Students in the College of Communication could have an easier time learning how to use various software programs, such as Photoshop, thanks to a new tutorial website.

Director of Digital Media Andrew Chavez said the website, lynda.com, has been available since the start of the spring semester for students in the College of Communication. An account on the website is free for students in the college, he said.

According to the website, lynda.com has training videos for software from Adobe, Apple, Microsoft and other companies.

Chavez said the contract with the website would allow students to use a different resource that would help them learn about different software programs.

Sophomore strategic communication major Sandy Jacquez said she thought lynda.com was very helpful, especially in helping her learn how to use the program InDesign.

“I learn much more through visuals,” she said. “Watching someone go through the entire [process] again besides the in-class lecture was very helpful.”

Steve Levering, an instructor in the Schieffer School of Journalism, said students have not used the website very much. But he said he suspects students will use lynda.com more as they have projects later in the semester.

Levering said he thought the website was great for students trying to learn new software and provided a refresher for professors, as well. The website, also, would save money because students would not have to buy textbooks to learn how to use the programs, he said.

Broc Sears, a lecturer in the Schieffer School of Journalism, said the website was also a time-saver for professors.

For students with questions regarding something already taught in class, Sears said he directs them to the website.

“Instead of taking 10 minutes out of my lecture to focus [on] just one student’s needs and make 14 other students wait, I can continue with the lecture and that student can go off on her own and get assistance,” he said.

Chavez said the contract with lynda.com was experimental and that he did not know whether the contract would be extended to the other colleges. The contract with the website will expire at the end of the calendar year, he said.