If you’re only just getting up to speed with eLearning, you’re probably swimming in acronyms and technical jargon that don’t make a lot of sense. You’ve probably come across terms like LMS (Learning Management System), ILT (Instructor Led Training), CBT (Computer Based Training) and ISD (Instructional Systems Design). You may have even heard of a personal favourite we use at the etrainu office – GDTLA – which stands for “Gosh-darned Three Letter Acronyms” (seriously, they’re the worst).
Jokes aside, the eLearning space can be strange and complex to those who are only just starting to get their feet wet. We find the best way to learn new subject matter is to take it one step at a time. So, let’s start with the basics – what is an LMS, and what exactly does it do?
The most powerful tool in eLearning
A Learning Management System (LMS) is an exceptionally powerful piece of software used in the training & recruitment industry to assist small, medium and large corporations with the continual education of their workforce. It’s what many experts believe to be a quintessential tool for learning in the modern-day classroom. It’s a user-friendly training platform designed to make life easier for both trainers and students alike by making content easily accessible at almost any time or location.
In contrast with other more archaic methods of education, the use of a Learning Management System as a portal for eLearning demonstrates a wide variety of advantages, particularly if you have a large audience or significant amount of subject matter to deliver to your students.
So, if you’re still trying to decide if you need to use a learning management system, here is a short list of some of the major benefits to help you decision-making process:
#1 – Unlimited Access from Any Location
Once you publish your eLearning curriculum and share the content with your students, they will then gain unlimited access to all of the required information on just about any device, from almost any location.
For large companies that are spread out across several different time zones this can be particularly beneficial, as it means you no longer have to worry about travel costs to perform an induction, or have staff up until all hours of the night to suit another team’s daylight schedule. Simply press the “go” button, assign the work and you’re done. Watch the progress reports roll in from the comfort of your own home or office.
#2 – Easily Track Learner Progress
A proper Learning Management System gives you the ability to track progress and ensure that students are meeting deadlines and achieving the required performance standards.
With a Learning Management System, you can assign different levels of access to each manager, allowing them to see which students are performing well or struggling so they can make adjustments or provide additional insight where needed.
#3 – Reduced Training Time & Cost
An efficient LMS allows you to completely change how you interact with your learners. In the past you would have to deal with travel costs for your instructor, potential trainings site rental costs, and a ream of printed learning materials (that will probably find their way into the bin by the end of the day).
By implementing an eLearning platform via our LMS solution, your online learners can carry out all of their important development and compliance training in an exclusively online environment, which means you’re able to save quite a significant sum on your training & development budget – ultimately helping your bottom line.
#4 – Quick & Convenient Expansion
For many industries sudden changes to rules & regulations are a common occurrence, which means it can be quite difficult – and not to mention frustrating – to keep your staff up to date and compliant with all of the relevant changes.
With a Learning Management System, you can easily add new courses, remove old information and roll it all out to your workforce in a number of hours or days, not weeks or months.
#5 – Organised Content in One Place
Instead of having your learning spread out across different physical locations or devices, an eLearning system allows you to store all of your relevant materials in one easy-to-access location.
Not only does this significantly reduce the risk of losing important data, it also allows each individual member of your team to access the information they need by using the cloud-based learning management system. Courses can be customized on a “need-to-know” basis, which means you can assign your executive team larger quantities of more detailed content and segregate their learning from the rest of the workforce, all under the same program.
Whether it’s building and managing a tailor built Learning Academy; meeting compliance objectives; or accessing our ready-made programs, an LMS with etrainu is both flexible and dynamic. We customise the system design, certificates and module design so it looks like your own; we manage your set up and guide you through the eLearning process; designing the custom features your business needs as we go.
Interested in developing an LMS solution for your business? If so, be sure to get in touch today so one of our consultants can speak with you in more detail.