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Which LMS?

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If you’ve got courses to deploy, you need to host them. Depending on what your needs are, you might need an LMS, in which case you have literally hundreds to choose from. I’ve outlined the top free, freemium and low-cost LMS platforms for you:

.LRN: This LMS (pronounced “dot learn”) was originally developed at MIT, .LRN is for higher education, government, non-profit, and K-12. It comes out of the box with a lot of great teaching tools (forums, assessment, calendar, grading, evaluation, surveys, syllabus, file storage) and is free, though can be a little buggy sometimes.

eFront: Offers a “freemium” LMS where the core of their software is open source but their hosted solutions cost between $85 – $1990 / month.

TalentLMS  Also offers a “freemium” LMS which will host up to 10 courses for up to 5 users. Pricing is then tiered as follows: talentpricing

Dokeos: Is another open source learning platform. It has pre-built quiz templates and course authoring tools. If you’re on their website you can go to their “videos” page to see a list of their tutorials on using their PHP based platform. This will give you a glimpse into how the course admin back-end looks as well.

Sakai: Another open source option is Sakai. As is stated on Sakai’s website “Each day community members share thousands of interactions – building and improving the software, requesting help, collaborating on projects, and enjoying the relationships that result from this work”.

ATutor: At Atutor you can click on “try the demo” to test drive this LMS. It has plenty of features and a lot of functionality. And it’s also open source so it’s constantly being improved and updated.

Blackboard CourseSites: Blackboard is a big name in online education. Many big universities, corporate organizations and governmental agencies use their main educational LMS called “Blackboard Learn”. It’s a great free option, but of course, since it caters to individual instructors there are limitations imposed (for example only 500mb is allowed uploaded, only 5 courses can be added).

MOODLE: Moodle is a free web application for educators and probably one of the most popular free LMS’s on the market today. It’s open source software so it’s constantly being upgraded and developed. However, you might find that you need to hire third parties to help you customize the platform to help you achieve your educational needs. Just because it’s free, it doesn’t mean it’s not going to cost you money. However, you should test it out. It might work for your needs right out of the box.

Latitude Learning: This is another really feature rich “freemium” LMS. You can use their Learning Management System for up to 100 users. This is a great option for individual teachers teaching really small classes. If you want to go beyond 100 users it will costs you around $2 – $4 / active user. The LMS ad-ons (such as the virtual classroom which costs $600) will also add to the costs of the LMS if you’ll need these ad-ons for your online program.

ILIAS: A SCORM certified open source Learning Management System. ILIAS is a multipurpose tool that can be used as a flexible course player, as an authoring tool, but also as a communication and collaboration platform.

Selling your courses

If you have a course or two that you want to distribute, but don’t want to host yourself, you have the options of selling your course through a portal. Here are the main players in the course resale world:

LinkedIn Learning is the industry leader for online, self-paced learning. Their on-demand video library
offers a wide range of courses and video tutorials to meet anyone’s learning needs — from
professional development to online marketing, programming, design, photography, music and
much more.

Academy Of Mine: Sell and make money from your online course. You can check out their live demo to see how their learning platform looks. While there are monthly fees, you keep 100% of your enrollment sales. There are also a lot of great options available for those of you who don’t want to monetize your course or want to try to do it on your own.

Udemy: The folks at Udemy say “Our goal is to disrupt and democratize education by enabling anyone to learn from the world’s experts.” The Udemy platform gives subject matter experts a simple, straightforward way to assemble content like PowerPoint slides, PDF documents, and YouTube videos into a coherent course experience. This is a good platform for instructors but possibly not for developed elearning courses for resale.

What is your real training goal?

I often hear the following from clients: “Participants need to know this information.”  This may sound like a training goal, but nearly always they have a larger goal in mind. Here are some common stated objectvies I see with some frequency:

  • Understand the compliance regulations
  • Know all the product features
  • Handle difficult conversations better
  • Understand how use the new software effectively
  • Manage time more wisely
  • Develop awareness of the risks associated with equipment

Can you see what is missing in all of these examples? What’s missing is the real outcome, the reason why the information needs to be “known” or “understood” in the first place.

