Like all the other software, Learning Management System has successfully evolved by adapting itself to the changes in the learning ecosystem.

The role of a Learning Management System has changed dramatically since the times it was first incepted. It began its journey as a software that manages instructor-led instruction delivering core training activities. Today, it has transformed into a system that launches and tracks eLearning, in addition to many other functions.

A year ago, the survival of the LMS had been a point of debate but today it has become an indispensable entity in the learning industry as it has evolved to meet all emerging market demands.

Let’s see some of the key trends in the LMS Market that will help us understand this transformation.

Competition: The market has become more competitive as many players are entering with newer options. More and more mergers and acquisitions are taking place because of the continued consolidation and the incorporation of new features.

SaaS (software as a service): The Software as a Service (SaaS) model is becoming increasingly popular. This model offers many advantages in terms of deployment time and reporting. The possibility to mine and report transactional data is the main reason for this growing trend. More than 50 percent are now opting for externally hosted LMS services.

Web 2.0 and Web 3.0: We are now starting to see many improvements in the usability of the LMS because of the growing demand for Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 advances in LMS user interfaces and functionality.

Social Networking: Integration of social networking into the learning experience has become one of the key trends in the LMS market.

Mobile Training: The demand for mobile learning or mLearning is also increasing. This is particularly visible in the corporate world where applications accessible via mobile devices such as laptops, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and cell phones are in great demand to connect employees at multiple locations.

Open-Source: Even though most of the open-source Learning Management systems are designed for educational institutions, more and more organizations are looking for alternatives of open-source solutions and adopting them because of their readability and affordability.

Thus the capability and role of learning management is evolving significantly. Emerging LMSs can offer a comprehensive suite of features and capabilities that will help organizations meet their training needs.

LMSs will probably look more like portals and less like platforms with the incorporation of many new features in the years to follow.

Hope this discussion was useful. There may be a few more trends than these. Please do share your thoughts on the same.

Related posts:

1. Open Source e-learning Software Applications Benefits!
2. How can I have more budgets for Learning and Training?
3. Mobile Learning – The New Kid on the Block

Lectora offers the feature of certificates that can be printed by learners who successfully complete a course. To do this, it has many default certificate templates. However, one of our clients needed us to create a customized layout for the certificate. The client also wanted a dynamic unique code to be generated for each certificate that was to be issued. In addition, they also wanted us to provide a print preview option before a learner could send the certificate for printing.

We created the certificate in Flash so that it fulfilled the following requirements of the client.

• Dynamic unique code for each certificate
• Print preview option

We used Flash Action script 2.0 or 3.0 for the purpose.

Once you create the customized certificate in Flash, open Lectora and follow this step-by-step guide to generate a customized certificate.

Download Pdf

I hope that this step-by-step guide helps you to create customized course certificates for your clients. Do share your thoughts on the above.

Related posts:

1. Using Lectora to Build Custom Functionality for eLearning Courses
2. How can I have more budgets for Learning and Training?
3. How to make Lectora Courses Compatible to Cross LMS?

Lectora, as we all know, is an authoring software that is being widely used for developing online training/ learning content, assessments or presentations. It is also widely used to convert Microsoft PowerPoint presentations into eLearning courseware.

Based on our experience, we have put together a list of frequently used components of Lectora for any eLearning course development:

Table of Contents: Lectora has a pre-built Table of Contents tool. Based on the chapters, topics and Pages, this table of content is created automatically.

This helps the learner to navigate back and forth or to any specific page. If the default look and feel does not match the Graphical User Interface, we need to customize it using dynamic features.

Branching Pages: Another important feature of Lectora are the Branching Pages.

The main advantage of branching pages is that learners can directly go to a particular slide or module. We can also create our own course map page by adding buttons and assigning respective actions to them. This helps us to present the ‘Table of contents’ based on our particular layout or design instead of being limited to the default component. We can provide links to the chapters, topics and specific pages of the course, thereby providing control of the navigation.

