LMS and LCMS: What’s the Difference?

Posted on May 10, 2013 by admin

Below is an extract of the original article by Leonard Greenberg

If you’re confused about the differences between a learning management system (LMS) and a learning content management system (LCMS), you’re not alone. Not only are the names similar, some suppliers are positioning LCMSs as the new wave of LMSs. In fact, an LMS and an LCMS are complementary but very different systems that serve different masters and address unique business challenges.

In essence, an LMS is a high-level, strategic solution for planning, delivering, and managing all learning events within an organization, including online, virtual classroom, and instructor-led courses. The primary solution is replacing isolated and fragmented learning programs with a systematic means of assessing and raising competency and performance levels throughout the organization. For example, an LMS simplifies global certification efforts, enables companies to align learning initiatives with strategic goals, and provides a viable means of enterprise-level skills management. The focus of an LMS is to manage learners, keeping track of their progress and performance across all types of training activities. It performs heavy-duty administrative tasks, such as reporting to HR and other ERP systems but isn’t generally used to create course content. Continue reading →

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Part 1: Using Facebook as a learning platform

Posted on April 26, 2013 by Roberta Gogos

Let’s start this post by stating that Facebook was not actually created as a learning platform, it can however clearly be used to enhance and support elearning. Facebook is STILL the most convenient way to get connected to friends, get updated on existing friends, find new people, build relationships and express identities – so the big Facebook advantage is that your audience is most definitely there. Facebook makes it easy to network and interact with other virtual students, and because most people know how to use Facebook they don’t need to become familiar with a new platform.

It’s also relatively easy to create apps for Facebook, making it a great canvas for developers to add cool new functionality and get users involved pretty quickly. We have written about Facebook apps for elearning before in this post!

For those interested in using Facebook with students the following links may be of use: [Resource: Facebook as an “interactive learning resource”?]

1) Stephen Heppell: Using Facebook in the Classroom This page outlines the dos and don’ts of using Facebook with students. Examples include the following (and much more):

Do – build a separate teacher page for your “teacher” presence.
Do – keep your teacher and personal page very separate
Do – post pictures of school/lessons/trips – even diagrams you put on the board (snap them with your phone and post them) – it reminds students that you are there, generates a pride in the school and reminds them that this is not a vacuous space!
Don’t – ‘friend’ students yourself – not even as your “teacher” presence.
Don’t – accept complete ignorance of Facebook as an excuse for dangerous school policies like blanket bans. Instead offer to be an action researcher, and try it out for a year. Continue reading →

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Step-by-step guide to WordPress and eFront integration

Posted on April 16, 2013 by vprountzos

Installation

To install the eFront WordPress plugin go to: Administration Panels > Plugins > Add New and search for eFront. Find the plugin and click Install Now.

Installing eFront WP plugin

Alternatively, you can download the eFront WP plugin (v2.2.4) from here. After downloading the plugin, extract its contents into the WordPress plugins folder. You can find more information about managing and installing WordPress plugins here.

After you install the plugin you can find it in the list of installed plugins (Administration Panels > Plugins > Installed Plugin). There click on the link ‘Activate’.

Continue reading →

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Why SCORM 2004 failed & what that means for Tin Can

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Athanasios Papagelis

“SCORM 2004 is dying (if not already dead!).” Now that might seem like a strong statement but it’s the sad truth. For the careful observer there are many signs to support this view, and here are a few of them:

Sign #1: 75% of packages are still on SCORM 1.2, 10 years after the initial release of SCORM 2004 [1] [2]

Sign #2: There is no certification process for tools and packages for the latest SCORM 2004 4^th edition. This is the case although several years have passed since 4^th release. Currently, someone can be a 4^th edition adopter but *not* certified. [3]

Sign #3: ADL itself heavily supports Tin Can as the successor of SCORM.[4]

In essence, SCORM 2004 always lived in the shadow of SCORM 1.2. Now, with the introduction of Tin Can API it seems certain that its adoption rate will decline even further.

Reasons SCORM 2004 Failed

There are a multitude of reasons why SCORM 2004 failed. Here are most prominent (and yes, we refer to SCORM 2004 in the past tense quite deliberately): Continue reading →

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eFront V3.6.13 has just been released!

Posted on April 10, 2013 by Athanasios Papagelis

Today we would like to announce a new version of eFront!

The most notable addition to this version is Tin Can support. We took the time to bundle also several UI improvements, a WordPress integration plugin, a new introductory course, and a number of additional enhancements to make your favorite learning tool even better.

So check out what’s new!

