Clark University faculty, students, and staff now have free access to more than 20,000 expert-led courses through LinkedIn Learning, an on-demand platform that teaches skills across a variety of subjects.
LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com) features video tutorials on in-demand business skills, creative skills, and technology, as well as custom learning content to help users achieve their personal and professional goals. The platform offers convenient classes tailored to each user’s interests, whether those include a 3-minute video on time management or an in-depth learning path on how to become a small business owner.
Members of the campus community can now access LinkedIn Learning through Clark’s website.
“I think it’s going to be a game-changer for us,” says Becky Frieden, director of Administrative Information Services for Information Technology Services at Clark. “It’s a great resource that will continue to make us competitive and give our students an edge.”
As the COVID-19 pandemic shifts how classes are taught and disrupts summer internship and research opportunities, LinkedIn Learning will help students continue to gain new, in-demand skills and knowledge. Donna Curry, senior executive director of Clark’s Career Connections Center, says students will be able to supplement and amplify what they’re already learning with courses related to their academic studies and interests outside the classroom.
“Clark students are entrepreneurial, innovative, and active learners,” she says. “I envision our students taking advantage of this on-demand resource to bring their knowledge and skills to the next level.”
With LinkedIn Learning, users can set weekly goals, track their progress, and identify desired skills to see content tailored to their interests. Courses are categorized into “Business,” “Creative,” and “Technology,” and further sorted by “Subject,” “Software,” and “Learning Paths.” Video tutorials are available in a variety of languages, with each taught by a native speaker.
In addition to marketable software skills like Adobe Photoshop and InDesign, Microsoft Excel, and Google Analytics, users can learn soft skills like networking and effective listening. LinkedIn Learning also offers modules around personal development, including stress reduction.
Curry says the platform should become a go-to resource in every student’s toolkit. The Career Connections Center plans to incorporate LinkedIn Learning into its advising model, as it has done with other key enterprise resources like Handshake and ClarkCONNECT. The Center also is looking forward to linking content to its current programs, including the “Ready, Set, Get Hired” and “Industry Insight” webinar series.
The platform will also make it easier for faculty to build career competencies into their courses.
With grant support from the Arthur Vining Davis Foundation, Clark is in the process of evaluating where it can enhance career readiness for students. Laurie Ross, associate dean and director of the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, says LinkedIn Learning will help fill those gaps.
“LinkedIn Learning has a lot of curated sets of courses, so it will be easy for faculty to find what they need and build it into their classes,” she says. “Because we’re now oriented to online, it’s a nice time to do online learning. With LinkedIn Learning, there’s documentation you completed courses, so students will be able to show on their résumés, directly, the things they’ve learned. They’re completing their coursework, but they’re also getting these extra credentials.”
Users will be able to add skills directly into their LinkedIn profiles, while administrators will be able to gain insight into what skills faculty, students, and staff are developing through the platform.
“In this time of COVID-19, it’s more important than ever for our students to be able to say, ‘I have a powerful liberal arts education and I can confidently demonstrate to employers that I am career-ready,’” Ross says.
