Don't know how to use Photoshop? There's a video for that.
From learning the basics of Microsoft Office to developing a fully functional Flash website, users of lynda.com can gain access to more than one thousand online video tutorials at their fingertips.
And now, so can anyone with a GatorLink account.
UF Information Technology has partnered with lynda.com, also known as the Online Training Library, for the 2011-12 academic school year. UF students, faculty and staff will be able to gain full access to the site by logging in with their GatorLink username and password.
Lynda.com currently has 1,124 courses with titles ranging from Microsoft Excel to Adobe InDesign. Through UF's one-year pilot program, GatorLink account holders can gain unlimited access to lynda.com and view any of their tutorials for free.
The lynda.com project was proposed last year by Bruce Floyd, UF's social media specialist. It's one of six projects funded by UF's Student Technology Fee, which was implemented by the Florida Legislature in 2009 to enhance instructional technology resources.
"Aside from the computer-based stuff, lynda.com can teach you how to update your resume and make an effective PowerPoint," Floyd said.
UF is not the only institution to introduce the online library. Other schools, such as Yale University, and companies like Google and Amazon also use the site.
"It's a quick way to get started using complex pieces of software," said David Carlson, a professor of new media journalism and the executive director for the Center for Media Innovation and Research. "I think it provides a lot of opportunities to learn skills you may not already have or to further develop ones you do have."
Lynda.com can be used anywhere that has Internet access, but GatorLink account holders must access the site through UFIT's website, it.ufl.edu.
Depending on its first-year performance, lynda.com may be available in upcoming school years.
"I'm really thrilled that the university has provided this tool for us," Carlson said. "It's really a great thing."
