×
NewsDay

AMH is an independent media house free from political ties or outside influence. We have four newspapers: The Zimbabwe Independent, a business weekly published every Friday, The Standard, a weekly published every Sunday, and Southern and NewsDay, our daily newspapers. Each has an online edition.

Learning management system (LMS) — taking training to a higher level

Columnists
In recent years, a number of changes have occurred in as far as the management of training within the organisation is concerned. One such major change has been the major technological innovations that have taken place in IT learning which has given birth to learning management systems (LMS). A learning management system is an automated […]

In recent years, a number of changes have occurred in as far as the management of training within the organisation is concerned.

One such major change has been the major technological innovations that have taken place in IT learning which has given birth to learning management systems (LMS).

A learning management system is an automated system used for administering the learning process within an organisation.

Of late, the introduction of LMSs to assist in developing the human capital in an organisation has become the in-thing in most successful organisations.

In this article, I am going to focus on the power of an LMS to both the organisation and the employee. What then are the advantages of adopting a learning management system?

Organisation: Organisation of training is particularly valuable with large organisations. An LMS will take over all of the administrative work.

It will allow every step of the organisation of the training process to be done online from enrolling trainees to setting reminders for assessment deadlines as well as taking exams and accepting homework assignments. An LMS will even grade the work of trainees for you.

Control: As the administrator of the LMS, you have full control over the format of your virtual classroom. LMSs are so customisable that your courses can be delivered exactly the way you want them.

The internal work processes can be put on the LMS, designed in the way you want employees to tackle them, which comes in handy when embarking on internal training.

A good LMS will also allow for the students to customise their options as well, which makes the coursework much more interactive and adaptable for them.

Follow-up: An LMS has an advantage of being able to track and record capabilities. This can be very helpful in measuring trainees’ weaknesses.

By tracking their progress, you can learn the areas that need to be reinforced to strengthen the organisation.

Consistency of training: LMS is consistent since its delivery of training is centralised.

It delivers a consistent level of training quality to all employees by supplying a single source for content, related materials and instructions. Instructor-led training, on the other hand, can vary based on how the instructor engages the trainees as well as his knowledge base.

Cost savings: It reduces employee travel, and no more facilities and instructors to pay.

It also optimises training expenditure and usage for all learning resources.

The LMS programme is loaded onto the IT server and employees can be registered for the courses through the training and development department and everything else they do on their own.

However, it is critical to take note that this system of training does not eliminate other systems currently in use.

The best way would be to use the LMS in conjunction with other systems so as realise maximum benefits for your training effort.

Paul Nyausaru is a training and development practitioner. Email: [email protected] or [email protected]. Views contained in this article are personal.