The excellent Will Thalheimer posed a question on Friday about the value of the LMS. Suggesting that a centrally-administered Learning Management System assumes learning has to be event-driven, he says:
The biggest problem is that the whole LMS face sends a powerful hidden message that “learning” is about taking courses or accessing other learning events. This “Learning Means Sitting” LMS mentality infiltrates whole organizations.
Is Will right?
Yes and no.
In theory, he is wrong.
It should be possible for an LMS to be used as part of a wide L&D strategy, not to dictate it.
In such as strategy courses delivered online are one part of the general development of individual competence in line with organisational requirements. Learning would, of course, also take place through coaching, mentoring, informal learning, self-study and so on.
Practically, speaking, however, what Will says makes a lot of sense. He points out that with his clients:
It’s not that they completely ignore these other learning opportunities; it’s that the LMS focuses everyones’ time and attention on courses, creating a lot of wasted effort.
We know that it’s not about the technology, but, nevertheless, once you’ve bought some, it can dominate what happens next. But that’s the point: it’s down to the L&D professional involved to put learning first.
So, does LMS stand for Learning Means Sitting? Only if we let it.
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March 27, 2008 at 9:19 |
Again a very relevant point. Recently I appeared in my second year exam for post graduate studies in Ecology and Environment. I had no on-line learning material. Mostly I read from books and some on-line material on the topic. The question here is would my retention be more and effort less had the learning taken place on-line? Maybe the effort intensive approach of going through the notes and books is tedious,but can condensed courses created for WBTs compensate for the wide ranging subjects that are addressed in these types of learnings. I really do not know the answer but sowhere I feel the vast ground that the subject’ Environment’ covers could possible not be addressed by any type of learning solutions that I have come across in my six months as an Instructional Designer. Thanks for opening up my mind.