I aim to get to the “Whys” of the listed statements. There are always behaviors behind the information. What do learners need to DO with this information? How does this impact thier jobs or behavior?  I work with employees, management, SMEs or customers to find out how information is actually used in work. This may be through job and task analysis, interviews, focus groups, company research, or my own creation of scenarios that are then validated by the client, to make information come alive – and thus become relevent to the learner!

Do I need an LMS?

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What is a Learning Management System?

For those who might not be familiar with online learning, a learning management system (LMS) is an application platform that delivers, manages and tracks results and generates reports for online courses and training programs. The platform can be either hosted on local company servers or hosted remotely in the cloud.

Today, the number of Learning Management Systems to choose from is overwhelming. Gone are the days (thankfully) of the buggy, in-house LMS and the astronomically expensive corporate systems. The good–and sometimes overwhelming–news is that anything you need exists and has been perfected. But with all that choice, research is required!

Why do I need an LMS?

An LMS provides all the functionality necessary for educational institutions, businesses and organizations to offer online, self-paced training. All a learner needs is an Internet (or Intranet) connection to take courses. An LMS allows tracking and analysis on how learners are using and navigating through courses. Tracking course and assessment results helps ensure that an organization meets its training goals and compliance requirements. Tracking allows you to view which courses are abandoned, revisited, and retaken.

The features that most Learning Management Systems have built into them are:

  • Student profile pages
  • Grade books
  • Progress tracking tools
  • Grading forums
  • Blogs and wikis
  • Integrated email communication
  • Quizzes
  • Surveys
  • Groups
  • Conferencing technology (text, video, audio)
  • Screen-sharing platforms
  • White-boarding platforms
  • Educational gamification features
  • Class calendars
  • Community activity streams and much more

Of course the list can go on. However, it’s important not to get overwhelmed by the features of different Learning Management Systems. We believe it’s better to start with the question “what are my students’ goals”. From this point you can start working backwards to find ways for your LMS to help support those goals. Otherwise you risk having gratuitous LMS features for the sake of having the features… not for the sake of the advancement off your students. If the features aren’t necessary for your students’ educational progress then they end up just taking up space.

lmsmontage

Basic factors to consider when shopping for an LMS

Interface A customizable interface lets you brand the appearance of the centralized location where learners access training materials, courses and tests. Some learning management systems offer greater customization options than others and provide easier setup tools.

Accessibility Do your learners access courses via computer, smartphone or tablet–or all three? Determine which devices your learners use and choose accordingly. If you have a global audience, choose an LMS that includes multiple languages.

Hosted vs. Self-Hosted A hosted LMS sites at the site of the software provider. Hosted providers typically offer 24/7 support and full back-ups every day. If you don’t have an IT department or server resources, this is the LMS type for you. A self-hosted LMS is hosted on your organization’s server and behind your firewall. Support is provided during business hours and emergencies. This type is usually the choice for companies with an IT staff and the resources to support possible issues.

Compliance If you are a corporation, you probably want an LMS that is compliant with the Shareable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM).  SCORM was produced by the Advanced Distributed Learning Initiative from the Office of the U.S. Secretary of Defense. It includes a set of technical standards, guidelines and specifications that call for durable, interoperable, accessible and reusable content and systems.

Integration LMS software should work together with third-party systems. For example, ERP, HR and Payroll systems. They should also provide MySQL or Microsoft SQL database and e-commerce support for registration.

Social Learning Tools Social Learning Tools are a good option if you want to encourage interaction between users. Many LMSs include their own social media features like discussion boards and instant messaging. These tools help increase learner engagement, collaboration and interest, which can then be monitored by administrators.

Transcripts and Certificates LMS systems should provide learners access to their own grades, so they can track how they are doing and make improvements if necessary.

Reporting LMS platforms should give administrators the ability to generate automatic reports showing progress of learners and export reports into another application, such as Microsoft Excel.

Security Your LMS should work with Active Directory, LDAP Authentication or Federated Services, which means that administrators don’t have to include separate permissions for users. This time-saving security feature allows you to administer security settings behind a firewall or in the public domain.

Implementation and Training Make sure the LMS you choose provides support for installing and managing the system.