Tin Can

This is the first version of eFront with internal support for Tin Can. eFront has implemented the 0.95 version of the standard, which is the most recent one. On top of the implementation you will find a robust way to filter down the reports per user, action or module. Continue reading →

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Vote Now For Best of Elearning! Awards 2013

Posted on April 4, 2013 by admin

Polls are now open for The Best of Elearning! 2013 Awards! Now in its 9^th year, Elearning! Magazine allows eLearning professionals to nominate elearning products and services each year. Readers and users of elearning solutions can nominate and vote for solutions across 27 different categories until May 1^st and The Best of Elearning! Awards will be honored at the Enterprise Learning! Conference & Expo on August 26^th at the Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, CA, and showcased at ELCE and ELCE Virtual.

eFront LMS has been a Best of Elearning! award winner for the past 2 consecutive years and we need your help to make it 3 years in a row!

If you have 1 minute (and you know you do! ) please click on the link below to vote for eFront Learning in the following categories:

Category #1: Best Learning Management System (SaaS, Cloud-based, or open-source only)
Category #2: Best Learning Management System (Enterprise-based, behind the firewall)
Category #27: Best Open Source Solutions (Any category)

Here’s all you need to do:

Click on the “vote now” link below
Fill in categories 1, 2 &/or 27 with your own reasons of course
Scroll down the page, fill in your details and click submit!

Click to vote now

And here’s why your vote matters to us

“In a recent survey, more than 85% of respondents have personally recommended an e-learning solution to a peer over the last 12 months. And, 61% agreed that award-recognition impacted their decision to consider or purchase from the vendor. The Elearning! Awards program formalizes this process by publishing the recommendations of e-learning users and honoring “Best-in-Class” solutions.” ~ ELearning! Magazine

If you’re interested in seeing previous winners (& we were amongst them ) – please click here

Thank you from the team at eFront!

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Ten tips to build interactivity

Posted on March 29, 2013 by admin

Interactivity is a key component in the learning process. While it’s relatively easy for a teacher in a classroom to interact with the learners and, by ‘reading’ the situation, involve them in the learning process in the most effective ways, it’s much harder for those producing online learning materials. For one thing, they can only make educated guesses at their learners’ needs, state of mind, attitude to and preferences for learning and so on.

So, when developing online learning materials, it’s important to define the content that needs to be learned; determine what the learner must do as a result of completing these learning materials, and so decide on the most appropriate ‘treatment’ for the content. Users must interact with online learning materials to navigate through the materials; amass information and make decisions.

Considering what the learner needs to know or do – rather than what the teacher wants to teach – involves you in ‘interactivity’. So here are ten things to bear in mind about interactivity when you’re developing online learning materials:

Allow the learners to control their learning – so they’re more likely to engage with the whole learning activity. You should always let them see where they’re going on their learning journey and what options they have at each stage of that journey. Continue reading →

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eLearning in Australia

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Roberta Gogos

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Lee Corbett, Chief Executive at simply elearning. She has years of experience in the elearning marketing in Australia and was the perfect person to gain some insight on what’s happening Down Under.

1. Please tell us a little about yourself and your organization

I have been in the elearning and VET sector training world since 2000 when I was engaged by Southbank Institute of TAFE in their Engineering faculty. I have held several committee positions nationally, mainly in the telecommunications and electronics industry skilling areas. I left TAFE in 2006 to set up an elearning department for one of the private mining RTO’s here in Queensland before starting my own business late 2007.

We are a specialised elearning content development company for the mining industry and all of the associated trade areas. We cover a lot of different facets of the sector from first aid, to plant maintenance and everything in between.

Having worked with TAFE I was familiar with a lots of LMS’s but none that wowed me. Then after a lot of research I came across the eFront LMS. I loved the system. For a relatively complex system as far as output goes, it was very functional and for me fairly easy to understand. We matched it against the likes Blackboard, Moodle and Janison it wins hands down.

Anyway, we loved the system so much we started to refer it to our clients and the relationship with eFront has grown from there. Now with the TalentLMS on the market we are so excited about being able to provide clients in Australia with a LMS solution regardless of their size or budget. I can’t wait to see where we are in 5 years time!

2. How would you describe the state of elearning in Australia today?

I should first clarify what I believe to be the difference between elearning and online learning. There has been a lot of resistance from trainers and educators. This is mainly due to job security rather than their dislike for elearning. Online learning (prevalent in TAFE & Universities) is merely taking paper based or video resources and putting them on the internet for students to access, download and view. Whereas true elearning is the development of training content from paper based to learner led resources. This is where you require instructional design and the ability to sit in the participants seat in front of a computer and have the content ‘talk’ to you whilst you ‘interact’ with it. This is the work that we do. We take paper based resources and we use graphical designers, instructional designers, and animators etc to build them into a ‘storybook’ of learning.

In my opinion, the elearning market in Australia is still in its infancy. Online learning is very popular with TAFE’s and Universities, but true elearning is something that the nation is still coming to terms with. Continue reading →

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eLearning Resources from eFront Blog

Installation