I have spent years working with computers and have enough general knowledge that I can usually sit down and work my way through the basic functions of most programs without having to use the manuals or without any special training. This is good and bad. The good is that I can immediately be productive on the application. The bad is that I seldom learn all the capabilities or am able to take full advantage of an application functions.
Recently I decided to do something to change this situation. After research of on-line training I decided to subscribe to Lynda.coms monthly on-line training library plan. The monthly plan is $25 per month for full access to Lynda.coms on-line training library. This plan doesnt offer access to the exercise files, but there are other plans available which do. The other plans include:
- Annual – $250 per year (does not offer exercise files). Same as monthly plan except a discount a 20% discount for annual membership.
- Premium – $375 per year (includes exercise files)
One of the reasons I chose Lynda.com was the variety and quality of the training library. There are over 11,000 quicktime training videos in the library and all that I have observed have been extremely well done and easy to understand.
Lynda.coms on-line training library includes most applications by Adobe, Apple, Corel, Macromedia, Microsoft, and Quark, and general topics such as digital photography, networking, web design, animation, design principles, and even Google search principles.
The QuickTime training videos are broken into logical segments that cover specific functions or features of the application or subject matter. These segments progress smoothly from one to the other and are for the most part under 15 minutes long. This makes it easy to break your training into small bite-size sessions. Most subjects start at the very basics level and then proceeds up to intermediate level. If theirs one thing I would like to see it would be an additional advance level beyond their current offerings. But I understand that this would probably have a much more limited audience. I must admit that while sitting through some of the basic videos I picked up on some points I didnt know. So even if you feel youre beyond the beginner level it may be to your advantage to watch the basic videos.
Over all, I would give Lynda.coms on-line training library an excellent review. With the monthly plan you can easily subscribe for a couple of months and brush up you skills in those applications or areas you feel you need. Since this library is available 27/7 it should fit anyones schedule. The only things required are a PC or MAC with Apple QuickTime for viewing the video’s. I would also recommend a high speed Internet connection.
Maintaining a long-term subscription would depend upon how quickly Lynda.com updates and adds new material to this training library.
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