FIR on Higher Education #44: Deirdre Breakenridge on How to Create a Course on Lynda.com

You have probably heard of Lynda.com, the online education company offering thousands of video courses in software, creative and business skills. Maybe you have taken a course using the platform or heard of colleagues who are doing so. Perhaps you are aware that Lynda.com was purchased by LinkedIn for $1.5 earlier this year.

What you might not be familiar with is how to actually create a course via Lynda.com. Episode 44 of FIR on Higher Education has the answers. Deirdre Breakenridge, Chief Executive Officer at Pure Performance Communications and an adjunct professor, shares her experiences creating a media training course through Lynda.com. In the interview, she discusses the following:

* How to get the opportunity to teach a course for Lynda.com

* The production process

* Keys to keeping online course participants engaged

* The benefits for the instructor

Whether you are a traditional academic or thought leader considering how to communicate your message through online course platforms, you will want to learn from Deirdre’s experiences and best practice advice.

In our reports section, we look at how online courses can be a source of learning to address difficult social issues. Particularly, we highlight how iversity is supporting refugees through a collaboration with Kiron University.

About Deirdre Breakenridge

Deirdre K. Breakenridge is Chief Executive Officer at Pure Performance Communications. A veteran in PR and marketing, Breakenridge has counseled senior level executives at organizations including the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, Blue Star Veterans Network, Hershey’s, JVC, Kraft, PRSA and Marketwired.

Breakenridge is the author of five Financial Times books. Her most recent book, “Social Media and Public Relations: Eight New Practices for the PR Professional,” was published in May 2012 and available in print and all digital formats. Her other books include, “Putting the Public Back in Public Relations,”  “PR 2.0, New Media, New Tools, New Audiences,” “The New PR Toolkit” and “Cyberbranding: Brand Building in the Digital Economy.”

Breakenridge is an adjunct professor at New York University (NYU), an online instructor for UMASS at Amherst Journalism Department, and she speaks nationally and internationally on the topics of PR, marketing and social media communications. She is a Lynda.com author with a 30-video course on the Fundamentals of Public Relations.