Peer teaching weekly report

In today’s tech-neutral age, knowledge and skills are the key sources of competitive advantage. Smart enterprises institute Learning Management Systems (LMS) to harness and organize the corpus of knowledge available within its ecosystem.

However, the success of such initiatives depends not merely on setting up a Learning Management System. Success rather depends on ensuring that the system is compatible with the enterprise requirements and scalable to match the ever-changing requirements in an extremely fluid business environment.

Learning Management Systems traces its origin in delivering eLearning courses to the workforce through the internet and company intranets, in compliance with the established eLearning standards such as AICC and SCORM standards. However, the nature and scope of LMS have evolved considerably since then. While the exact nature of the LMS may vary, depending on enterprise requirements, successful LMS of today invariably facilitates seamless integration of the physical and virtual classrooms, promotes social learning, and fills in critical gaps in learning. The best LMS are scalable, portable, promotes gamification, and makes managing talent seamless across the enterprise.

What are we using an LMS for?

An LMS can be used for all kinds of learning activities (that's why they put the "L" in the acronym after all). But it's also an invaluable business tool, one that has been embraced by enterprises and organizations big and small.

Here are some of the most common use cases for an LMS platform:

Employee training

The need to train new employees or teach existing employees new skills is a constant, whether you are an insurance company, a scooter factory, a hospital or a government organization.

With an LMS you can cut down on employee training costs and eliminate business disruptions associated with traditional learning, by letting your employees study the material online and at their own pace.

With eLearning, businesses not only spend less money and effort compared to bringing in specialized instructors to give conventional seminars, but also gain better insights on their employees' progress with integrated monitoring and reporting tools.

Employee orientation

The all-important task of onboarding a new hire can be automated and handled easily by an LMS.

You still get to greet them and give them a tour around the office, but all the rest they can study at their own pace (and refer back to it, whenever they need).

An onboarding course can include all the stuff nobody pays much attention to (the message from the CEO, the company's history, etc.), as well as the all-important detailing of their role and responsibilities, information about career advancement opportunities and benefits.

It's also a good place to educate your new hires on your company's employee conduct code, privacy guidelines, and race/sexual harassment policies.

Knowledge retention

Training your employees is one thing, but learning from them is also important. A knowledge retention program ensures that valuable skills, techniques and information stays with your company when your employees leave or retire.

It's also a good fit for an LMS platform, as you don't want this valuable information to just sit in some document management system that nobody ever checks, but to have it available at all times to train new employees or people coming from other departments.

Education

Last, but not least, an LMS is a good fit for general educational offerings (duh!).

It could be a school selling online lessons, a traditional educational institution supplementing its classroom-based courses, a business educating its clients, or even a government agency or NGO helping educate the general population.

In all these forms, and many more, eLearning is here to stay, to the degree that it might be the very future of learning.