Changing the front-end, learning portal experience. Is now the right time?

By Bryan Chapman

When a learner goes to a company’s central learning site, what should they see? Here are two basic models:

1. A very structured site with an individual learning plan, with step-by-step instructions for learning one’s job (analogous to a degree program at a university)

...or

2. A site full of learning opportunities with articles, reference books, video-based content, FAQ boards, user-generated content, all neatly tagged and ready to be consumed (analogous to walking into a library, where learning is just waiting to happen).

Most learning professional would say they want both, but that’s where things get interesting. There are loads of discussions about how to merge the best of structured learning and informal learning, which has caused learning technologies to react the best they can. Learning Management System providers are adding informal learning tools to their infrastructure; however, most of what I’ve seen to date places informal learning as a support module to individual learning plans and structured learning...and NOT as the entry point (what learners see first).

The purpose of this blog is to let you know about a whole new class of enterprise learning tools that I’ve been seeing lately that are dramatically changing the front end experience, where learners log into the portal site and it feels more like walking into a library of information than into a structured class with additional resources. I’m not sure what to even call this class of software. They still have LMS functionality, but really aren’t designed to conform to the old notion of how LMS’s function.

Here are some of the systems that have caught my attention in this space:

Instancy (www.instancy.com). They call their system as On-Demand, Learning Portal. Created by industry insider Harvey Singh. When you go inside their system, it feel much more like a transactional webpage and not so much like an LMS.

Mzinga (www.mzinga.com). This company was formerly called KnowledgePlanet. They created a whole new front-end portal interface and they call their system “On-Demand, Social Software.” Their LMS is still part of the mix but not the main learning interface unless learners dive into structured courses. This isn’t just an informal learning add in. It is now their flagship product.

Xerceo (www.xerceo.com). This company built their “Social Learning Network” software from the ground up on the idea that learning is a social activity and that the role of an LMS is to launch, track and report; but is not the best metaphor for sharing learning.

Sclipo (www.sclipo.com). Also calls their system a “Social Learning Network.” What’s cool about this system is that individuals can connect learners with learning resources inside the system based on dialog and discussion. Most interesting is how they’ve also carried over the learning environment into Facebook.

Blue Mango Learning Systems (www.bluemangolearning.com). Blue Mango adds a twist to on-demand learning. The system was created specifically for customer support reps to share the learning experience with customers. Customer service staff creates personalized tutorials and guides for customers, even as they engage with them on the phone.

Again, you see why the LMS moniker simply doesn’t describe these systems, although ultimately the task is about providing meaningful learning experiences.

I would like to keep adding to this list as a resource for others. If you know of a system that provides an alternate front-end experience for learners, please either submit a comment or email me a link to add to this site.

On a side note, in my consulting I’m not running into too many companies who are willing to make such dramatic changes to the learning experience. The most common reasons site as to why they don’t want to make the switch include:

1. We want to be the subject matter authority and are not willing to relinquish control
2. Collaboration can lead to a waste of time. We need people to learn their jobs as quickly and efficiently as possible.
3. Legal issues. If we allow users to create content, they could add things that are not-accurate leading to liability issues if the information comes through our learning site.
4. Information overload. People are already finding it hard enough to find the learning they need. We don’t want to confuse the issue further opening the floodgates to more information.
5. If we provide access to more informal learning resources, how to we track, measure and know that it is helping.

There are some valid issues here and questions that should be raised when mapping out your overall learning strategy.

Enclosure