W&M campus has access to on-demand video instruction

by Tami Back, Swem Library | October 7, 2013

Let the learning begin: W&M students, faculty, and staff now have access to lynda.com, an online subscription library that teaches the latest software tools and skills through high-quality instructional videos taught by recognized industry experts.

By logging into lynda.com, the campus community can access more than 1,400 training videos on a broad range of subjects, including business skills, photography, design, music and video, home computing, animation and web design and development. New courses are added every week.

Access the lynda.com library from your iPhone, iPad, Android device or mobile phone and watch entire courses or single tutorial videos as you need them. Create multiple playlists and organize your courses.

This resource is available to the entire campus community due to the support of Swem Library, Information Technology and Human Resources.

Faculty can use lynda.com to support instruction and to leverage class time for hands-on projects and collaborative learning. This can be especially helpful for faculty adopting a flipped classroom model, in which homework can consist of online video content while class time is reserved for concept mastery and one-to-one assistance.

“Instead of spending class time teaching software tools, faculty can send students to lynda.com for in-depth instruction. When students bring their projects to class, they can spend more time collaborating or critiquing each other’s work,” said Dean of University Libraries Carrie Cooper.

Lynda.com is also a valuable tool for staff development. Because lynda.com is available anytime, employees can train at their own pace when it is convenient for them. In addition, they can watch full courses or view short portions for quick answers to specific questions.

“Lynda.com extends the reach of training beyond what Human Resources can provide. The wide variety of courses and the just-in-time learning opportunities add real value to the professional development efforts on campus,” said Babs Bengston, director of training and development.

Learn more about lynda.com in this short video.

Need help getting started? Check out the lynda.com guide and mobile access guide.