Free learning has never been more accessible. The ability to gain professional skills and knowledge is at your fingertips. There are handfuls of free learning sources where you can get in-depth courses for any topic. Whether this be software development, UI/UX design, digital marketing, project management, entrepreneurship, or something else, there's bound to be a course for you.
If you're new to the online learning world, you'll soon be wondering why you have not been utilizing these valuable resources. Endless information is out there, you just have to know how to find it.
Lynda.com is a LinkedIn online learning company that makes learning business, technology, software development, and creative skills available to anyone. This leading resource is aimed to help you achieve your personal and professional goals. With more than 8,300 courses and 250,000 video tutorials, you have access to endless engaging courses that are taught by experts of the topic.
Lynda makes it easy for you to find what you're looking for. Split into categories, you can choose from topics like business, design, developer, IT, marketing, web, video, and more. If you're looking for something more specific, you can also drop it in the search bar.
Let's say you're trying to learn more about user interface and user experience design. So, you enter "UX/UI design" in the search bar. What results do you get? You're provided with a variety of learning materials like a course titled, "Adobe XD for Designers" and a learning path titled, "Advance Your Skills in UX Design."
If you're open to gaining some new knowledge but don't know what about, you can also browse "popular learning paths." Not able to finish your desired course all at once? Don't worry. The courses you don't get the chance to finish stay in your "continue watching" section so you're able to easily jump back in where you left off. Another helpful feature is "my playlists", where you can save courses that you're interested in for later.
To make your experience even better, the available courses are ranked to let you know how intricate the information covered is before you start watching. The possible ranks include beginner, intermediate, and advanced.
I gained access to Lynda by signing up for a free eCard at my local library, Toledo Lucas County Library.
Made possible by an agreement between Lynda.com and local libraries, you are granted full access to Lynda.com by simply having a library membership. You can access this resource on library-owned computers as well as off-site alternatives when you log in with your library card credentials.
The next generation of Lynda.com, LinkedIn Learning, is a personalized, easy to use, new experience of online learning. This upgraded option includes insights from LinkedIn to help you succeed in your professional role. Along with your favorite Lynda.com courses, LinkedIn Learning offers a more personal and data-driven approach. With the addition of new features such as analytics at a glance, Q&A, and learning groups, LinkedIn Learning makes it easier for you to access the information you need.
As a part of YouTube, channels are another great resource for online learning, available at no cost to you. YouTube channels are split into preset categories such as best of Youtube, comedy, sports, and more. If you're looking for professional related skills, it may be more effective to utilize the search bar.
Let's say you're looking for ways to improve your business's digital marketing. When you search “digital marketing” under browse channels, dozens of related results appear. For example, the top results for this search include the following videos: "Pay Per Click with Google Ads - Learn About Online Marketing, Digital Marketing Strategies - 8 Biggest Mistakes to Avoid, and The Difference Between Digital Marketing and Traditional Advertising."
You can further narrow your search results by applying filters. These filters include upload date, type, duration, features, and sort by.
Continuous learning is important for your personal and professional success. Don't be afraid to dive in to the thousands of courses made easily available to you for free.
The collection of online learning sources doesn't stop here. Other free resources include Microsoft Learn, Codecademy, Coursera, and more. Don't stop searching until you find a source that is valuable to you and your learning desires.
Looking for further direction that can't be found through these learning services? Reach out to a professional in the field. For questions related to software development, our experts at WynHouse are happy to help!
