LMS Online Teams Employed for a New 21st Century Economy

More trainers and educators using an LMS are coming to take advantage of a vital resource: peer groups. Grouping individuals into teams is not only an effective business strategy, but also suits training programs, since it fosters a spirit of community and common purpose. When learners collaborate in a satisfying and engaging way, they produce potent results.

In designing and maintaining an organization’s LMS, it is essential to keep in mind its community-building capacity. The more interactive and collaborative, the more effective a course will be. Synergy is the bread and butter of today’s globalizing economy.

Why is a sense of community an important aspect of a learning experience? And how can one create efficient group formats in a learning environment?

Latané’s social impact theory describes how a person’s behavior tends to correlate with the behavior of a group of people, given that these people become important to that person. So if a group is working hard to achieve a common goal, individual members are more likely to feel more deeply invested in the cause. Frequent interaction is a critical factor in the equation.

Trainers can encourage learners to collaborate to achieve goals using group discussions, IMs, blogs, conferences, wikis, etc. The more interactions that take place, the closer the students’ sense of “us” will be. Belonging to a community of engaged learners increases the likelihood that each learner will become more deeply engaged with the learning material.

For peer learning to be effective, the trainer should create a system that insures that all learners are participating. Thus the importance of an efficient learning tool like an LMS.
Using a learning management system, trainers and educators are able to track both group and individual progress. An LMS includes critical tools such as online assessment, automatic marking, a resource organizer for project work, and progress tracking mechanisms. Trainers are able to track which employees have completed their course requirements and those whose obligations are unfulfilled, or who may require updates or “refresher” courses.
LMS online learning experts strive to be trendsetters, not followers, in the industry. This requires not only thinking outside the box, but keeping in mind our societal need for technology as a collaborative tool. The possibilities are endless. Companies are reacting according to this basic human need, developing cutting-edge technology that provides new ways of interacting online.

Cisco, for example, is working on unified communications that combine a virtual meeting space via TV, web conferencing and instant messaging. The idea of collaboration is at the heart of tools like LMS online training systems as well.

These days, organizations are practically composed of a vast network of individuals and teams to meet all the goals and functions of an organization. An LMS can be not only a helpful way to organize employee training, but service teams can use them to keep track of customers and employee achievements. Training for team members can be organized and performed internationally, linking LMS online training to its various human resources departments and ERP systems, to perform multi-locational, cost-effective and efficient training.

About Coggno:
Based in San Jose, CA, Coggno is an LMS/LCMS toolkit and marketplace which facilitates the transfer of intellectual property between course creators and those who wish to acquire it. Coggno designs and delivers online solutions for e-learning, training, assessments, and courseware for organizations, corporations, associations, academic institutions, and subject matter experts. For more information, visit www.coggno.com.

Contact Information

Robin Green

Director of Marketing

Coggno Inc.

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