LinkedIn Learning’s material largely comes across as a glorified slideshow presentation, and this is especially true for the business content. The videos have about as much personality as any boardroom slide deck. The videos cut between a presenter (who is very obviously reading from a script) and slides. Some slides are animated, others have text. Occasionally, you’ll get a video b-roll or photo stills.
(Credit: LinkedIn Learning)
The content can still be worthwhile, however. A course on plain language writing, for example, has clear explanations for why people should write using simple and understandable words, as well as tips on how to do it.
Get Our Best Stories!
All the Latest Tech, Tested by Our Experts
By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
Thanks for signing up!
Your subscription has been confirmed. Keep an eye on your inbox!
Another course on banishing your inner critic has compelling ideas, but suffers from being overproduced. The presenter looks at the camera and says her rehearsed lines with enthusiasm, but it feels staged. She gets her points across, certainly, but nothing about it creates a lasting memory. Compare this to a MasterClass course starring Christina Aguilera. Even if you know nothing about professional singers, it’s easy to recall her vivid stories, like how she lubricates her throat during performances by eating honey. It leaves you with something memorable.
Or consider a Skillshare course with Mary Karr on memoir writing. She may say “um” and “you know” once or twice, or look away from the camera as she pulls words together, but her authenticity leaves an impression. You don’t get that from LinkedIn Learning’s teleprompter.
Some of LinkedIn Learning’s older courses are more vibrant. Ben Long, in his 2015 course on portrait photography, may read his notes when he’s outdoors talking about composition and light, but he’s noticeably more present than someone following a script word for word. EJ Hassenfratz’s class called Mograph Techniques (2015) is scripted, but he breaks in from time to time to whisper, “let me zoom in here,” while showing you a detail in how he uses his software. You get the sense that he’s with you, despite the script.
(Credit: LinkedIn Learning)
LinkedIn Learning still provides excellent coding instruction. The courses are plentiful and cater to beginners and experts alike, with classes in basic HTML and advanced C++. You can find lessons on the foundations of programming as well as specialized lessons on user interface, responsive design, and mobile app development. Teachers will be pleased to know that many tutorials, including some free ones, are specifically targeted at children.
With such a broad range of topics, not just coding, it’s no surprise LinkedIn Learning doesn’t include dedicated forums or live phone chat for all specific courses. The best you can do is leave questions under a video and hope they get answered in the comments. As a social network, though, LinkedIn already has an entire career-hungry community to tap into for help and support.
LinkedIn Learning’s coding lessons lack the helpful interactivity of services like Codecademy or Treehouse, our Editors’ Choice winners for free and paid learn-to-code courses, respectively. However, they make up for it with a much greater breadth and depth of content beyond coding for a similar monthly price.
(Credit: LinkedIn Learning)
