Experts predict that the size of the global LMS market will increase by over 50% by 2025. What accounts for this?
Increased demand. Our lives become more digitized by the day. Now more than ever, organizations need a learning management system to engage, educate, and inspire their communities—no matter how far apart they might be.
But the perfect LMS for you may not be perfect for another. Different organizations have different needs. The needs of associations are especially unique.
The ideal LMS for associations contains a wealth of features that enable professional development and foster meaningful membership experiences. Today, we’ll take a look at some of the defining features of a stellar association LMS.
For years, CommPartners has existed at the intersection of events and education. We’ve offered virtual and hybrid event services for well over a decade. In 2014, we launched our award-winning learning management system, Elevate.
At a glance, these might strike you as two distinct offerings. But they do more than complement one another. To make the most of one, you need the other. Though each can stand on their own, something special happens when they come together.
This is a time of unification. As Cadmium, we have united with our sister companies in support of our shared mission to unify events and education. But what exactly does that look like? Here’s our vision.
Microlearning is one of the biggest buzzwords in online learning. If you’re already familiar with the e-learning space, you don’t need us to tell you that. Breaking learning down into bite-sized chunks is intuitive, fun, and—most importantly—it gets results.
You don’t have to take it from us. Take a look at the research. Brief bursts of learning result in demonstrably greater knowledge retention than long-form content. Microlearning flattens the Ebbinghaus forgetting curve.
With our help, you can harness the power of this new mode of learning. Here are 5 ways that you can create microlearning with Elevate LMS.
1. Mobile Functionality
Anyone can benefit from microlearning. But it’s ESPECIALLY suited to the generation that grew up with smartphones in their hands.
Most of us think of cell phones and similar mobile devices as strictly for utilitarian or entertainment purposes. Yet they can be powerful learning tools, too.
Elevate LMS is mobile functional. This allows learner to squeeze in quick study sessions on the bus, in line at the bank, or any other brief moment of downtime throughout the day.
2. Short Videos
We’re quite accustomed to attending hour-long talks. But sometimes, no matter how effective the speaker or interesting the material, you just can’t give them your undivided attention. Not for long, anyway.
Around the 10-minute mark, attention might start to wane. Learning comes to a halt.
What’s the solution? Some would say coffee. We don’t disagree. But you know what might be better? A shorter lecture.
Right now, video is far-and-away the favorite microlearning format. Instead of including 30-minute instructional videos in your LMS, try 10, 5, or even 2-minute ones. Your users will remain more focused and have an easier time retaining what they’ve learned.
Stack enough of these microlearning videos on top of each other, and you’ll make no sacrifices in total knowledge transfer.
3. Quizzes
Still, you’ll want to evaluate your learners’ progress. Thankfully, there’s an easy way to implement microlearning in your knowledge checks: quizzes.
You already know what quizzes are, but have you ever thought of them as an example of microlearning? If tests are macro, then quizzes are micro.
Elevate LMS makes it easy to craft quizzes that maximize learning and retention of knowledge.
Remember that even brief knowledge checks can pack a big punch. They reinforce the information your learners have just encountered, while also giving them a sense of where they might need to improve.
4. Podcasts
We’re accustomed to thinking that podcasts should be long, but they really don’t have to be. Don’t blindly buy into the idea that informative audio needs to fulfill a half-hour or longer timeslot.
Why not experiment with a shorter podcast format? Try putting a couple 10-minute-long clips out there and see how your learners respond.
Without the intimidation of a long run-time, they might find it easier to listen into these sessions while doing the dishes, or on quick drives to the grocery store.
Short but informative podcasts are a spectacular informal learning tool in a microlearning format. Trim the fat from your audio materials and jump right to the chase for a better return on the time invested by your learners.
5. Infographics
Forgive us for using the cliché, but here goes: a picture is worth a thousand words.
