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Training Crafted to Fit Your LMS Online Needs

May 28, 2009 by Terence Leary  
Filed under Online Trainings

What are some factors to take into consideration when designing or adopting LMS online training? The diversity of LMSs on the market means that your organization, with a little planning, should be able to find an LMS customized to fit exactly its needs.

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Consider the amount of learners, faculty, courses, administrators, and sessions that your online course will cater to. Will the course be reserved for internal use only, or will it be available to outsiders? What do you want to track–courses, grades, assignments, etc?

A strong LMS is versatile and helps an organization with self-evaluation. These days LMSs are more than a tool to deploy elearning courses and track students. They are equipped to aid organizations in self-assessment and planning.

Adopting LMS online training can profoundly aid an organization, allowing it to carefully review its approach to training. Oftentimes organizations discover that they need to reshape procedures or training.

The other way to wrap your brain around the seemingly endless array of LMS providers, besides getting clear on what your organizational needs are, is taking the time to understand precisely what each system provides. Each LMS is created differently.

Now let’s say you’ve chosen a LMS, and training is in process. Creating an interactive learning experience will carry a greater impact for your students. Also, be sure to establish early communication between learners and the trainer, including pre-course basic training on how to make one’s way through the online course and LMS.

When speaking about interaction in an online course, this could mean many things. One effective and exciting way to help orient students in their new virtual classroom is through videos. Video tours like those of Coggno’s various features can create a feeling of ease and comfort as students begin the course.

To ensure that you have made the perfect fit for your organization, and that you are making the most of the LMS’s tools, the trainers themselves must be closely familiar and comfortable with the LMS online features. Keeping a watchful eye on your organization’s goals, and crafting your elearning experience tailored to those goals, will serve to complement the robust training your perfect fit LMS provides.

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Customized LMS Online Ideal For Your Organization’s eLearning Needs

May 27, 2009 by Terence Leary  
Filed under Online Trainings

The dizzying selection of LMS sizes and functions available on the market may be a little overwhelming. But with a little forethought and planning, choosing one shouldn’t be difficult.

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Get some facts straight; what do you want to track–grades, courses, prerequisites, etc.? Do you need the LMS to be standards compliant? (SCORM, IMS, etc.) Think in numbers; how many learners, courses, sessions, administrators are involved?

In narrowing the list of LMS providers, modification and self-assessment features are a must. Strong LMSs offer not only physical and online training, but also help organizations evaluate procedures and practices.

An LMS can stimulate the growth of your organization. By causing you to reassess your approach to training, you may also find that some business procedures and practices are due for an update or redefinition.

The other way to wrap your brain around the seemingly endless array of LMS providers, besides getting clear on what your organizational needs are, is taking the time to understand precisely what each system provides. Each LMS is created differently.

Now let’s say you’ve chosen a LMS, and training is in process. Creating an interactive learning experience will carry a greater impact for your students. Also, be sure to establish early communication between learners and the trainer, including pre-course basic training on how to make one’s way through the online course and LMS.

Videos, including demos and video tours such as Coggno’s feature tours, are a great way to help students become comfortable with their new elearning environment. If students have had a tour of the course and understand how they will interact with it before they start, they will feel more confident when they do begin working their way through the course.

A fancy tool is only useful when it is being used–and used well. This is to say that your LMS will be of no benefit to your organization if those administering the training and LMS online assignments do not actually have a firm grasp of the system’s features. In order to tap into the vast possibilities your perfect match LMS online training offers, familiarity with its interface and features are necessary–not to mention concrete desired outcomes of your training program.

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