The website English Language and Usage defines “feeding the dragon” as the pouring of resources into a self-perpetuating situation. In business terms, organizations develop self-perpetuating resources that we nurture and evolve to provide continuity and serve our communities.
A learning management system (LMS) is often on the leading edge of our engagement strategy to educate, inform, and support our stakeholders. We should use this resource as our knowledge hub that facilitates learning whenever and wherever it occurs. This is especially true in the age of virtual conferences and the emergence of hybrid events.
The past year has changed how organizations reach and engage with their audience. By being forced into virtual events, they have expanded their audience and reached previously un-engaged participants. These events are often hosted in separate conference sites as a one-time occurrence. But this approach results in a lack of exposure and momentum for current and future organizational online education initiatives.
Integrating your virtual and hybrid events into an LMS pays long-term learning and, depending on your pricing strategy, monetary dividends. Provided below are 5 key benefits of offering your online event through your LMS:
- Virtual and hybrid events represent the intersection between place-based and online learning. Utilizing your LMS will allow you to leverage a perpetual model where each engagement builds upon the foundation and continuity the LMS provides.
- As registrants and then attendees access the conference, they will be able to see, register and access other LMS-hosted programs, such as e-learning courses or webinars.
- All session content will already be hosted within the LMS and simply needs to be edited for post-conference access. Otherwise, content from a separate conference site needs to be migrated, requiring hours of unnecessary work.
- Within an LMS, sessions can include surveys, tests, certificates and credits. Typically, not all of these features are available in a separate virtual conference environment.
- Hosting a virtual or hybrid conference within an LMS allows organizations to utilize the single sign-on and authentication already in place.
Pouring resources into a one-time conference site continues an event-to-event approach. Utilizing your LMS allows you to take advantage of a self-perpetuating model and synergizes with your online education. It feeds the LMS dragon!
CommPartners has managed virtual and hybrid events for over 12 years. Our Elevate LMS is the ideal platform to host your next virtual or hybrid event. To learn more, contact Meghan Gowen at mgowen@commpartners.com