Like so many other cliches, this one gets repeated so often for a reason: it’s true. A single image can convey more information than a wall of text, and in a more intuitive, approachable format.
Start thinking of infographics as a prime example of microlearning at work in your LMS. Don’t bog them down with information. Make sure it’s easy to extract important info at a glance.
Don’t Forget Your Macrolearning Goals!
With these tools at your disposal, you now know how to implement microlearning into Elevate LMS.
But keep this in mind: none of the things we’ve listed above are microlearning on their own. They only become microlearning if they contribute toward a broader, macro goal.
Think of macrolearning as the main course of your education strategy. Microlearning is the appetizer and—if you do it right—the dessert, too.
Create Microlearning with Elevate LMS
CommPartners knows what it takes to power enduring educational experiences. Our award-winning learning management system, Elevate LMS, contains all the tools you need to implement microlearning and propel the rapid intake of knowledge.
Let’s start a conversation. If you want to learn more about Elevate LMS or our managed event services, contact Meghan Gowen at Meghan.Gowen@gocadmium.com. Keep up with us on Twitter and LinkedIn.
2020 has been a year of great successes and great challenges for everyone. CommPartners is no exception. With the sudden closure of place-based events due to COVID-19, we had to quickly meet our Virtual Conferencing clients’ needs while still implementing LMS’ and providing event services. So I asked some CommPartners staff to reflect on 2020 to see what we’ve learned, how we’ve grown, and if any highlights come to mind:
Julie Ratcliffe, Content Production Specialist: What are some highlights from 2020?
Kendra Matarozza, Director of Online Events
Kendra Matarozza, Director of Online Events: If I’m being totally honest, I think my favorite part of the year was getting glimpses into my colleague’s home life to see who is really running the roost. I’m going to fill you in on a secret—the toddlers and small children dominate, and it’s hilarious. I loved seeing them pop up on screen or doing crazy things in the background. They unintentionally bring levity to any situation and brighten the day.
Jill Norris, Project Manager Virtual Conferences: A highlight for me was witnessing the emergence of new technologies and features for the deliverance of online education and networking. Existing platforms such as our own were put on a fast track to release new features to adapt to the abundance of events and needs for delivering education and replace face to face networking opportunities.
Rich Finstein, CEO: The primary highlight for me was seeing our entire team overcome personal challenges from the pandemic to meet a dramatic influx of client requests. Many of us had to work 12 to 15 hour days. One client, in particular, was Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, or LLS. LLS produced six virtual conferences and will be doing six more in the spring. They were able to reach patients and those impacted by the disease with valuable research information and guidance from top clinicians in the field. We received notes from attendees thanking LLS for making this information so accessible.
JR: What are the tiny moments that made you smile?
JN: Haha, not sweating the small things like fur-babies or kids crying in the background when someone was presenting. Pre-COVID-19 that would’ve been a catastrophe to a live online event, and editing hours would need to happen in post-production. Now it’s just “human” and accepted. #2020
Jill Norris, Project Manager Virtual Conferences
JR: How do you think this year has shaped CommPartners as a company?
RF: Since we have years of experience managing virtual conferences and livestream events, we were a company many associations turned to when COVID-19 hit. We supported hundreds of virtual conferences from March to December. While moving from place-based events to virtual was a significant change for many organizations, we saw a secondary impact. Organizations needed to think more strategically about their approach to online learning. Due to this realization, we saw a dramatic uptick in Elevate LMS placements. The synergy between Elevate and online events helped our clients with a strategic approach versus simply an event to event type of offering.
JR: Virtual Conferences were a primary service CommPartners offered this year. How did it feel to provide this service during an uncertain time?
JN: Honestly, I felt very fortunate to be in this line of business this year as many others faced so many unknowns, especially in the events industry. And it was nice to be able to provide our knowledge of virtual education to so many who had never even thought about offering this for their organization. I think my friends and family members finally understand what I do for a living.