Recommendations

talentlms

TalentLMS serves a range of business sizes, from very small teams to large organizations. From a customer pool of more than 10,000 organizations, cPanel and the University of Arizona are two of the well-known ones. There is a freemium account and several paid options.

talentpricing

Adult Learners

I once had an interview where I was asked: “What is unique about adult learners?” and my brain froze up, even though I have studied learning for years. Thank goodness once I started talking I was able to pull from the depths of my brain to provide the fundamental answer:

Adults Learn Best by Applying Information to Current, Real-World Needs

The significance of this, of course, is that training and development methods need to include the learner’s actual application of new information and methods in the workplace to a real-life problem. It’s often difficult for learners to translate discussion about simulated situations (e.g., case studies) back to the workplace. 

What else is unique about adult learners? Here is a list:

  1. Adults need to be actively involved in the learning.
  2. Adult learners are self-directed
  3. Adult learning is generally more problem centered rather than subject centered
  4. The learning must be relevant to everyday work needs
  5. It must be structured so that participants can see where they are going and why.
  6. Adult participants must have time to voice opinions and personal experiences
  7. They must feel that they are helping to shape the direction of the learning
  8. They need room in the training to reflect and speculate
  9. Adults learn best when challenged
  10. Adults need time to practice new skills
  11. They must have ample time to discuss
  12. Part of the learning should be experiential
  13. Learning should be ongoing where concepts can be reinforced and expanded
  14. Adults are more internally motivated rather than externally motivated

Understanding-Adult-Online-Learners-Infographic

Finally, a word about feedback

Learners benefit a great deal from ongoing feedback when applying new information and materials to a real-life scenario. Ideally, training should give learners the opportunity to process the results of applying new information and methods:  what they thought would happen, what actually happened and why, and what they gained from the experience.

This is much harder in elearning than in an instructor led course, where a debrief session would provide all of this. What are some ways to provide feedback in elearning courses?

Instructional Designers vs Developers

I’m asked about the distinction between Instructional Design  and course development frequently and how each process works.

An instructional DESIGNER analyzes learner needs, applies appropriate models and learning theories to the design of instruction, can diagnose educational issues, implement the solution, and conduct educational evaluations – simply put. A DEVELOPER uses tools to implement instruction usually through the use of technologies like Flash, Articulate Storyline, Captivate, HTML, etc.

In short, Instructional Design is like the blueprint for the course and lessons, where eLearning Development is the construction of the lessons based on those blueprints.

When working with a client, the Instructional Design phase generally looks like this:

  1. Scope/Design Document. First, I’ll work with my contact (or the person who will make the final decisions) over email/phone/Skype to discuss the look and feel they’d like the courses to have and the features to include or not, such as voice over narration, unique images, scenarios, formal assessments, and so on.
  2. Course Objectives. Then, I’ll work with them to define the learning objectives–what the learners will need to be able to do after taking the course–and map out interactions and activities to ensure those objectives are met in the most engaging and memorable manner. I explain that this won’t require a lot of meetings or hand holding on their part, and that if they send me any basic documentation they currently have–anything from links to existing websites, scanned handwritten notes, a general outline in a Word doc or PDF–I will glean the objectives from the material and create a course outline to submit for their approval.
  3. Content Development. Once I have approval on the course objectives, I will work backwards from there to create lessons and topics and the finally content for each lesson, with the activities determining the organization of the course. During this phase, there should be a Subject Matter Expert available via email at minimum available for questions or content validation.
  4. Review cycles. I’ll pass the outlines, detailed outlines and finally each lesson as it is completed on to the client in storyboard format for review. Any content and interaction changes are made here, before course development starts, so that the entire process of designing and developing a course is shorter. Course design continues like this until they are ready to be developed.

The production/development part then kicks in.

Production. Lessons go into production once the storyboards are approved, with each lesson going through the client (or assigned person) for final validation and QA. The storyboard should have defined the interactions, animation, navigation, etc so the production phase is generally shorter.

BUT…working with a client that isn’t ready to hand over the entire process to you–which happens more and more frequently–this model doesn’t really work. So I’ve been trying to adopt the Agile model of development without letting it become too messy.

agile_flowchart

This basically means creating a prototype or very rough draft of the entire course and going through iterations of edits after client review. I have done this on several projects and it usually works out to everyone’s satisfaction. The challenge is to be firm on a final release data and Goldmaster version, as well as defining the number of iterations you will go through before the final release (on a fixed price contract).

How Long Does it Take to Create eLearning?

