What is a Collaborative Learning Management System (LMS)?

WorkPlan explains what a Collaborative LMS is and how it can help your business.

Learning Management Systems have been around for a while and are used by many organisations to train their employees. But how can traditional Learning Management Systems hold back employees and how can they be improved upon with collaborative learning?

What is a Learning Management System and how can it be better?

A Learning Management System (LMS) is a platform on which management and HR teams can upload and share training materials with employees of a company. It is usually a software application but can reside on online platforms too. It’s an effective tool for managers to track employee training and find gaps in knowledge.

This is usually where traditional LMSs fall short. They are built to cater to the admin to track learning rather than cater to continuous employee learning. These traditional LMSs may have advanced over the years, but they are lacking the benefits of collaborative learning.

Why a collaborative Learning Management System will benefit your organisation

There are many ways a collaborative LMS can help organisations from reducing costs of course productions to sharing knowledge throughout the entire organisation. Here are three ways a collaborative LMS will help.

1. Collaborative LMSs puts course creation in the hands of the organisation

Producing learning materials for a traditional LMS can be time-consuming and expensive. A collaborative LMS allows the administrator and the employees to access premade courses and tailor them to the needs of the organisation or even create their own courses to share around the organisation.

Due to this level of control, the courses produced can be much more specific and relevant to your employees. Content can be updated quickly based on new information or employee feedback, or to fit any gaps in knowledge as soon as they arise.

2. Collaborative Learning improves employee engagement

Collaboration in learning allows employees to engage better with the content by getting their questions answered faster through an integrated messaging system and leaving feedback in the comments.

Collaborative learning gives employees the opportunity to engage in discussion about topics which in turn aids social interaction.

3. Collaborative LMSs puts the power of learning within the employee’s hands

The best way to learn is by sharing your knowledge with others who are learning the same thing. Because of this, knowledge is better retained. Employees are also able to access highly relevant courses that cater to their area of expertise but can also access information that may not be relevant, breaking the “knowledge silo”.

Established employees can also share institutional knowledge that may not be documented in formal training procedures. This ensures that knowledge is maintained by passing it onto new employees.

Why choose a collaborative LMS over the traditional LMS?

A collaborative LMS will turn professional development from a “top-down” approach into a “bottom-up” approach by giving employees more control over their learning and development.

ALSO READ: 4 ways you can use WorkPlan eLearning Collaborative LMS to level up your Training

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