Over roughly four years, Swarthmore has used Lynda.com videos to expand our knowledge.  A quick glance through the courses completed suggests that folks use Lynda for class-related activity the most (great!) — but peeking at the long tail of courses shows that we are well-rounded and might even have fun, too (see: Ethical Hacking, YouTube for Musicians, Understanding Patents, Insights from a  Professional Songwriter, and Learn Instagram: The Basics.

Let’s take a look at the historical data.  In our first year (2013-2014 — the one where we wore wigs and glasses to look like the logo), we had 739 users, 14,142 videos viewed, and 76 courses completed.  In 2014-2015 we added 202 new users, watched 12,311 videos, and completed 76 more courses.  In 2015-2016 we added 200 new users, watched 13,218 videos, and completed a whopping 123 courses.  In 2016-2017 we added 157 more users, watched 8265 videos, and completed 80 courses.

The top three courses of each year are as follows:

• 2013-2014: Premiere Pro CC Essentials, HTML Essentials, and Foundations of Programming.
• 2014-2015: Revit Architecture 2015, InDesign CC Essentials, and Ruby on Rails 4 Essentials.
• 2015-2016: Gmail Essentials, Google Drive Essentials, and Photoshop CC Essentials.
• 2016-2017: HTML Essentials, Java Essentials, and WordPress Essentials.

It’s clear that as things change around campus, you all are taking the time to keep up with all that is going on.  This echoes a recent call with the team at Lynda, who reported that Swarthmore’s usage of the suite of videos is exception in comparison to other schools.  Keep it up!

So, as times change, how will you continue using Lynda?  Did you know that you can bookmark videos?  Click on transcripts to jump to the *exact* portion you want to watch?  Make playlists for yourself (and others)?  Now that Lynda is part of LinkedIn (which is part of Microsoft), there are some nice synergies with sharing your skills and certificates of completion on your LinkedIn profile.

Have tips for your colleagues here?  Using Lynda in a different way?  Let us know, so we can help share your story.