LINKEDIN LEARNING (REFLECTION NO. 4 IN GPSOTE GED109 2S2020-21)

First, I would like to express my gratitude to the Academic Leaders and Administrators of National Teachers College for giving us the privilege to access (for P720.00 only) thousands of video lectures that can provide us with a massive and comprehensive amount of information, knowledge, ideas, and skills. Moreover, the instructors and designers of these learning courses are very well-known speakers, educators, and professionals of their respective fields and talents. There is a variety of videos in LinkedIn Learning that caught my interests, so I decided to commit myself to watch a video lecture that deepened my understanding and widened my horizon as regards to the world of professional development.

Personally, I am so amazed with the Vision and Mission statements of LinkedIn Corp. In their website, LinkedIn Corp. shared its Vision statement, which is to create economic opportunity for every member of the global workforce, and its Mission statement, which is to connect the world’s professionals to make them more productive and successful. LinkedIn Corp. helps professionals, organizations, and companies to connect with each other and build a network by providing them an online space where they can interact.

Of course, their goal to create opportunities for each individual professional have become more real when they acquired Lynda.com, an online learning company that provides opportunities for people who wanted to advance their skills and knowledge (LinkedIn Corporate Communications, 2015). Historically, LinkedIn Learning started after Microsoft Corp. acquired LinkedIn Corp (Weiner, 2016). Microsoft Corp. and LinkedIn Corp upgraded Lynda.com into LinkedIn Learning (LinkedIn, 2017).

LinkedIn Learning is an online learning platform just like Mindvalley, Coursera, TedX, and EdX. It is a great tool to enhance the career growth of those professionals who would like to upgrade their skills and explore other fields of interests that can boost their confidence and increase their micro credentials. After completing each course, you will receive a certificate which proves that you finished watching all the videos and assessments (If any) required.

LinkedIn Learning is an example of technological innovation that provides opportunities for people to grow and get out of their comfort zone through exploring new ideas and skills that they can use to keep up with the changes of the fast-pacing world. Professionals should have an open mind to become flexible to the demand of change and reinvent themselves with innovative skills. Successful Companies and corporations have been adapting to the changes brought by technological innovations, so we must accept the fact that our job will not be exempted. We will be directly affected by these changes and innovations. Hence, we need to prepare ourselves by practicing the concept of lifelong learning.

I believe that Lifelong Learning is the concept and message that LinkedIn Learning would like to deliver to us. LinkedIn Learning unlocks a door of opportunities for every professional to continue their learning and to not be contented with what they have.

CONTENTMENT. That is the weakness of many employees today. A lot of them are already contented with their position and monthly salary. They do not have the drive to do more and become more. Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying that we should be very aggressive and compete against everyone. That is not the case here. The main point here is to extend the extra mile and effort to develop ourselves. When we try to do things out of the ordinary by reinventing ourselves through learning new skills and ideas, people become inspires to do the same as well. Thus, we are not just able to uplift ourselves but also the current situation of the other people.

We do not just pursue professional development for the sake of our selfish ambitions. We take the path of growth because by doing so we are able to convey the message to the people that we can get out of our comfort zone and initiate change in our society by inspiring and encouraging other through our actions to become better and improve our situation. Thus, we create a place for the next generation where they can observe growth without being afraid to take the first step because the previous generation proved that it’s possible.

I believe that this this the kind of society that LinkedIn Corp. aims to achieve. Through LinkedIn Learning, people are able to take the first step to get out of their comfort zone, reinvent themselves, and become innovative.

Sources/References:

- LinkedIn Corporate Communications (2015, April 9). LinkedIn to Acquire lynda.com. LinkedIn Pressroom. Available at: https://news.linkedin.com/2015/linkedin-to-acquire-lyndacom

- Weiner, J. (2016, December 8). LinkedIn + Microsoft: Our Next Play Begins. LinkedIn. Available at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/linkedin-microsoft-our-next-play-begins-jeff-weiner/

- LinkedIn Learning Staff Instructor (2017, October 20). Introduction to the upgrade. Lynda.com. Available at: https://www.lynda.com/Business-tutorials/Introduction-upgrade/675718/676063-4.html