The tutorials include presentation tools and eLearning applications, graphic design software, social media tools, video and audio editing packages, web design and development, iPhone apps, business applications, content management systems and many other categories. - The instructors are knowledgeable.
Most of the instructors appear to know their topics well. They teach in an informal and casual style and give you the sense that they can help you become competent in whatever you’re trying to learn. - You only need to pay for one month at a time.
Therefore, you don’t have to make a long-term commitment to LinkedIn Learning. You can pay for one month, take all the courses you need and end your relationship right there. Most likely, though, you’ll find yourself coming back for more. You can save money by paying for a full year, which is what I have done in the past. - There are a variety of subscription options.
There is also special pricing for multi-user corporate and educational options. - You can preview courses.
Most if not all courses allow you to preview a few lessons without joining. - They often have free trial promotions. When you sign up for one of these promotions, be sure to cancel within the time limit or your credit card will be charged for the next month.
A Few Things You Should Know About LinkedIn Learning
- Relevance to the Learning Industry. LinkedIn Learning continues to expand its options for tutorials needed by learning experience designers. As our field expands into social media, information design, usability and other areas, an increasing number of the tutorials become relevant. Still, I find their software tutorials to be the most valuable. The courses on other topics, such as instructional design subjects, may or may not be comprehensive.
- Specific Courses. In terms of the eLearning specific courses, you’ll find courses on Storyline, Captivate, Lectora, Camtasia and Learning Management Systems. Other related courses include HTML5, Mobile Development, Moodle, Photoshop and PowerPoint. There are tutorials on nearly all the peripheral products and topics that eLearning designers and developers might want to learn.
- Annual Plan Reduces Price. It is less expensive if you sign up for a year. The monthly charge in the U.S. is $29.99, which is reduced to $19.99 if you pay for the annual plan.
- Preventing a Charge. LinkedIn Learning has a 30-day free trial. Your membership will automatically renew at the end of your free month. Be sure to cancel at any time prior to the renewal date.
- Who Will Benefit. You will benefit from this service if you find yourself frustrated because you can’t keep up with all the skills and knowledge you need, if you find that you only use a few features of the software you own and want to expand your level of competence, and if you frequently need a quick tutorial on how to use a software feature any time of the day or night. People who have a passion for learning new applications and technologies will also benefit.
If you have anything to add to this LinkedIn Learning review, please do so in the comments below. Check out the course previews here and see what you think.
[Note: I am an affiliate for very few products and LinkedIn Learning is one of them because I think most of their software courses are high-quality.]
Hi Matt,
That’s an interesting point. I guess the courses I’ve been taking lately use both so I didn’t notice (also, I have both types of computers) or they are not software specific. I think you should definitely write to lynda.com and let them know of your concerns. It’s a pretty big deal to leave out the Windows audience and I’ve found them to be responsive. Thanks for your comment.
Connie
It’s becoming a disappointment that Lynda.com is so heavily geared towards Apple users. Many tutorials are no good to me since I use Windows. True, the teachers will talk between both platforms on many. But an equal amount of tutorials, and growing, are becoming more difficult for Windows users to follow along.
Lynda.com is a great way to learn about a lot of different subjects. They have a great library. http://www.lyndadownloader.com now helps you download their courses.
Here is where you can find the courses on python: http://www.lynda.com/search?q=python&x=0&y=0&f=meta_software_facet%3aPython
I am looking into subscribing to this.. but I do not see anywhere that the programs are available to use with the videos. For example I am looking at learning python. I see the exercises, but if it does not provide the program even a trial version it is quite pointless for me to pay money for the videos. Please someone clarify.
You can take as many courses as you want with your subscription.
Hello Friends I was thinking about signing up I wanted to do more research on this 1. I wanted to take CAD course 2. Some c++ programming course. My Question is Can I take these with one subscription or do I need to pay EXTRA.
Thank you please email at abulm3@gmail.com
Hi Mary,
I have not had any issues with the videos so I guess it must be your bandwidth. I imagine that is very frustrating. I wonder if there is a way to download the video first so it is not streaming? I suggest you contact lynda.com’s tech support to see if you can download the videos first. Perhaps Verizon can give you some advice too, like a faster modem.
Have you tried simply letting the video play in one window while doing something else and then going back to the start and watching? I wonder if it would then be in memory or in a temporary file on your hard drive. They used to have some of their courses available on DVD and probably still do. But that is an additional expense.