Click on Tabs: The Click on tabs component wizard is not available by default in Lectora, as it is very easy to develop by adding actions to each tab to show or hide the respective tab content. In this interactivity, learners click on each image to view details. Typically, this kind of interactivity is used if you need to present lots of content on a single screen or if you need to show additional ‘nice-to-know’ information.

Rollovers: Interactivity for rollovers is similar to the ‘Click on tabs’ but the only difference is that instead of the action taking place on a mouse click, it takes place on a rollover. Thus, the content will be displayed when the learners roll over their mouse over the images. This is particularly useful to show the parts of a product. You can create this interactivity by using the rollover action on the buttons to show or hide respective content.

Questions: The default format is a multiple choice question with a ‘single click’ option which shows a correct and incorrect message after clicking the Done button. We can either use it as a practice question or include it in a quiz. Assessment questions can be developed using the question creation wizard.

Audio Transcription: Lectora also has a default audio transcription which displays the audio script on the screen for each page. This feature is helpful to users who cannot use the speakers or do not have access to a headphone. The script for the embedded audio can be displayed in the page.

Quiz: Lectora provides many default features to create a quiz. The quiz features can be created or modified as per individual requirements. We can create our own quiz functionality, marks, layout and summary page using the default quiz, which can be customized.

Certificate: There are inbuilt templates in Lectora for certificates which can be issued to learners. After the completion of the course, there is a provision for learners to take a printout of the course certificate. This is inbuilt in Lectora and automatically displays the learner’s name and current date by accessing it from the learning management system. Though there is a default template, we can easily customize the layout and design to suit our requirements.

Most courseware developers unfortunately don’t use more than the pre-built functionalities of Lectora and hence miss out on the more powerful capabilities of this tool. We hope that this blog helped you to get started with a few custom ways of using various features within Lectora.

Related posts:

1. Steps to Customize the Quiz Component in Lectora
2. How to Customize the Questions Functionality using Variables in Lectora?
3. Customizing Table of Content Easy with Lectora

You have developed excellent eLearning courseware. Now, you need to choose the best platform to deploy the course content. What are the criteria you need to keep in mind? By assessing your objectives and constraints of deployment, you will be able to arrive at the best possible solution.

eLearning deployment options can be based on modes of learning – synchronous and asynchronous learning or by the size of your audience. We have already covered about the deployment options based on synchronous and asynchronous learning in our earlier blog titled, “e-learning deployment strategy – a few quick tips”. Here, we will explore deployment options based on the size of the learner-base.

If the audience size is small…

If the size of your learner-base is small and there is no necessity for you to track the progress of your learners, you can consider some of the options below for deploying eLearning programs.

For larger files, you can send it as a zip file using the internet or intranet site. This could be useful for some basic learning material or product updates. Here, you will be able to track if the learner has downloaded the file or not, but advanced tracking and reporting options on completion and assessment scores will not be available.

You can also email the content to the learner directly. It can be used only if the file size of the courseware is very small (for example a PPT presentation) and does not contain any audio or video.

Another simple option is to Burn a CD ROM and distribute it. Again, this format is useful only in cases where there is no need for assessments and only information needs to be shared such as on product updates or new features in products.

LMS as an option for a larger audience:

If the size of your audience is large, hosting the courseware or training program on a Learning Management System is the only option. It will help you to monitor users and keep track of their progress. It is also the best option if you need proof of completion of the course or need to issue a certificate of completion. It may require initial investment and might take time for setting up but if you deploy eLearning courses on a regular basis, it is worth the investment. It would provide you with several user-friendly options for you to use and share your content.

If you have an existing LMS, you could simply use the same. Alternatively, you could use the services of an external provider who could host the same from their LMS platform. You could also consider various open source LMSs such as Moodle or Ganesha. If you are not in a position to use any of these options, you could even upload the course content to your website and make it available to the learners. You could have password protection in order to access the course; however, you will not be able to set up a tracking and reporting functionality with this option.

In short, choose a deployment option based on your training management goals and the limitations under which you are operating. Assess the technical requirements of the chosen method and ensure that you are suitably equipped to meet them. Also note that an LMS option need not always be an expensive affair. There are several low-cost options in the market that might meet your requirements.

