We are all aware there are many, many learning management systems available, even free ones. A couple are actually good at facilitating online learning although in truth getting a good result requires several different products … but more on that in another post.
The problem is not what these learning management systems do, it is what they don’t do. RTOs already struggle under a burden of constant review, auditing and bureaucracy, a Learning Management System [LMS] represents yet another stand alone system that an administrator needs to key data into and pull reports out from. For many RTOs, an LMS represents yet another drain on resources and so they are put off.
Recently we completed our own LMS and it isn’t bad. The functionality is a little better than Moodle, not quite that of Adobe’s Connect Pro [but a lot cheaper] – you can see it in action in a basic way on the www.itecelearning.com.au website. There are two very important parts of this product we believe ALL RTOs should be excited about:
- The LMS is integrated into VETtrak; enrolments happen seamlessly, assessments and events are passed back as well. UOC achievements are recorded automatically. This means that the application actually saves time and administration rather than adding to it.
- Often learning programmes are structured in different ways to the qualification they represent, a UOC may be completed as part of a course rather than being all of the course. Our new LMS allows you to allocate learning material to a UOC irrespective of the course structure. This makes concurrent learning far simpler and can speed up payment for DET funded courses.
* And for those of you already committed to Moodle we have good news too – we have an a mechanism to create users from VETtrak enrolments and to a limited extent provide similar functionality as we have for our own LMS.
We will be launching the our new VET LMS product at the ACPET conference in Melbourne later in the year, however, if you would like to be the first on your block to have an LMS that extends and is integrated into your training management system [no matter what it is], then please let me know by calling me, John Wooding on 02 85967600