Finally, if you are looking for an alternative to technical/programming courses, I know you can find some of these at teamtreehouse.com.
I hope you get the technical issues straightened out.
Connie
I like the wide variety of topics. I do miss a classroom for software training, where you can see what the instructor is doing then try it yourself. I have the type of membership where you get the exercise files; I haven’t found those to add too much, so I’m thinking of going back to the more basic membership where you don’t have access to the exercise files.
Sometimes it is a little difficult to catch exactly what the instructor did or what buttons he/she clicked; sometimes I wish I had a takeaway doc with a list of some of the menus and clicks to complete the actions. For example, I’ve been watching one on Word styles, and the instructor goes through how to compare 1 style to another; I reversed and repeated several times, but never was able to duplicate it on my own. The quality of the instructors is really good.
My #1 issue is the quality of the videos. Granted, I don’t have the fastest connection in the world (3G Verizon broadband), but it is the best I can get in my area about 45 minutes outside of Austin, TX. Often the videos stop and start constantly, so this can be very frustrating. I will sometimes pause it and wait for the whole segment to load before playing, and this helps with the jarring, but it can take a long time to wait for it to queue up. I’ve tried various settings, have read the help, but to no avail.
So, overall I love Lynda.com, but if I can find another site whose video works better, I will switch. There are many other sites whose video does not do this; I don’t know enough about video to know why one site’s video works smoothly and another does not.
Hi Sarah,
Right. We often skip the terms & conditions. I’ve added this to the article so hopefully, everyone will be aware of it. Thanks for the comment.
Connie
When subscribing it actually says you will be charged a 25 dollar fee each month until you unsubscribe.. Thats why terms & conditions are meant to be read.. I hope you like the site though!
I heard from Lynda again! The customer service team lead offered Ken a free month of tutorials. Ken, if you are out there, please send me your email address through the contact form and I’ll put you in touch with the right person. Here’s what she said,
“Hello Connie,
Thank you for contacting us.
We appreciate that you reached out to us and made us aware of this member’s concern. Can you please provide me with their name and email address? I will be happy to contact them directly to reassure them that they will be able to click through our tutorials as their needs require. I would also like to offer them a 30 day extension, at no charge, for any inconvenience they have experienced due to the email notification they received. We want to make sure that they feel comfortable using our site without worry.
I look forward to hearing from you soon.”
UPDATE AUGUST 2011:
I did hear back from Lynda.com and they seem to have a decent reason for how they handled the issue. They are working on a better solution. Here’s what they said:
Dear Connie,
Thank you for contacting lynda.com. We understand your frustration and we do sincerely apologize.
Due to people violating our terms and conditions, downloading tutorials and pirating our material, we had to install a new security system.
This system is set to detect unusual viewing patterns.
The “quick clicks of high volume in a very short amount of time” is a type of viewing pattern is consistent with downloading or sharing of our videos. Downloading of our material is strictly prohibited and against our Terms and Conditions.
Also, sharing the username and password is prohibited, as our subscriptions are single-user subscriptions, opening up our services in multiple windows; these are all scenarios that flag our system.
If you are unsure of what you are looking for, there is a search option in the title box of each tutorial (on the right hand side) and each chapter is broken down into video headings.
Please review these as well as the description tab to find what you are looking for. This is a time saver versus clicking through the movies as well, and if you click to the left of the transcripts/wording, there are time stamps. If you click on the time stamp, it brings you to that exact part of the video and you can start watching the training from that point.
Again, I do understand your frustrations and can relate. We are working on fine-tuning the way our system reviews accounts to see if there is a better way to find those abusing our services.
If there is anything further I may assist you with, please do not hesitate to contact me or one of our Customer Service Representatives at 888-335-9632.
Thank you again and enjoy your day.
Best regards,
Heather
lynda.com
Customer Service Team
Hi Ken,
Thanks for letting us know about this strange situation. This does not sound like the spirit of the lynda.com I know and I will contact them about it since I recommend them highly. Of course you should be allowed to load movies quickly.
Connie
Be careful when using the account. I was paging though the movies and loading then too fast. So my account got flagged. If I do this one more time I lose my account.The CS Rep told me to find content using the transcripts and not by looking through the movies to find what I wanted to know. It is a good resource but I should be able to page through the videos without losing my account.
I paid for a year and won’t do it again. Just my humble opinion….your mileage may vary.