Related posts:

1. 5 Steps Towards Deploying eLearning
2. How to make Lectora Courses Compatible to Cross LMS?
3. eLearning Deployment Strategy – A Few Quick Tips

A Learning Management System is a platform providing software solution for the administration of training programs. It could either be an open-source management systems or a propriety management systems.There are many options available for an organization today. Organizations should consider these options after assessing its training, business objectives, and the learning requirements of its employees. They should follow a robust mechanism to demonstrate the purchased value.

Here are a few steps you need to follow before selecting an LMS.

Setting the Learning Strategy:

Before starting to hunt for a LMS, you should set a learning strategy for your organization. The strategy should consider the audiences as well as their preferences and demographics. You should make sure that the learning strategy is out lined properly with reference to the target audience.

Documentation of Requirements:

As there are many options available, you should carefully identify what exactly you want to accomplish from the LMS, document the requirements and prioritize.

At this stage, you should assess your budget and estimate the potential savings that can be realized for the organization.

You should also figure out the technology requirements for both the back-end administration and the end-user experience in order to make sure that the infrastructure and softwares necessary to run an LMS are put in place.

Research on LMS Providers:

After identifying the requirements and freezing the specifications, you should start searching for the potential LMS providers and create a list.

Preparation of Request for Proposal (RFP):

Prepare a Request for Proposal. RFP should be a descriptive copy of your requirements and it should give a clear picture of exactly what you want. So while drafting your RFP try to be as specific as possible.You can also request the vendors for a project plan which gives you an estimate of project completion. Draft the RFP and send it to the list of vendors selected.Ensure that your vendors get enough time to reply to your request.

Proposals Review:

After sending the RFP, you will begin receiving the bids or quotations for the project. Allot a team to review the bids and rate. Each rating should include both the positive and negative impressions. Short list the vendors based on the rating given.

Scheduling of Meetings and Demos:

After short listing, you need to arrange for meetings where you receive product demonstrations from the shortlisted vendors and workout possible solutions. You can find out the flexibility of their project plans and their capabilities through these meetings. You can actually see and understand how their LMS works.

LMS Selection:

Finally, after reviewing and discussing with the internal teams select an LMS that best fits into your organizational needs.

These are a few important factors which need to be considered before selecting an LMS for your training needs, but there may be a more. Do share your thoughts on the same.

Related posts:

1. A SME’s Wish List for the eLearning Team
2. Conducting Successful Kick-off Meetings
3. 9 Tips for Those New to Instructional Design

A Learning Management System (LMS) is a software application or web-based platform that helps organize and provide access to online learning for employees, customers, partners or students. It also helps track learners’ progress and performance across various training programs.

An LMS is used by:

• The instructor or manager who creates & delivers content, monitors learner participation and performance.
• The administrator, who organizes and maintains the system.
• The learner or end-user, who benefits from the system by using its interactive features to fulfill the objectives of the learning program.

If you are the decision maker in an organization and are wondering what the key characteristics of a good LMS are, here are a few guidelines that will help you identify one.

• One-stop shop for integrated learning: The LMS helps in centralizing and automating the process of learning. It provides a platform wherein courses can be developed, integrated, managed and monitored remotely with minimal resources across a wide geographical range. Organizations can have a gamut of training programs at one place with users accessing them as per their needs. Thus, the choice of courses available to the HR personnel can be different from those available for Sales personnel but they can be integrated under the same system, which makes it easily accessible.
• Delivery of content in multiple-formats: An LMS provides a viable web-based platform to consolidate training requirements. Using an LMS, it is possible to integrate and deliver content in different formats. Depending on the suitability and needs of learners, course material can be designed to include graphics, animation, video, podcasts or presentations.
• Automated process of evaluation: An LMS automates the process of administering tests with the help of a question bank. It makes it is possible to monitor and record learner’s participation and progress at different stages of the learning process and thus measure the efficacy of training initiatives. It also helps plan and track learning requirements and accomplishments of employees, channel partners or customers.
• Ease of accessibility and reduced costs: The only major expense related to an LMS is a one-time cost for setting it up. Administering learning programs there after becomes cost efficient. As the course content is stored at a centrally accessible location, it is accessible over a web browser to the learners, making it possible for organizations to impart training across continents rapidly and effectively, thus recovering the cost of the initial investment in no time at all.
• Portability standards: A good LMS follows the guidelines laid by SCORM, AICC or IMS and ensures that the content is portable across different systems. It can integrate with other solutions used by HR and finance so that management can measure the impact, effectiveness and overall cost of learning initiatives.

