Lynda.com features some great Joomla training videos and now lyndaLibrary makes free access to lynda.com available at many US libraries.

Salsa Dancing > GoPro Camera > lynda.com > Public Library > Joomla Training Videos... it's all connected.

This story starts at Salsa Salsa Dance Studio in Brooklyn, New York. At the end of each turn-patterns class, one couple from the class generally performs the routine that was taught, so that other students can video the step sequence with their smartphones for review and practice at home. Just after I recorded two dancers, my dance instructor came over and asked me questions about the GoPro camera I was using. I told him I had only scratched the surface in understanding its capabilities, but I already love it, and that I am going through a great video on lynda.com trying to learn more about GoPro photography. That is when he told me that he had heard the Brooklyn Public Library made access to lynda.com free to library members.

I maintain a Premium Annual Membership to lynda.com because next to live classroom training, my favorite way to learn Joomla, JQuery, and other tech subjects is with videos. So I found the thought of free lynda.com access very exciting and could not wait to confirm this and share it with the members of my Joomla website studies group. Well it turns out that yes, members of the Brooklyn Public Library can indeed use their BPL membership to access Lynda.com, even from their home computers. So I checked further and found this from a press release on Lynda.com:

"Online learning leader, lynda.com announced today the launch of lyndaLibrary, aimed at the more than 120,000 public libraries in the US, lyndaLiabrary gives patrons unlimited off-site access to lynda.com's entire collection of award-winning video tutorials teaching business, technical and creative skills – anytime, anywhere."

lynda.com features more than 3,000 courses taught by industry experts and I use it for many subjects beside Joomla.

List of Joomla Courses on lynda.com

Here is a list of the Joomla Courses sorted by release date (newest first). Authors Laura Gordon, Jen Kramer, and Joseph LeBlanc have all produced excellent courses.

1. Joomla! 3.3 Essentials: Modules, Components, Extensions, and Templates with Jen Kramer (duration 2h 30m)
2. Joomla! 3.3 Essentials: Working with Content with Jen Kramer (4h 11m)
3. Migrating from Joomla! 2.5 to Joomla! 3.3 with Jen Kramer (1h 32m)
4. Installing and Running Joomla! 3: Local and Web-Hosted Sites with Jen Kramer (1h 27m)
5. Joomla! 3 Essential Training with Jen Kramer (9h 41m)
6. Templating with Joomla! 3 and Bootstrap with Jen Kramer (5h 8m)
7. Adding Dynamic Functionality to Your Joomla! Site with Laura Gordon (3h 37m)
8. Joomla! 2.5 Essential Training with Jen Kramer (8h 30m)
9. Joomla! 1.7 and Joomla! 2.5: Access Control Lists in Depth with Jen Kramer (3h 13m)
10. Joomla! 1.7: Programming and Packaging Extensions with Joseph LeBlanc (5h 25m)
11. Joomla! 1.5 Essential Training with Joseph LeBlanc (3h 10m)

You should check out if lynda.com is available through your local library. Maybe you will be as fortunate as we Brooklynites. There are some differences between a paid subscription and free Library access like the ability to download courses onto my iPad for offline access like when I'm riding the NY Subway trains, so I will probably keep my paid subscription.

Another very recent development to watch is that LinkedIn announced on April 9, 2015 that it was acquiring lynda.com for 1.5 billion dollars. The press release said:

“The mission of LinkedIn and the mission of lynda.com are highly aligned. Both companies seek to help professionals be better at what they do.”

There are some FAQs on lynda.com regarding the linking of lynda.com and LinkedIn accounts. For example, you can integrate your lynda.com course completion certificates with your LinkedIn profile. More announcements about their plans will be made after the acquisition is completed. It will be interesting to see how this evolves.

Happy Learning!
Stewart Newfeld

References:

Brooklyn Public Library (BPL) is pleased to offer its cardholders access to lynda.com's library of instructional videos.
http://www.bklynlibrary.org/lynda

PRESS RELEASE: "lynda.com Launches lyndaLibrary Offering Unlimited Off-site Patron Access to Award-Winning Courses Teaching Business, Technical and Creative Skills"
http://www.lynda.com/press/pressrelease?id=4063

PRESS RELEASE: "LinkedIn to Acquire lynda.com"
https://press.linkedin.com/site-resources/news-releases/2015/linkedin-to-acquire-lyndacom

Joomla Training course listings on Lynda.com
http://www.lynda.com/Joomla-training-tutorials/245-0.html

Wall Street Journal: "LinkedIn to Buy Career-Skills Educator Lynda.com for $1.5 Billion"
http://www.wsj.com/articles/linkedin-to-buy-career-skills-educator-for-1-5-billion-1428583116

FAQs on Lynda.com regarding lynda.com and LinkedIn
http://www.lynda.com/support/faq.aspx?category=288&faq=4566