Jane links to an interesting article on developing an organisational LMS without splashing out huge amounts of dough.
Now I know nothing about the organisation in question but when the key criteria they were looking for are summarised as:
“1. More effective tracking and reporting of training activity
2. Ability to assign modules to individuals, groups, or company
3. Ability to provide on-line testing
4. Ability to associate required training modules with annual certifications
5. Ability to create pre-requisite training
6. Ability to capture on-line and instructor-based training
7. Ability to provide managers with access to training activity for their direct reports
8. Ability to link to our training records in our HR system”
leading to…
“1. Launch On-Line Training
2. Training Management
3. Certifications
4. On-line testing
5. Technical Training
6. New Hire Orientation
7. Supervisor Technical Development
8. Leadership Development”
I get a bit depressed. To tell the truth I’d love to work in the corporate sector but it seems like the lines between learning and training are as defined and clear as ever. It seems like a corporate LMS is basically accepted as being a content delivery platform, incorporating computer-based testing which then integrates nicely with HR records / tracking.
Apart from simply meeting obligatory (e.g. H&S) training (the regulators will figure out that this doesn’t work eventually and things will have to change) I really don’t see the use. HR & Managers can track which components have been completed but that more often than not means nothing other than the person in question is OK at completing online modules.
Learning is about what goes on inside and between people, it’s based entirely in reflective, cognitive exploration and social, communicative expression. These don’t help, they are just admin.