Saturday Tech Focus: A Library Card and a Tech Dream

A Library Card and a Tech Dream

Over the past week, I had the pleasure of having two separate extended conversations with tech professionals.  One is a network administrator for the New York City Department of Education; the other, a former New York City elected official who now owns and operates his own boutique web development and design firm.  During both conversations we talked about tech and how it is a field that requires personal commitment to continued education.

lynda-logoBoth individuals mentioned popular training website – acquired by Linkedin last year – Lynda.com. Lynda.com was founded in 1995 by Lynda Weinman and Bruce Heavin and specializes in online training and education in the fields of web development, programming, IT, media production, business and more.  

There are many other similar websites.  Coursera.org finds itself on the higher end of the online tech training spectrum by collaborating with big name universities (Duke University, University of Michigan, Princeton University, and Stanford…to name a few) and offering various certificates (some colleges even honor these certificates as credit towards a computer science/engineering degree) and capstone projects, which allow trainees to build a professional portfolio to help land their first tech job.  Some other popular training sites are: udemy.com, teamtreehouse.com, the Microsoft Virtual Academy; or, w3schools.  There are dozens of others that also exist on the internet.

new-york-public-library-new-logo1So what is so special about Lynda.com?  Well, how about the fact that it is free to any New Yorker with an active New York Public Library card!  Sound like a good deal?  Good, because it is.  Get your library card ready (apply here) and head to Lynda.com. And that’s all there is to it.  

I floated an idea to the two men I spoke with this past week: that we take the same online course, meet up weekly to discuss progress and help each other clarify challenging content areas.  Sort of like a book club, but for online tech training. Together, we can obtain some of the face-to-face time and collaborative learning opportunity that is sadly missing from online training.  Both persons agreed that this is a good way to mitigate the downside of online learning.

If you are interested in joining our “book club,” send me an email at Giuffre@protonmail.com and I will be sure to include you as we move forward.

Rob Giuffre is a Network+ and A+ certified computer/network technician and sole owner of RatCat Computers. Call 347-538-6231 for a free quote and to schedule a service appointment for any computer or network issue.  We appreciate, respect and value all of our clients

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