Do you use an LMS or an LXP to deliver your eLearning? Whichever be your medium of learning delivery we have compiled a list of ten must-have / essential features for your learning platform. You could be a first-time LMS/LXP-buyer or looking to replace your existing learning platform. Either way, we believe that this blog post will help you identify the essential features that will help you make an easy-buying decision.

Easy to Use Learning Platform

The ideal learning platform should be easy to use with a clear interface that allows users to perform the tasks that they need to do without any confusion. Most often when organizations look to upgrade or change their learning platforms one of the key reasons cited is the unfriendly user-interface and task manager of the platform.

Integration Capabilities

This is the next most important pre-requisite for organizations: integration capabilities with one or many of the following systems:

• Talent Management
• Workforce Management
• Compliance Platform
• Human Resource Information System (HRIS)
• Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)
• Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
• Payment Processor

Content Management Using the Learning Platform

Content management is an integral feature of learning delivery platforms. Ideally your platform should support all eLearning standards like SCORM and TinCan/xAPI. You should be able to upload different forms of content like videos, assessments, presentations, and text-files with ease. Another essential aspect is the structuring and grouping of different modules of learning content in a meaningful learning path.

Mobile Apps & Mobile Learning

In an earlier blog post, we had stressed upon the advantages of mobile learning and how they fostered learning at the modern workplace. Even the LinkedIn Workplace Learning Report 2019 stresses upon the need for mobile and social learning solutions to propagate employee education with ease. In such a scenario, it becomes increasingly important for your learning platform to support mobile learning and offer both Android and iOS app versions of the learning platform for easy access to learning via smartphones and tablet devices.

Support for Microlearning and Blended Learning

Typically, all learning platforms should easily support microlearning as it is essentially a complete learning unit that is of a smaller duration. Where we need to run a check; is to see if the platform supports blended learning. Despite the growth of pure-play self-paced eLearning, there still exists a huge market and need for guided blended learning where the presence of a virtual instructor matters. Hence it is important to ensure that your learning platform supports blended learning and microlearning modules with equal ease.    

Assessments within the Learning Platform

How does one measure the effectiveness of the eLearning delivered? How do we ensure that the learner completes the module fully and acquires some knowledge from the program? Assessments and tests are one way to ensure that the learner completes the program. Most eLearning programs have assessments built into the course. In addition to this, we should ensure that the learning platform is able to support different formats of assessments.

It could be as simple as a set of multiple-choice questions or an adaptive learning-based sequence of tests where the questions become more difficult as the learner completes each question. The platform should also allow the learning administrator to check and assess the assessments completed by the learner. This should have both a manual system where an individual goes through the test and an automatic verification where the platform is programmed with the correct answers and displays the test results to the learners.  

Learner Analytics & Digital Badges

An important mandate for HR and L&D teams is to measure the RoI on eLearning. Your learning platform should offer a significant amount of analytics information in an easy to comprehend format. In essence, intelligent reporting of data that allows decision-makers to make sense of the volumes of learner data being generated. A learning platform without proper data and reporting features will serve no purpose.

Digital badges and certifications that learners can receive on completing a program boost the interest of the learner to complete a program. These digital badges can be prominently shared on social media and learners can also flaunt them on their CVs and LinkedIn profiles.

Branding & Identity Using the Learning Platform

Many organizations opt for a service that packages a learning platform and a whole bunch of catalog courses together. Organizations feel that it’s a win-win situation for them as they do not have to invest in creating eLearning content from scratch. Ideally the learning platform should allow you to white-label and brand the learning platform in your brand-identity.

eCommerce and Marketplace 

The ideal learning platform should let you monetize your training content with ease. Support for popular globally accepted online payment solutions like PayPal should be readily accessible and allow learners to buy training content from you. For the eCommerce functionality to work well, an organization or individual should be able to configure a learning sales portal with ease using the learning platform.

Security & Privacy

In the post-GDPR world, the importance of security and privacy becomes doubly important. Organizations can be heavily penalized for data-security and privacy breaches. The ideal learning platform should factor these security and privacy issues and have the necessary certifications in place from statutory bodies that guarantee the safety of websites. This also gains significance when the learning platform incorporates an online payment gateway that facilitates the purchase of eLearning content.  SSL certification is the first step towards meeting security guidelines.

Good to Have Features for your Learning Platform

We examined the ‘must-have’ features. Now let us look at some features that will be good to have in your learning platform.

Course Authoring Tool

Typically, a learning platform allows you to import your existing eLearning content and present it in a structured manner with appropriate learning paths. Just imagine the benefits of having an in-built course-authoring tool that allows you to create eLearning content within the same platform on which it is deployed? People could state that integration with a third-party course-authoring tool would work just as well. In our opinion, in a few years, availability of a course-authoring tool will turn into a must-have feature.

Chatbot

The chatbot could serve as a virtual guide to the learners and help them pick relevant programs in an informal and engaging manner.

Recommendation Engine

In a few years this is likely to become a must-have feature. An intelligent recommendation engine that analyses learner behavior and recommends the next learning path/course within the platform based on data. This could become a key differentiator between competing learning platforms.

Origin Fractal LXP

Origin Fractal LXP is a refreshing new way to learn. Origin Fractal is an agile, robust, mobile-first learning experience platform designed to foster workplace and extended enterprise learning. You can use Origin Fractal to train your employees, product-buyers, users, channel and sales partners. Visit the website for more information. We had earlier published a guide in the form of a questionnaire that would help people make an informed decision when buying a learning experience platform. We believe that this guide and blog post will serve you in good stead when you look to buy a new learning platform for your organization. If there are any other features that you think should be a ‘must-have’ for your LMS or LXP; please share your inputs in the ‘Comments’ section.