The Evolution of the Learning Content Management System
By Shelley R. Robbins
We're in the midst of an e-learning revolution, which brings with it rapid change, a myriad of emerging technologies, and greater opportunities to generate significant business returns on e-learning investments. During this period, technology has progressed in a series of evolutionary stages, which have had an increasingly profound impact upon the speed, content ownership, cost, flexibility, and business benefits of e-learning solutions. Reviewing the last five years of market developments reveals the emergence of LCMSs as a platform of choice for many companies seeking fast deployment of e-learning.
Stage 1: Generic content libraries While authoring tools had been widely used to create e-learning delivered via CD-ROM or mainframe computers, the growth of the Internet enabled companies to pioneer the development of large, Web-based e-learning content libraries. Initially, IT had the greatest demand for these types, but libraries of courses providing training in project management, leadership, and team development emerged quickly. As this type of e-learning increased in popularity, suppliers that provided Web-based libraries of generic content formed. Using a subscription model, companies could subscribe to an entire learning library that would be available 24/7 to all employees.
The benefits of content libraries were obvious. An employee whoneeded to learn a new skill rapidly could take a Web-based self-study course. Course libraries eliminated the need for distribution of CD-ROMs or paper manuals as resource materials. Also, learners didn't have to wait until the course was available in a classroom format.
But because the content rarely varied between companies or organizations, using this form of e-learning provided little competitive advantage. Companies who wanted to use distributed e-learning for company-specific content still needed to go outside of the system to develop courses, adding to the expense of delivering a wide range of training solutions.
Stage 2: Learning management systems. Once companies became aware of the potential for technology-based learning delivered via the Internet, a second class of systems evolved in the marketplace: LMSs. Learning management systems enable companies to plan and track the learning needs and accomplishments of employees, customers, and partners. As the strategic planning and management system for learning within a company, an LMS can link organizational goals to employee jobs and competencies, provide a catalogue of available (and relevant) courses, books, and training events, and deliver conent in classroom-based or e-learning formats. The system also has the ability to register learners for courses, book hotel rooms, order a videotape, or charge expenses to the appropriate credit card or cost center.
Although the implementation of an LMS is an important tool for strategic deployment of learning and the long-term benefits are important, it doesn't guarantee that a company will actually deploy e-learning. Many organizations with extensive, well-established classroom training functions use the LMS to enroll learners in classroom-based events, manage face-to-face training, and report on progress. The LMS will typically launch a library of custom or generic e-learning courses, but is doesn't provide any mechanism or to easily create and deploy internally developed courses.
Stage 3: Outsourced e-learning platforms. Recognizing the inability of many companies to create and deploy e-learning courses with proprietary content, companies that offered outsourced e-learning platforms entered the market. These companies take an organiation's learning content, and create, host, and manage Web-based courses. They provide the outsourcing services to Webify course content on their software platform rather than license the software platform to the user.
Because of the dependence on suppliers, organizations using these platforms lack the capability to quickly change content and deploy proprietary content using internal resources. And many companies lose ultimate ownership of their course materials, which, once developed in a Web-based format, become the product of the supplier.
Stage 4: Learning content management systems. LCMSs are the corporate version of traditional course management systems that were initially developed for higher education. These systems are designed to enable subject matter experts, with little technology expertise, to design, create, deliver, and measure the results of e-learning courses rapidly. LCMS applications fundamentally change the value economics of e-learning content delivery by offering organizations a scalable platform to deliver proprietary knowledge to individual learners without bearing a prohibitive cost burden.
The LCMS also can provide certification and tracking for individual learners, who need specific knowledge to certify for regulatory needs, professional licensure, or quality control. For example, medical device manufacturers can use an LCMS to ensure that all sales staff are fully trained on the processes in a new medical device and provide certification results to the FDA. Insurance agents or financial professionals can track compliance with continuing education and licensing requirements. Manufacturing organizations can use the capabilities of an LCMS to track employee learning and performance on OSHA regulations.
An LCMS offers organizations an additional benefit: direct measurement and reporting of the results of e-learning performance, which enables greater accountability for learners, a direct link to performance, and subsequent links to business results. An effective LCMS also takes into account that all organizations create and deploy learning in different ways, and must maintain the flexibility to incorporate those differences. For instance, a large global enterprise that sells and serves multiple products may have unique requirements for training and learning depending on the product, service, or country in which they do business. The LCMS must provide for different types of materials, learning methods, and schedules.
Key building blocks
A good LCMS is an enterprise platform that moves beyond simple content authoring, sotrage, and delivery to include
Easy-to-use content creation tools. A key benefit of LCMSs is the capability for knowledge experts--with little or no programming experience--to author knowledge content quickly, without the assistance of third-party suppliers or information technology resources. A strong LCMS offers easy-to-use, automated authoring applications embedded in the system, including a WYSIWIG editor that eliminates the need for HTML knowledge.
