5 Lessons from Learning on LinkedIn
I start a new role tomorrow and had a WHOLE month off to learn. During that time, I did some passive learning and writing, and I also completed 8 LinkedIn Learning courses. :-)
Here are 5 ways to make the most of LinkedIn Learning, given its constraints:
- Own your learning. Set goals beyond completion, things you want to be able to do in real life asap. Ground learning in Reality. Avoid shiny courses. Machine learning is sexy, but going back to courses on Excel helped me a ton in remembering how to use arrays. In turn, this reminded me of how Excel expressions compare to those in Python (and how similar pivot tables are to Tableau). Refresher courses are amazing!
- Reframe lectures or explanations to fit you. One Python course assumed sound knowledge of object-oriented programming. I took Javascript 10 years ago but remember little. The instructor didn’t explain much, which forced me to do A TON of knowledge building outside the course, reviewing Python dictionaries and the basics around object-oriented programming to remember how to structure functions and classes. This helped me a lot in my understanding. My Python beginner notes, putting the things I learned into my own words.
- Apply your learning to real life immediately. I took a Tableau Essential Training course and loved using real data. I played with education datasets I found on Chicago’s open data portal, data familiar to my domain. I made a great visualization of literacy/numeracy data from a series of schools I knew well in Chicago. Don’t consume and regurgitate. The best adult learning happens when you use that knowledge to do something useful.
- Allow time to reflect. The Go-To-Market Strategy course asked great questions, provoking the learner to reflect and apply their new knowledge. But, I wasn’t encouraged to reflect often. I wrote notes to myself and questions to myself to mitigate this. I stopped the course and started researching my ideas when they came to me, which enabled me to better understand the course.
- Encourage yourself to learn socially. Humans learn socially! I am an interactor and need more group and peer learning. This is lacking on LinkedIn. I want to collaborate, be accountable, and share what I create. If possible, take courses with team members or people in your field to help learning stick. I relied a lot on my husband and while he’s a great teacher/learner himself, I’m sure he would’ve liked if I had other people to talk to about the courses!
Really curious to know other courses you've liked or come across. What has been worth your time?