Going Online and Looking For An LMS – Here’s What You Need to Know

The coronavirus outbreak has negatively affected many communities and businesses and is continuing to cause uncertainty for many industries, including the Vocational Education and Training industry because many RTOs won’t be able to train their students with their current setup.

To further compound the problem for RTOs delivering face-to-face learning and practical assessments, learners are now looking into pulling out and find other pathways to complete their training because of safety concerns and potential lockdowns.

There is no doubt that these are significant issues that concern the continuity of your RTO, and because of this, you should create a plan now to adapt to the changes brought upon by the coronavirus catastrophe.

What does my RTO need to Deliver Online Training?

Collate information first and plan out a strategy to continue training students. For most RTOs, this strategy involves shifting to either online or blended training delivery. In fact, most RTOs delivering face-to-face training are now acting to get online RTO training resources.

Shifting to online or blended delivery makes sense considering two factors. One is because face-to-face classes seem to be getting more and more impossible and impractical to deliver. And another is the demand for online and blended training delivery greatly overshadows the diminishing market for face-to-face training.

To ensure your business’ continuity, you must consider pivoting to online or blended training delivery.

How can I get an online course running?

It is critical for your RTO to get complete RTO training materials that are optimised for online or blended training to deliver online training courses. Besides the typical RTO training materials like learner guides, assessment workbooks, etc., you can get premium features that your RTO can significantly benefit from like unlimited student license, easily editable and contextualise in word format, interactive content, compatibility with world-class Learning Management Systems (LMSs), etc.

Where can I get premium quality RTO training materials?

The chart below shows the top RTO training materials providers who offer a wide variety of premium RTO training materials. Each company has different packages your RTO can choose from.

All of them offer training packages complete with Learner Guides, Learner Assessment Workbooks, PowerPoints, Assessor Guides, Assessment Mapping Document, Virtual Workplace Resources, while most of them provide unlimited student licences along with their training packages.

Most of these providers offer the same premium features that help support students to complete online or blended delivery training. The only big differences between these providers are that they publish training materials for different industries and that eSkilled uses e-Learning while the other four big brands use digital resources.

Because of safety concerns and potential lockdowns, your RTO must consider RTO training packages that offer virtual classrooms, webinars, and the necessary applications or files that will help you get your online courses running. All RTO training resource providers listed above offer digital or e-learning resources that will help your RTO use strategies or take pathways to achieve great training outcomes despite the coronavirus crisis. Their eLearning resources are delivered in the common and popular SCORM format which is compatible with most World Class LMS systems such as Moodle, Canvas, etc.

They also offer per-unit RTO training resources that are in-demand with learners who want to upskill, people who now have the time to learn new skills, or simply those who want to find a new career.

These RTO training resource providers offer a blank Learning Management System which you will need to deliver RTO online courses ASAP. Further, eSkilled is a new LMS platform that RTOs can use to deliver interactive online training courses. If you decide to get training materials from different providers, you may need to find an LMS from a different provider. A good Learning Management System is important for RTOs delivering online or e-Learning training, so remember to get one from a good LMS provider.

Note: RTOs can be outfitted with only a Student Management System (SMS) or with an additional Learning Management System or Training Management System (TMS). Each have their own benefits. Refer here to know what they are.

What LMS should I get my RTO to start training students in online courses?

Companies offering good learning management systems are Didasko, Moodle, eSkilled, and Coassemble. Not all learning management systems are the same so you should look at the ones that will benefit your RTO the most.

If you are unsure what to pick, you can sometimes ask for samples or personal walkthroughs. This is the case with eSkilled which apparently can be integrated into popular platforms like VETtrak and JobReady, offers e-learning products, and other features that you can see in their walkthrough.

What Web Conferencing App should I get?

BigBlueButton, GoToMeeting, Microsoft Teams, Zoom, and Google Hangouts are popular web conferencing app options. BigBlueButton is free and lets learners easily connect.

A very solid, interactive, and easy-to-use LMS like eSkilled or Didasko, and great Web Conferencing Apps like BigBlueButton are very essential to delivering online and blended training. But if you prefer other methods of delivery, you can just use an SMS or add a TMS instead.

It’s important for you to know the differences of the three so you can pick what’s best-suited to your RTO’s specific needs.

We recommend reading 5 LMS Features When Choosing the Best LMS (Learning Management System) for You.

What Are the SMS, LMS, and TMS?

The Student Management System is essential for RTOs and it is a requirement of the Australian Quality Training Framework standards. Some of the key features of the SMS include processing learner admissions, maintaining attendance, handling student progress, provide data that is compliant with AVETMISS, enrolling new students, etc. In short, this system is essential for day-to-day operations.

The key features of the Learner Management System involve registering students, administering, courseware authoring, documenting, delivering online courses, etc. The LMS is used for online training delivery and can also be integrated into HR systems. This online portal is essential to RTOs delivering online or blended courses. It can be inbuilt into the TMS.

The Training Management System helps RTOs in managing back-office tasks. The key features of the TMS are managing courses, employees, students, etc. and it can help RTOs with all administrative tasks. Like the SMS, the TMS also has AVETMISS reporting capabilities.

Conclusion

There is a wide range of options for your RTO to choose from when it comes to RTO training materials, LMS, and web conferencing apps. They also come with their own benefits like unlimited student license, engaging e-learning, high-student capacity, etc., but you should always choose the options that will best suit your RTOs needs if you want to smoothly deliver online and blended training ASAP to service the growing demand of online and blended delivery learners.

If you need help, don’t hesitate to get in touch with us now at 1300 885 484 or e-mail us at enquiries@compliantlearningresources.com.au