A very frequent question I receive from those considering putting their training online is: How long does it take to create an elearning course? The answer–you guessed it–is “it depends”.

Take for example the request I received the other day to take an existing PowerPoint course of 34 slides and turn it into an elearning course. They asked: How long to create a course from this? My answer back was that I needed more information.

There are a multitude of factors that go into every course, including the expertise of each designer, graphic artist, programmer, QA tester, Subject Matter Expert, and project manager involved. Or if you will even use all of these roles in the creation of your course. Don’t confuse the technology (an elearning tool that can convert PowerPoint into slides in a course) with actual course design and creation. Sure, you can find someone who will turn your presentation into a Captivate or Storyline file within a matter of hours. But will you have an effective course? Will it change learner’s behavior? Will it grab their interest or will they click straight through to the end? Essentially what you will have is not a course – you have a PowerPoint presentation in a different format.

I have a number of questions to get you started if you are considering creating some elearning for the first time. This are questions every freelance and company will ask (or indeed should be asking) interested clients. Meanwhile, to put some actual numbers to the question of how long it takes to create elearning, I’ve recruited this SlideShare presentation uploaded by Chapman Alliance. It offers research collected from 249 instructional designers regarding how long it takes to create different formats of learning, beginning with instructor-led training and moving into the three levels of interactive elearning (detailed below the presentation).howlong

Executive Summary:

Level 1 eLearning (Basic) – Including content pages, text, graphics, perhaps simple audio, perhaps simple video, test questions. NOTE: PowerPoint-to-eLearning often falls into this category. Basically pages with assessment

49:1 – eLearning output, Rapid Development, Simple Content, Specialized Authoring Tools (i.e. PowerPoint to eLearning tools)

79:1 – eLearning output, Most typical (average) Level 1 eLearning Content

125:1 – eLearning output, Complex projects, difficult to produce, more media production

 

Level 2 eLearning (Interactive) – Level 1 eLearning content plus 25% (or more) interactive exercises, allowing learners to perform virtual “try it” exercises, liberal use of multimedia (audio, video, and animations)

127:1 – eLearning output, Rapid development through templated interactions, simple animation, efficient or low-end media production

184:1 – eLearning output, Most typical (average) Level 2 projects

267:1 – eLearning output, advanced and custom interactions, embedded simulation activities and lots of media

 

Level 3 eLearning (Advanced) – Highly interactive, possibly simulation or serious game-based, use of avatars, custom interactions, award-winning caliber courseware

217:1 – eLearning output, templated interactions, templated games and simulations, efficient simulation development practices (rapid development)

490:1 – eLearning output, Most typical (average) Level 3 projects

716:1 – eLearning output, complex projects, advanced learning simulations and games, extensive media production  NOTE: Several respondents listed times greater than 2000+ hours of development per finished hour (very advanced learning simulations and games)

Questions for new eLearning projects

The following is a set of initial questions for elearning projects that I’ll ask of someone interested in creating a course or program. These are just preliminary questions to see where a client is at in their development of training material and their understanding of online learning.

Is the content completely new? How much already exists? Will additional research need to be done to build out the basic source content?

Will you use a separate Instructional Designer to create instructionally sound content, design course flow and interactivity based on adult learning theory?

Do you have your objectives defined? Do they focus on what you want learners to be able to DO at the end of the course?

Do you have any training or guides currently in place for any of your topics?

Do you have dedicated Subject Matter Experts who are available during the content development phase?

How much learner interactivity do you want?

Do you have existing graphics or will the need to be sourced or created?

Do you need to shoot your own photographs/create your own graphics or can stock images be used?

There are many variables that need to be considered for voice narration, including cost, development time, editing, retakes etc. Do you want to include it or can you leave it out?

If you would like narration, how much voice over would be appropriate?

Do you want to formally assess the learner’s knowledge by scoring knowledge checks and assessments? Do you need to track to scores and send them to your LMS?

Do you want to track learner completing/drop out rate?

Will you use a rapid development tool or will you custom program each course?

What will your review and feedback process with the designer/s be and who will be involved? Does everyone know this process?

Who will manage the process and all the stakeholders?

The answers to these questions will steer the development of a design document, which will outline the look and feel of the course, level and types of interactivity, stakeholders and their responsibilities, development time frame and terms, and define the overall goals of the training course and/or lessons.