Transform your e-learning by choosing the right LMS

Transcription

1 Transform your e-learning by choosing the right LMS A checklist guide to help you select a system that works for you webanywhere.co.uk

2 The need to keep training up-to-date and relevant is a constant looming necessity, and if you re locked into a system that can t evolve with your company, costs will soar and inefficiencies increase. So how do you create a system that s as flexible as your business? Using our checklist guide you can determine the criteria that ll make your LMS not only fit for purpose, but future-proof.

3 In order for any commercial LMS solution to be financially viable, people will be looking for a feature-set that can support the learning development needs of their business and be used to build a statement of requirements for the potential supplier. Webanywhere has worked extensively with clients worldwide from a number of sectors who have encountered, and overcome, these issues. This document summarises some of the learning that we have acquired. We are pleased to make this information freely available to interested parties to build into their businesses. We wanted to provide a snapshot of real-life, so what follows is a guide to the top 50 tips we ve gained from working with business executives and technologists from a number of leading brands. We hope you find it useful! or workplace@webanywhere.co.uk +44 (0)

4 Learner Customisable front end Notification of mandatory courses Integration with calendars Instructional Design and Art Direction are key to engaging users Ensure users are made aware of e.g. compliance learning modules To make sure learners are in the right place at the right time Learner feedback on quality Discussion areas Contact with first line support Clean / simple interface Ability to revisit a course Automated reminders Dependable activities Customisable page templates Following a learning module you will need feedback Great for social learning which can be accessed just in time LMS users may need to quickly access support. Online chat tools provide real time support The User Interface needs to be clean and crisp. The last thing learners need is confusion that impacts the learning outcome Busy people need the ability to pause and step back into a course at their convenience Sometimes learners forget about their learning plans and automated reminders provide a means of ensuring completion Ensures learners can only finish a course without skipping steps Learners like to have the ability to personalise their own page Courses sent for manager s approval Self-enrolled e-learning Enables learners to manage their learning by requesting enrolment on particular learning modules Self- registration can accelerate platform adoption (vs. passwords) Interoperable with mobile devices The LMS must be able to be accessed from any device including tablets and smart phones

5 Trainer Accepts SCORM compliant courses SCORM provides the ability for the learning module to be tracked Ability to set group learning modules to mandatory Set hierarchies for reporting This instructs a cohort of learners to access a particular module The LMS must have the ability to easily set up hierarchies Learning modules can be set to mandatory The LMS must have the ability to easily set up hierarchies Learning has pre-requisite requirements Progressive learning allows users to only access modules once they have completed the first step Actions are automated if learner fails a learning module To capture the learner journey, you must be prepared to outline what happens if Ability to set a maximum number of attempts Forces the learner to provide an alternative solution - aids learning Learner groups can be re-assigned Much easier than assigning learning manually, one-by-one Learner groups can be re-assigned learning programmes each year Essential for compliance-based training Ability to archive learning without deleting results/history It s critical for audit purposes that historic training records are retained for a defined period

6 LMS Admin Language support for multiple languages Essential if you have an international presence Integration with Active Directory Integration with HR systems Enables much easier user management for your IT team Training records are best all in one place, most organisations prefer this to be their HR system Support for training Critical to ensure resolution of platform issues Help Desk issue reporting and tracking Ticketing systems provide ability to manage and track changes and support issues

7 Content Authoring Ability to create SCORM compliant courses SCORM compliant courses integrate with most LMS products and enable easy progress reporting Convert existing material into Flash or HTML5 Quiz tool Flash is a common format for creation of video content HTML5 is the stronger technology for mobile learning Learners must logically progress through each step of the quiz before completing their course Screen capture facility Useful for systems-based training Set Pass/Fail, completion amount, grade options Following the completion of a learning module, the completion is the action which is registered and tracked Option of both local install or cloud based for collaborative projects Locally installed software is free for your own content authoring. For collaboration a cloud based tool is better Localisation of content and accessibility LMS should cater for local and accessible content requirements (consider bandwidth issues for video)

8 Reporting Report weekly / daily on LMS activity Useful for managers to monitor the LMS at macro level Report by learner activity / progress Ability to drill down to individual learners activity is key Report on activity by learner module Report on feedback Ability to drill down to individual modules (e.g. % progress, learners that have / have not enrolled on a module) Feedback after a learning module enables trainers to amend courses to improve user experience / outcomes Report on grades by learning modules Grading enables trainers to distinguish between learner groups and their competency levels Reporting at different levels, e.g. learner, manager, branch director, etc Required to grade each role within the organisation Ability to report on competencies If you use competency frameworks you can link online and face-to-face sessions for a blended programme 360 degree reporting Automated reports Reports on completion. Enables peer-to-peer feedback Desirable for C-class and senior management that want to receive scheduled updates and in graphical format Reports on completion It s usually essential to know how many people have completed the course (hopefully 100%!)

9 Webanywhere have helped numerous organisations to choose, develop and implement the best LMS solution for their needs. For an informal discussion of your requirements with no obligations, feel free to get in touch using any of the methods below to arrange a free consultation. or workplace@webanywhere.co.uk +44 (0)