With thousands of opportunities available through LinkedIn Learning, faculty, staff and students are expanding their knowledge, delving into a hobby or earning a certification.
LinkedIn Learning is a 24/7 online resource that gives you choices for professional and personal development that works for you — all on your own timeline, at your own speed and for free as an Ohio State benefit.
“To me, as a lifelong learner, it’s remarkable to see how people have been increasingly leveraging this tool for microlearning and exploring different topics,” said Erica Banta, director of Digital Learning Solutions at Ohio State who leads the university-wide program as part of Human Resources. “You can watch a quick video — like you would on a social media site — but it provides value to your own development, support resources and additional recommendations. It can be for your job or just something you really love and have a passion for it.”
LinkedIn Learning has more than 18,000 online courses — with 30 to 70 new offerings added weekly. Completed courses can be documented on your BuckeyeLearn transcript and, for certain courses, as a badge on your personal LinkedIn profile.
Ways to use LinkedIn Learning are abundant. Remote teams are using it for team-building. Professors identify courses as prep work to prepare for the semester. Students gravitate towards career-readiness topics like finding a new job, resume building and interview tips. And there has been an increased interest in courses related to music production, video editing and graphic design on Canva.
Here are some ways LinkedIn Learning is inspiring Buckeyes to step outside their comfort zone, challenge themselves and expand their skills.
Dr. Michael Patrick, center, has utilized LinkedIn Learning courses as a tool in his teaching.
Strengthening medical communication skills
Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, Michael Patrick, an associate professor of pediatrics in the College of Medicine who also works in the emergency department at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, was seeking emotional intelligence training opportunities for his division. He first came across LinkedIn Learning while trying to find ideas for training medical professionals in how to better communicate during a crisis situation and how to cultivate empathy for families facing difficult situations.
Patrick appreciates the engaging and interactive nature of LinkedIn Learning, and enjoys the ability to pick and choose modules to tailor the curriculum to the particular needs and goals of each class or student. Eventually, he’d like to integrate the offerings into his syllabus.
“It’s really great, up-to-date materials, and all the modules are vetted by experts,” Patrick says. “It’s updated instantaneously, unlike a traditional textbook.”
On his own time, Patrick has explored LinkedIn Learning courses on artificial intelligence. Patrick believes doctors who learn to use AI — and many already are, in preparing things like discharge summaries and patient education summaries — will have an advantage over those who don’t. And as part of his role as medical director of digital health for Nationwide Children’s Hospital, he often uses AI resources such as ChatGPT to prepare for media interviews and recording podcast episodes.
“LinkedIn Learning is a really great resource, and I hope the university continues to support it,” Patrick says.
Fortifying cybersecurity protections
Reg Jackson works as a security engineer on the university’s cybersecurity team, in the Digital Security and Trust department. Part of his role involves educating users, engineers and administrators on best practices to avoid unnecessary security risks.
“Everybody plays a part in security. If it’s not a collective defense, we fall somewhere,” Jackson says.
In the cybersecurity department, LinkedIn Learning provides application developers with strict guidelines, education and techniques to stay trained and up to date on the specific language they write. Before the university licensed LinkedIn Learning for use across the institution, Jackson would contract with an outside vendor, at a cost of several thousands of dollars, for required compliance. Now his managers assign developers specific secure training course requirements to complete through LinkedIn and monitor progress through BuckeyeLearn.
“Not only is it great education, really good and deep for engineers, it’s trackable. It’s assignable,” Jackson says.
Jackson uses LinkedIn Learning on a personal level to get a better handle on technical concepts, allowing him to communicate more effectively with the developers on his team.
Amplifying career trajectories
LinkedIn Learning has become an invaluable resource for Ohio State University Administrative Professionals (OSUAP), a volunteer organization with members from across the university committed to ongoing professional and leadership development and networking for administrative staff.
As that organization’s outgoing president, Heidi Hamblin praises LinkedIn Learning offerings for sharpening skills for not only current professional roles but also with career growth in mind. Hamblin works as a client services administrative specialist for the Ohio Supercomputer Center.
With Ohio State’s Career Roadmap, the university’s classification framework for staff jobs and pay, staff and faculty are able to consider a big-picture career trajectory within the university. Hamblin suggests staff reference the job catalog in Workday and the to learn the requirements of different job levels, then search for the LinkedIn Learning classes that fulfill those requirements. Doing so can help candidates better position themselves for a promotion.
“I love my job, I love the breadth and flexibility of my role at OSC,” Hamblin says, “but if I were ever to look for a different job in the future, I’d be looking to use LinkedIn Learning to bolster skills that could help me move up a level in my next position.”
Hamblin has completed various project management and Excel courses to fulfill her department’s professional development objectives. When searching LinkedIn Learning offerings, she tends to filter by courses that offer certifications. Through OSUAP, the Executive Committee would love to one day launch a certification program powered by LinkedIn Learning. Participants could hone professional development skills and become certified in areas such as time management, interpersonal skills, communication skills and Microsoft Office programs.
How it works
LinkedIn Learning offers beginner, intermediate and advanced videos, many of which run 10 minutes or less. There also are in-depth courses, running 25 minutes to several hours in length with worksheets and materials available to download.
LinkedIn Learning also provides professional learning paths, which are bundled courses around certain topics.
Offerings are divided into three main learning objectives: business, technology and creative. Within those objectives are any number of topics that can be sorted and filtered.
For instance, the business umbrella includes classes on career development, career management, job searching, personal branding and a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion section. Under technology, learners will find classes on software development, data management and cybersecurity. And in the creative section, users can peruse video editing, motion graphics, audio, music, animation, illustration and more.
For more information, visit the LinkedIn Learning section on HR Connection.
Most popular LinkedIn Learning classes at Ohio State
- Excel Essentials Training Microsoft 365
- Project Management Foundations
- Six Sigma Greenbelt
- Managing Multiple Projects
- Communicating with Confidence
Most Active Colleges/Units
- College of Medicine
- James Cancer Center
- Office of Academic Affairs
Five Unexpected Course Offerings
- Master Key to Overcoming Procrastination
- Transforming Presentations with Cinematic Effects with PowerPoint
- Write a Bestselling Novel in 15 Steps
- How to Create a Perfect Elevator Pitch
- Learning to Be Assertive