Rich Finstein, CEO
JR: What have you learned about yourself, your team, or CommPartners this year?
KM: This year I was amazed at the resiliency of all of my coworkers. This was a challenging year professionally and personally with the madness, but it really highlighted the importance of our internal relationships. I also came to realize that there is this familial bond that forms when you see people on a daily basis, for years on end- it was nice to see how we all cared for one another and really worked to back one another up, jumping in wherever was needed.
RF: CommParters has been around for over 20 years. We have built a reputation for excellent customer care and integrity in how we support our clients. When COVID-19 arrived, organizations were seeking a company they could trust. We received over 1,000 organizations reach out to us in March and April. This made me realize that our years of investing in our clients and the reputation we created made us an obvious choice during the initial months of the pandemic. We needed to match client faith in us with a successful conference experience. While you always look back and think of things you could have done better, as a whole, we feel we came through for our clients.
CommPartners is ready to take on 2021 and continue meeting our community where their needs are, providing outstanding online education services. If you’re interested in learning more about CommPartners’ services, please contact Meghan Gowen at mgowen@commpartners.com.
As we continue to dive into CommPartners, CEO Rich Finstein’s The Evolution of the Association LMS: 10 Considerations for 2020, we learn that personalization means identifying, tracking, and educating your learners in a personal and individualized way. A great way to do that is to design personalized learning paths. These journeys or paths can set your LMS apart from the myriad of eLearning options presented to learners today. Your learners benefit from all the advantages of being a part of an association plus have access to a robust LMS with curated content.
The best way to begin designing personal paths based on competencies is to lay the essential foundations. Throughout this series, we’ve proposed three considerations for enhancing your LMS to enrich your learners’ experience. While it takes time to plan and apply these ideas, we want to show you what can happen when you combine Community + Organization + Credentialing to create personalized learning journeys.
Follow these steps to create personalized learning paths:
Your content can then be separated into categories or learning tracks. Those tracks can be organized based on member role, publish date, expertise level, job title – whatever makes sense for your organization.
The learner can either begin their journey right there and take classes within the track that most closely applies to them or follow the next steps for an even more curated learning journey.
Step 2
Next, using a competency assessment, like CommPartners’ Self-Assessment Quiz, assess your learners’ strengths and weaknesses. Because you’ve applied a robust taxonomy strategy to your content, your learners can take the quiz and have custom content recommended to them based on identified skill gaps.
Step 3
Now your learners can dig into their learning journey.
As they move along through courses, reward your learners with digital badges when they complete courses or obtain a skill. A digital badge is a portable digital icon embedded with data that verifies a learner’s skills, credentials, and continuing education experiences. Badges are a tangible token they can share with their community to confirm the skills they’ve obtained.
You should also include engagement points throughout your learner’s journey. You can add personalized discussion posts on webinars to facilitate community and informal learning between peers. Look into whether your LMS allows your learners to create profiles, like Elevate’s Connect Module. Creating a unique profile with direct and group messaging allows for personal engagement between users.
Step 4
Once a track is complete, use your LMS testing capabilities to ensure they have met the standard for completion and award a certificate. The certificate symbolizes mastery in the subject.
At this point, the learner can take another self-assessment quiz for a new learning track and begin a new learning journey if they desire.
If you’re still unsure how to create a personal learning journey for your learners, check our on-demand webinar: Creating Personalized Learning Journeys. It comes with a toolkit that breaks this idea down even further.
If you’re interested in exploring your Elevate LMS capabilities or any of the tools presented in this blog, reach out to your Elevate representative or contact Meghan Gowen at mgowen@commpartners.com.
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Your content can then be separated into categories or learning tracks. Those tracks can be organized based on member role, publish date, expertise level, job title – whatever makes sense for your organization.
between peers. Look into whether your LMS allows your learners to create profiles, like Elevate’s Connect Module. Creating a unique profile with direct and group messaging allows for personal engagement between users.