Assessing LMS Using a Learner’s Lens
Group Members: Jocelyn Chan, Loveleen Reen, Nicole Kenny, Quinn Pike, and Sarah Ng
As a leader, successful corporate training can be the difference between firing, promoting, or retaining employees. Before beginning my journey with the MET program, aside from video conferencing programs and project management programs, I had no experience with education technology platforms. Collaborating with my project group for this assignment has been enjoyable and invaluable to my knowledge acquisition.
Setting employees up for success is a passion. In setting the stage for our context, keeping in mind that efficient and effective training programs are vital to increasing skills, helping employees acquire new knowledge, and increasing motivation and job satisfaction (Sabharwal, 2018) was a key theme and focus used in developing and reviewing our assignment. This was also considered in our use of Bates’ (2014) SECTIONS model. The broader set of questions put by the SECTIONS framework helps educators to better analyze learning technologies, both in terms of appropriateness for use in training and the potential (or challenges) for success in institutional contexts (“SECTIONS framework,” 2022). One of the most valuable characteristics of the SECTIONS model is that it offers a rather holistic perspective on activities and functions (“SECTIONS framework,” 2022), which I found particularly useful from a corporate perspective.
In my experience, cost, integration into existing infrastructure, and security are often among the biggest hurdles to gaining approval to implement. However, these concerns cannot overshadow the importance of considering accessibility, learner needs, consistency, or culture, as building connections are vital for employee engagement and retention (Larradle, 2022). Companies need to have a way to measure the rate of return on investments (ROI) in employee training, as this often guides their human capital investment decisions (Bartel, 2000). According to Sedgmann (2022), companies spend around $1433.00/employee on training (Sedgmann, 2022). Building a case that supports initial increases in cost via purchasing a Learning Management System (LMS) that can clearly show the ROI and other key corporate imperatives such as ease of onboarding, retention, engagement, and compliance can further justify the initial and ongoing LMS costs.
In completing this project, the similarities between choosing an LMS and assessing product or market viability were apparent. Using a favourite quote from the Pragmatic Marketing Institute (n.d.), “your opinion, while interesting, is irrelevant,” highlights the idea that choosing an LMS requires the company to assess from the needs or perspective of the learner. It can be easy to get lost in checking the boxes the company has identified without contemplating the learner/employee’s needs. The rubric we developed can be utilized from a consulting perspective to support companies in thinking beyond their needs, understanding the needs of the employee and ultimately resulting in a win-win for everyone. As I continue along my MET journey and expand my knowledge of LMS tools, the knowledge gained from this project will serve as a meaningful guidance practice.
References:
Bartel, A. P. (2000). Measuring the employer’s return on investments in training: Evidence from the literature. Industrial Relations (Berkeley), 39(3), 502-524. https://doi.org/10.1111/0019-8676.00178
Larralde, A. (2022, September 16). How to increase employee engagement and retention. Betterworks. Retrieved from https://www.betterworks.com/magazine/how-to-increase-employee-engagement-and-retention/
Sabharwal, R., Chugh, R., Hossain, M. R., & Wells, M. (2018, December). Learning management systems in the workplace: A literature review. In 2018 IEEE International Conference on Teaching, Assessment, and Learning for Engineering (TALE) (pp. 387-393). IEEE.
“SECTIONS Framework.” (2022). In ETEC 524 64C 2022W1 Learning Technologies: Selection, Design, and Application. The University of British Columbia.
Sedgman, S. (2022, April 19). How much do companies spend on training per employee? LearnExperts. Retrieved from https://learnexperts.ai/blog/how-much-do-companies-spend-on-training-per-employee/#:~:text=In%20terms%20of%20how%20much,compared%20to%20%24722%20in%202021.
The Pragmatic Framework (n.d.). Pragmatic Institute. Retrieved September 8, 2022, from https://www.pragmaticinstitute.com/framework/