It sure is a period of great change and innovation for the education industry, and one of the best examples is the breakthrough of the learning experience platforms.
Distance learning is gradually setting aside to make way for a type of training that gives more importance to the user experience, which becomes the pivot on which the entire system is based.
In this article, we will clarify a new way of conceiving learning management system platform (LMS) which, in a not too distant future, will represent the new standard: the so-called learning experience platform (LXP).
LEARNING EXPERIENCE PLATFORM: DEFINITION
Josh Bersin compared this learning technology to Netflix.
As the streaming platform revolutionised video consumption by creating an aggregate portal for on-demand content, driven by recommendations that are guided by artificial intelligence, likewise the learning experience platform tries to recreate similar levels of involvement and interactivity.
The LXP is not an independent piece of technology or app. It uses a variety of existing learning methodologies to create a holistic learning portal.
According to Bersin, this makes them television-like experiences.
This system allows in fact to suggest the “most popular” courses, to create channels of personalised content that users can follow and to give advices on what to learn based on the skills previously explored.
These courses will overlap with micro-learning contents or small contents (videos, podcasts and animations) and macro formats (long-lasting articles, e-books and company presentations).
Unlike a television experience, a company will be capable to individually manage the material it chooses to provide to its workforce. The impact could be further amplified through branding elements and user interface, improving the user experience.
LMS PLATFORM VS LEARNING EXPERIENCE PLATFORM
The strengths of the learning experience platform compared to the traditional LMS platform can be identified in the following:
- it expands learning opportunities: the traditional LMS platform, by definition, is a closed system that does not allow users to go beyond a predetermined learning path. The learning experience platforms, instead, are much more flexible and allow employees to choose their courses, watch them at will and complete them to obtain the certifications
- it appeals to the digital side of trainees: often learners read a large selection of online publications or sign up for online courses via an open-source such as MOOCs, through their personal devices. With a learning experience platform, a company has greater visibility on all these channels, obtaining a 360-degree picture of the real capabilities and areas of interest of each trainee
- empower learners: a learning experience platform is driven by the trainees. This means that learners have greater control and can proactively choose what they want to learn. Thanks to the perfect social integration, they can also share their learning progress and new content discoveries with their colleagues
- encourages the development of content by trainees: the content generated by the learners, or LGC (Learner Generated Content), could be a great method for students to show their new skills set and knowledge, encouraging other users to access and to participate
LEARNING EXPERIENCE PLATFORM FEATURES
Let’s analyse in detail the basic principles and features of a learning experience platform.
SKILLS BASED LEARNING
It concerns the skills set necessary to obtain a certain professional position, starting from the detection of skills and abilities of the user. The next step is to map these skills together with the learning content in order to offer recommendations based on the skill gap between the skills required for that specific position and the user’s real skills.
SUGGESTIONS BASED ON USE
It is possible to recommend to a user a relevant content with similar characteristics, based on the use made by other users.
CONTENT ANALYSIS
Using Artificial Intelligence, it is possible to perform a content analysis and understand what the user will learn thanks to that content.
USER-TAILORED PLATFORM
Allow the users to define not only their interests, but also their aspirations, levels of experience, learning preferences and much more. Through artificial intelligence the learning experience platform is able to suggest elements that are both internal and external to the platform, improving the learning experience.
THE LXP MARKET
Despite the investments for digital learning have already reached 300 million dollars, there are still questions related to the rules of e-learning and LMS platforms to be answered.
- compliance: some contents are mandatory. Thus, it is necessary that content curators monitor and manage the completion of the learning content. When the content changes, it may be necessary to certify again the learning achievement of the user
- career programs: the onboarding training is the learning solution for new hires and for the development of professional figures. This type of professional training can have pre-requisites, ramifications and final tests
- Customer education: Customers may have to pay for certain courses; they can only see content with external license
- manager's approval: it is still in doubt whether managers must be able to approve the course and can know who completed it
- customised learning: sometimes employees are not sure about what they need to learn, they just want to read or learn something important or adjacent to their current jobs
At the moment there are no sure answers to these issues, the only answer given derive form the classic LMS platforms.
A LOOK TO THE FUTURE
While theoretically a learning experience platform may seem an idealistic scenario, its benefits are quite real and tangible.
The 79% of employees say they prefer web resources for learning, while the 87% would prefer a social learning. A learning experience platform implies that you will lose less time in constantly updating an LMS, replacing it with an agile system designed for future generations.
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