Flexible course design and delivery. Every organization possesses unique content, and training processes, target audiences, sophistication levels, and instructional designs. An LCMS should recognize that and enable substantial flexibility within the system for aligning the LCMS to unique organizational attributes. Content creators must be able to use standard authoring tools that they're familiar with rather than being forced to use tools embedded in the LCMS.
Support of reusable learning objects. Every piece of knowledge within the LCMS must be stored as a reusable learning object--a chunk of distinct knowledge that can be kept as a resource for content designers within the LCMS, or delivered as a stand-alone object. This enables organizations to gain leverage and consistency of knowledge, while reducing redundant and contradictory knowledge across the enterprise.
Administrative applications. The LCMS must be able to function as a stand-alone system that manages enrollment and progress of learners, as well as course content, timing, and tracking.
Assessment tools. In order to link learning to individual performance, the LCMS must assess the learner's prior knowledge and what he or she learns from a particular course or learning object. Robust management and reporting features that analye the effectiveness of couses and indivdual learning objects must be available. The system should be able to accommodate multiple assessments of varying levels of difficulty and security.
Open interface with an LMS or other ERP systems. In addition to serving as a stand-alone application, the LCMS must interface effectively with enterprise systems, including the ability to download employee, member, or customer information and upload performance and completion data. These interfaces must support basic integration formats as XML and industry standards, including IMS, SCORM, and AICC.
Communication and collaboration functions. E-learning is more effective when the learner interacts with the technology, a coach/mentor, or other learners. In addition to the self-study mode, the LCMS should provide the ability for learner collaboration, coaching by subject matter experts, and the creation of learning communities. Communication and collaboration are facilitated through asynchronous and synchronous communications, shared white boards and group spaces, and on-demand tutoring components.
Enterprise security. Due to the proprietary nature of content within an LCMS, the system must contain robust security and encryption mechanisms to protect content and user data. The LCMS must maintain a secure set of user privileges, which determine permission levels that users need to control, manage, and update content.
Facilities for content migration. Most companies maintain a body of proprietary knowledge and learning content in a wide variety of file formats. The ability to rapidly repurpose content for online use can accelerate deployment times, therefore, the LCMS must offer easy-to-use conversion tools.
Automated implementation processes. The most robust LCMS offerings allow for deployment within hours or days, with implementation rarely taking longer than 30 days. The LCMS must have several pre-packaged process options that a customer can simply turn on during deployment--based on their unique organizational requirements. If the majority of the implementation is automated, the customer doesn't need to involve third-party consultants or pay for expensive customization, but still deploys a solution that's uniquely aligned to their business.
Business impact of an LCMS
An LCMS has the potential to provide unprecedented value to organizations. An enterprise-class LCMS enables companies to deploy and evolve content delivery systems at a fraction of traditional costs, further accelerating return on investment.
Competitive advantage through proprietary knowledge. The fundamental business advantage for organizations that invest in LCMS solutions comes from the ability to create and share internal proprietary knowledge of products, services, and processes.
Cost reduction. LCMS solutions allow for the online delivery of highly customized learning objects to individuals, based on their unique existing knowledge, expertise, and learning requirements. In traditional training models, the ability to deliver individual learning solutions is impossible due to cost issues. With an LCMS solution, every learner in the extended enterprise gets information that they need to increase performance, while the organization eliminates the travel and collateral costs of large-scale training initiatives.
Accelerated product launches. When a complex product is introduced, sales people, channel partners, service representatives, customers and others need to be educated in order for a smooth market entry to be achieved. Inefficient and expensive training initiatives can have a negative impact on product rollouts. LCMS applications allow for the rapid creation, delivery and evolution of proprietary content in support of product launches.
Consistent and timely content. LCMS applications allow large organizations to maintain a single delivery mechanism for all enterprise knowledge, which can be used to dynamically transfer knowledge in real-time across the globe. Information is current and consistent, and may be continuously analyzed for its effectiveness in reaching and educating an enterprise-wide audience. The costs of inaccurate or redundant knowledge are eliminated as every individual receives the proprietary content they need to perform at optimal levels.
Companies that have invested in earlier stages of e-learning technology evolution without achieving the desired organizational impact, as well as companies that have yet to invest in e-learning initiatives, are now poised to enjoy substantial business benefits from a learning content management system. An LCMS that's linked to learning management systems and other internal applications will become the product of choice and necessity for companies that need to achieve measurable results from their e-learning investments.
Published: April 2002