Best practice tips for LMS course design

LMS course design

A learning management system (LMS) is a software application that facilitates e-learning. LMS platforms have been around for ages, and aren’t always too popular with employees – especially if they’ve had to work with outdated technology and unengaging courses.

Luckily, today’s LMS platforms are much more advanced than they once were. They’re easier on the eye and more intuitive, they support various modes of interactive learning, and many automatically track credits.

If you are investigating LMS platforms, this article will be helpful. We’d also love to take you through a quick demo of our LMS solution.

If you already have an LMS and need to refresh the content on it, here’s some best-practice advice.

Start with the end in mind

Before you do anything else, make sure everyone knows why the course exists and what a successful outcome looks like. For example, what type of projects should people be able to take on once completing the course?

Create tailored learning paths

Employee training and development is a powerful weapon in the fight against attrition. Tailored learning paths prove to employees that your firm cares about them, and their futures.

Use your LMS to create learning paths for junior vs. senior roles, or for different departments or practice groups.

Make it a delight to use

Newer LMS platforms create a beautiful home page for each learner. This is where they can track the status of their learning, upcoming courses, and, for professionals, their credit status (CLE/CPD). And automated email notifications will remind learners of any required courses.

Use video

Apparently 2019 is the year that 80% of global Internet consumption will be video content.

Why is it so effective? According to researchers, our brains process imagery 60,000 times faster than text. Add body language, white boards, and tone of voice, and video is a powerful tool for teaching. A few minutes of video is much more effective than reams of text. It’s also easier to watch on mobile devices, and aligned to how we consume information in our day-to-day lives.

Here are some tips for using video effectively in your LMS course design:

  • Invest ingood equipment and minimize background noise as much as possible, so that learners aren’t distracted by poor audio quality.
  • Speak faster than you usually would. It’s advised that you speak 10-15% faster than in daily conversations, and that you use intonation and enunciation to catch and hold your learners’ attention.
  • Keep videos short and concise. Try to keep your videos to maximum of 5 minutes long. Break topics up into a series of video modules, each focused on one point.
  • Keep the screen interesting. Don’t leave the screen blank or in the same place for too long. Rather, use illustrations, diagrams, or people to add movement and interest.
  • Engage the learner. Don’t make it too easy for learners to sit back and relax. Set a short quiz or homework assignment at the end of each video to make sure they pay attention, and to help track their development.

Try our complete Learning Management System and Credit Tracking tool

Our LMS is a complete learning solution designed for firms in the professional services industry, allowing lawyers, consultants, engineers and accountants, among other professionals, to keep their skills and credentials, where applicable, up to date.

It supports any learning content and allows you to create learning paths at different levels, including junior and senior associates. Vi’s LMS supports any learning content and includes important functionalities such as automated push notifications, a global credit compliance tracking engine, and reporting and analytics.

It has a full credit engine built in and is already populated with all CLE credit rules for law firms in every jurisdiction in the world. With this engine you can create a firm ‘university’ with credits and track who is behind and on track.

Our LMS also integrates with your performance management process, allowing for meaningful growth at individual and company level.

Learn more about our powerful LMS & Credit Tracking tool or click below for a demo.

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