Thus, an LMS caters to the diverse needs of learners, administrators, content builders and instructors simultaneously, making it an indispensible component of any organizations’ training initiative.

Related posts:

1. Collaborative Learning in Academic and Corporate Environments!

As perhaps know, the training process in an organization starts with training needs identification and once these needs are identified, collated, categorized and summarized, the prioritization of the specific training required is decided. After that, for each program one has to set measurable learning objectives.

This is followed by designing and developing training programs and delivering training interventions, whether in a classroom or eLearning mode. Finally, we come to the evaluation step of the process where we try to evaluate how much and to what extent the training achieved results that it set for itself. Here, we will focus on this step of the training process.

Now, if we go one step deeper into Kirkpatrick’s model for training evaluation, we find four levels of this training evaluation, which are:

1. Reaction level

2. Learning level

3. Behavior level

4. Business level

Let’s go into each one of these and see what we can evaluate at each level, the extent of its usefulness and the method of evaluation.

Reaction level: As the name suggests, at this level, we check the reaction of learners. It can be checked at the end of the program with the help of a feedback sheet or “happy sheets.” How happy is the learner at the end of the program? It has questions like: “Do you like the program? Doyou like the trainer or facilitator?”

It also goes on to give feedback about the venue, facilities or the kind of handouts available. This level gives a very general kind of idea, so it can be seen as a superficial level of evaluation. Learners may be happy but the training program may be very ineffective, plus it doesn’t give us any ROI. So, it is of limited use and application. Of course, it is useful to the trainer to evaluate his own delivery.

Learning level: This can be a very good and realistic level of evaluation. It is usually done with a pre-test and a post test, though more often only a post test is used. It could be considered a very good level of evaluation because training and learning are supposed to increase the knowledge and skills of learners. And, by improving their knowledge and skills, their performance is also supposed to improve. So, testing how much the learner’s learned is a logical step.

Usually, the evaluation at this level is done with a paper and pencil test. Or, in the case of e-learning, we give multiple choice questions with options and scores are tracked by using a learning management system. So, essentially it is in spirit a paper and pencil test.

Behavior level: This level is used to evaluate the behavioral change of the learner after attending training sessions. The question that arises now is: How many times are learners applying the knowledge and skills to the job and what is the effectiveness of this new knowledge and skills on their performance?

Once the program is complete, a gestation period is necessary. Follow this up with ask all those who took the training how effective it was. Collect all their information through a statistically valid response form or questionnaire to reset information.

Business level: Now, coming to the last level, we have to find out the answers to the following question:

• How have productivity, quality, sales, cost reduction, employee retention and customer satisfaction improved?
• But again it is immediately apparent that we cannot link the effectiveness of training to the achievement of business goals. This cannot be ascertained based on a particular training program. This is where the difficulty arises.

Related posts:

1. Importance Of Training Evaluation For Training Effectiveness
2. The Process for Implementing Instructional Design
3. eLearning: Moving Towards a Better Measurement of Results

Traditionally, the primary learning delivery channels in the past were through Instructor led trainings, both virtual and classroom, On the job training, and through online training courses, typically hosted on a Learning management system. And now, there is a blend of formal and informal learning taking place with learners using all possible channels for learning like facebook, twitter, Linkedin, youtube, to name a few.

