LYNDA'S PLANS: Lynda's long been popular among businesses and art schools as the destination to pick up skills for a seemingly endless array of software--from Adobe to ZBrush. We chatted with co-founder Lynda Weinman (yep, the Lynda), an admitted EdSurge fan whose watching edtech developments very closely. "We're very driven by what's changing technology and what's changing the world," says Weinman. "Our courses are geared more towards teachers and staff, but students who need to use PowerPoint or such to do their projects find it useful as well."
With roughly 500 K-12 schools signed up so far, the company is looking to expand the numbers by offering courses related to the latest edtech trends. On the drawing board are courses on e-learning fundamentals that will cover BYOD and iPads, along with more product-specific that cover things like iBook, Desire2Learn, and Canvas. The platform currently allows schools to set up reporting features that allow administrators to see what individual students or faculty are watching, how long they're watching, along with online certificates of completion that can be shared with others.
Lynda also recently hired a new CTO, Frits Habermann of PopCap Games, best known for addictive (and carpal tunnel-inducing) games like Plants vs. Zombies and Bejeweled. If there's anyone who knows how to drive growth and user engagement, it's him.
