Digital learning assets; Curating and extending learning with an LMS
April 20, 2022
During the pandemic, a great amount of digital content was created. Now, as people return to the physical workspace, what do you do with all those digital learning assets?
In the sixth installment of our ‘Learning lessons from lockdown’ blog series, we discuss what to do with digital learning assets and how we can curate and extend learning with an LMS.
Auditing content
The first step is to account for the content you have. This may not be straightforward. A lot of content was created quickly meaning it was unmanaged, undirected, and ad hoc. Different departments may have created their own content in the same business areas so there’s potential for repetition and lack of standardization. L&D may not have been able to supervise and validate what was created. But you can address these issues by using an LMS to curate content.
Content curation with an LMS
Once you’ve gathered the content you need a digital repository where you can store, evaluate, organize, and manage it. You also need to be able to update it, standardize it, deliver it, track it, and generate and process new content.
Fortunately, LMSs are there to provide a one-stop-shop for complex content curation. With an LMS you not only get to keep using the content you created during lockdown, but you can also put that content to new uses and revolutionize the way learning happens in your business.
What an LMS can do
LMSs deliver content to learners: from full-scale courses to small chunks of learning and other online resources. They do so across a variety of devices and platforms. They can handle content in different formats from pdfs to podcasts, to videos. LMSs support a range of learning strategies including microlearning, blended learning, spaced learning, social learning, gamification, and so on. They use AI to automate admin tasks and personalize pathways to learning. An LMS is not just a repository; it also gives you a framework and space for learning.
15 ways an LMS can improve your L&D
- Flexibility: LMSs can be used across industries and sectors for different aspects and stages of training and development including compliance, onboarding, customer and partner training, and enhancing workplace performance.
- Standardization: Content can be quality assured and delivered seamlessly regardless of location across geographies ensuring everyone’s on the same page.
- Personalization: Create learning pathways to suit individuals’ learning needs and deliver content in the format that suits them best.
- Accreditation: Reward learner attainment with digital badging and accreditation. Use the system to deliver certified professional development training.
- Accessibility: Learners can access learning content whenever they need it on their devices. Mobile connectivity keeps employees in touch with learning resources no matter where they are – in the workplace, at home, or on the road.
- Automation: Admin tasks can be automated so L&D can work on higher-order tasks like developing learning strategies. Examples include the automation of course management, enrollment, certification, compliance tracking, and deactivation.
- Analytics and reports: The system tracks and outputs critical data. L&D can monitor uptake on customizable dashboards and reports. With analytics you know what’s working and what isn’t, can monitor compliance, and decide if, when, and how to intervene.
- Recommendations: Utilizing AI LMSs track learner engagement with content and based on their choices recommend related courses and resources and personalize learning.
- Microlearning: Search the system to access bite-size chunks of training and information and make learning just in time, where, and when it’s most useful.
- Learning in the workflow: Serving up content just in time moves learning into the work environment and increases its relevance and impact.
- Learner control: Delivering personalized learning puts learners in control of their development and improves engagement and motivation.
- User-generated content: Employees can upload their own content where they see a gap in knowledge. It can be validated by L&D before being made available. Content developed by experienced employees is a quick and convenient way of capturing and sharing knowledge.
- Social learning: Providing a shared learning space encourages collaboration. Live chat, instant messaging or posting, discussion forums, and message boards enable employees to evaluate content, suggest ideas, and engage in social learning. Experience is more widely shared and the knowledge base extended.
- Informal learning: A lot of learning happens away from the classroom and computer. Often this informal learning is lost, but the LMS’s social space and its user-generated content can be used to capture exchanges of information and ideas.
- Building a learning culture: With an LMS at the center curating, developing, and disseminating learning in the workflow you can start to create a learning culture where learning is regarded as a key component of the work experience.
Using an LMS to curate your digital content opens up huge possibilities to improve and extend your L&D
To find out more on how you can help your organization move forward to the post-pandemic era, get in touch now.
Got a learning problem to solve?
Get in touch to discover how we can help