Here, I’d like to sum up the benefits of social media:

• It serves as a platform for informal learning.
• It helps improve workforce productivity as it is available on demand, as it is needed.
• It can shorten the time required to get trained dramatically as information can be rolled out much faster.
• Social media enables faster responses to questions and queries. More contributors can provide more perspectives as well as more content. You can also get answers to highly specific problems.
• Since most social media is free, there is no investment required.
• Another benefit is that users can develop a shared understanding. There is interaction with peers within groups – so learners can continue to learn even before and after actual learning events.
• Social media can also be used to supplements other training.
• And finally, it can be used to draw learners into formal instruction.

Do you agree? Can you add any other benefits?

Related posts:

1. Common Features Across Social Media Tools
2. Social Media and The Training Cycle
3. Social Media and Its Impact on Learning Strategy

As far as infrastructure is concerned, when it comes to eLearning, we think of servers, bandwidth, LMS/ LCMS etc. all very expensive to acquire and sometimes time consuming to set up. So, do you have the required infrastructure to get started with eLearning?

You already have the infrastructure if you:

• Are using computers
• Have Internet and Intranet access
• Have a training hall with web conferencing facility
• Are active on Social Media -
  • Facebook
  • Twitter and
  • LinkedIn

You don’t need an LMS/ LCMS to start with.

I know of an oil major, which for the first 5 years or so, used multimedia as teaching aids in their training centers and classroom, before they ventured out to deliver learning online.

While you may be in a hurry to roll out a full-fledged eLearning solution, I would like to suggest that if your existing trainers and a sizeable chunk of learners are exposed to some elements of online training in a gradual manner, the chances that organization-wide eLearning will take off will be high.

Start with the present Infrastructure

Initially start with what you have. Once learners become familiar with eLearning, then you can scale up the infrastructure to include a Learning Management System.

Related posts:

1. Infrastructure Requirements for ELearning Implementation and Delivery
2. Using ILT Resources – Some Challenges
3. Planning your eLearning Budget

For planning an enterprise-wide eLearning, one of the primary requirements is assessing Infrastructure requirements for establishing e-Learning – both IT Infrastructure and a Learning Management System. So, let’s look at what it takes to deliver eLearning.

Many people think that e-learning is a kind of e-training, but to say this is to over-simplify the kind of learning it actually is. Really, e-learning is information, communication, collaboration and training put together. It’s a system where you have information which you need to communicate effectively, collaborate and train. All these things put together constitute e-learning. To be able to deliver eLearning, you need to establish a complete eLearning system with a robust technology framework as the information and communication technology comprise its backbone. The term “infrastructure” is highly contextual in its meaning. In e-learning contexts “e-learning infrastructure”, “technical infrastructure”, and “ICT infrastructure” or (Information and Communication Technology) infrastructure all convey a range of meanings.

Range of Infrastructure Available

Now, the range of various web-accessible technologies and services useful to this kind of learning, education and training can be classified into three categories with respect to infrastructure:

• A set of infrastructure specifically designed to support e-learning, education and training.
• A set of infrastructure not specifically designed to support any kind of learning, education and training, but still essential in enabling it.
• Widely deployed infrastructure which can be useful for e-learning, education and training.

The first set of infrastructure which is specifically designed for e-learning reminds us of a good Learning Management System (LMS) which is a must, since it is specific to e-learning. Similarly infrastructure, like say a Virtual Private Network (VPN) which is already present in an organization to run its Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) application, which is not specifically meant for this e-learning purpose or any kind of training purpose. But, that same infrastructure which I’m talking about — VPN — can be used to deliver e-learning services. Similarly, for the third category of infrastructure, perhaps a dial up VPN which is already present for basic communication can also be used as a part of the e-learning infrastructure.

Learners access the network through a local network server by using a secure authentication. The LAN will access the LMS for ready-to-use courses or custom elearning courses via the Internet through switches and routers. The built-in firewalls in the routers protect the LAN and its connected elements from unwanted traffic, malware and viruses.

It is recommended that Internet connectivity should be 4 MBPS to ensure excellent video and audio quality in live lectures and courses served over the Learning Management System.

Related posts:

1. Real Definition of eLearning
2. Are you Ready for eLearning with the Right Infrastructure?