Customizable paths can be a beneficial tool for your eLearning LMS. A learning path that is customized to meet the needs of a specific person, or group of people, can not only increase overall engagement of the learner, but it can also help managers to understand learners better – their needs, preferences, and learning style. Administrators can structure and control content, order, and timeframe to meet specific training needs.
To create a customizable learning path in an eLearning LMS, a manager should:
- Create a skills matrix. A skills matrix breaks out the specific skills and knowledge that are required to be successful in a job. Creating a skills matrix at the outset, to understand what is necessary to the employee, will help greatly in finding and setting relevant content for a learner or group of learners.
- Set goals and milestones. A goal may be company-wide, such as rolling out a strategic or culture change. It could be departmental, for example, safety training in the warehouse. Define a goal by a group – new hire or recent promotion, or base it on an individual, either one lacking in some area and needing improvement, or one seeking promotion or personal accomplishment.
- Incorporate different learning styles. A custom learning path must still speak to a varied set of learners. Making the LMS accessible via different devices – desktop, laptop, smartphone or tablet – and incorporating video for visual learners, podcasts for auditory learners, and other methods of disseminating information will provide you with higher levels of engagement and retention of information.
- Provide immediate feedback. Offering feedback that is personalized and immediate is one of the best ways to improve engagement with a training and development system. Whether at course completion, or passing a quiz or other milestone, offering praise and encouragement to a learner can have a marked effect on employee engagement, information retention, and the speed at which employees apply new skills on the job.
Not only are customizable learning paths an excellent way to ensure that employees have the skills and knowledge required to be successful in their jobs, but they are also an excellent method for managers to learn more about the employees themselves. By accessing data associated with course activities and completion, trainers and managers can discover which types of activities the learner prefers, how they like to receive information, and whether they are progressing in the course path.
Additionally, LMS data can help to determine whether an employee seems motivated and engaged, or if motivation is lagging, and offer the opportunity for early intervention to help resolve an issue before it becomes a problem.
To learn more about creating customized eLearning paths , TOPYX offers a free 10 minute assessment to determine your needs.