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What is an LMS and why does AIS need one? The LDH share their answer.
A podcast by the Learning Design Hub to share, nuture, and grow learning design at AISNSW.
Eikris
When it comes to providing learning, there are a few things that need to happen. There are logistical tasks like hosting material, if it's online, providing links, playing material. And then there's the admin side of things like enrolling users, recording their attendance, progress and completion. In other words, there is quite a lot to do without a dedicated platform for managing and delivering learning. This is one of the reasons AIS needs a learning management system or LMS for short. Hello, my name is Eikris, a learning designer here at AIS, and I'm with the learning design team to provide you an update on our LMS journey and the problems we hope to solve for and with you and your team. What's up with this music?
Stan
Ha, yeah Eikris, I'm taking us back to the 80s when big-permed hair, hyper-colour T-shirts and acid-wash jeans were a thing. This is when the first piece of software designed to manage company training was launched and it was called Registrar. It kind of enabled HR personnel to manage training administration, enroll people in courses and record their attendance. The LMS software we'll be taking on at AIS will be much more sophisticated than this though, and we anticipate a lot of a-ha learning moments.
Eikris
Good one Stan. All right, I know this song. We're in the 90s and that is the old Internet dial tone.
Kelly
Now they were really the sounds of the 90s. I do remember the days of unplugging the landline phone to then connect the computer to the phone line to dial into the Internet. During this decade, steady strides were made to bring education and training out of the classroom to learners through technology. So this is when the modern LMS was born. As the Internet grew, the capabilities of an LMS could now be considered and developed. Instructors were now able to create content on an LMS and deliver it directly to the learner through their access to a network.
Eikris
That is so interesting.
Shellie
Today the need for an LMS has become ubiquitous in all organisations, not just educational institutions as there is a new emphasis on enhancing the employee experience through professional development opportunities and upskilling. The right LMS enables an organization to provide scalable, modern, impactful and enjoyable learning experiences, manage learning in one central place, allow learners to collaborate and allows for the collection of data and analytics.
Eikris
So in our last newsletter, we mentioned the LDH were in the process of testing one out in a proof of concept to see if it was right for us. Unfortunately, this proof of concept showed us it wasn't the right one. Shelly, what happened?
Shellie
Yeah, so this is an interesting story. The LMS team looked at two different LMSs. The first was Appinium, which was more like a LinkedIn YouTube model of learning. It was complex in its interface and user experience, and it was also complex in its interface for a consultant or an internal AIS staff member to use, which meant that the product wouldn't have really been scalable. The second product we looked at is Docebo, which is great. We need an LMS at AIS that's fit for purpose and allows us to meet the LDH strategic intentions. You all know we collaboratively design and develop high-level professional learning experiences, that we build as staff capabilities in learning design and we maintain data-informed practice to continuously improve learning design. So we wanted a platform that was easy to use and scale, highly configurable and where we can build our complex hybrid courses, which up until now have been spread across several platforms.
Eikris
I can hear from your voice that you're very excited.
Shellie
I'm really excited about Docebo. It's going to be great.
Eikris
Very good to hear. So what challenges does the Docebo LMS solve for us? Let's hear from the learner point of view.
Stan
Yeah, thanks Eikris. From a learner point of view on the LMS, it's a centralized location for learning, so for instance, currently the middle leaders program in the leadership centre is made-up of required meeting zoom links, websites, videos. And all these other learning materials, and that's all being managed by e-mail. This can be confusing and really disjointed from the learning experience. For the loader. So having a centralized location of an LMS ensures a learner arrives at the learning with minimal barriers, and it's kind of d of a more smoother experience for the learner so that they use their energy. For the learning, rather than just trying to get. To the learning.
Eikris
That reminds me if you've been to Japan and had to navigate their rail system, you will understand why centralised learning system is important. Even though a large majority of trains run on a main network, you've also got smaller private rail companies operating shorter lines which require separate tickets, and then you have to walk. A few blocks from one station to another to hop onto another line. If only they had a more seamless centralized network. All right, how about from a content point of view?
Stan
Yeah, from a content point of view the LMS enables us to implement simple and sophisticated learning design patterns. For instance, In the Evidence Institute. The growing evidence informed practice blended learning experience can be delivered through the elements quite smoothly.
Eikris
OK, and how about from a learning design point of view?
Stan
Yeah, from a learning designer point of view, the LMS has the flexibility for us to create learning design that we probably couldn't really do in the past or even consider in the past that area. Yes, and there will be other learning design patterns that we have not yet even thought of that are waiting for us to discover just like great music and I guess your next favourite tune.
Eikris
Well, I think that's all we have for this episode. Thank you for tuning in and as always, please reach out to the learning design hub on level 9 or connect with us digitally for any of your learning design needs. Oh, and we're happy to hear what your favourite songs and bands are, too.
Shellie
If you'd like a sneak peek at the new LMS. Drop into the LDH offers in 2023 and we'd love to show it to you.
All
Alright, bye.