Inspire and Maintain Winning Teams in a Training Management System

Experienced trainers and educators understand the secret of peer groups in training management systems. When learners collaborate in an engaging and satisfying way, they produce potent results. It's not only an effective business strategy, but in a training program it works magic, fostering a spirit of community and a sense of common purpose. Why is a sense of community an important aspect of a learning experience? And how can you create efficient group formats in a learning environment? Latané's social impact theory describes how a person's behavior tends to correlate with the behavior of a group of people, given that these people become important to that person. So if a group is working hard to achieve a common goal, individual members are more likely to feel more deeply invested in the cause. Frequent interaction is a critical factor in the equation. Encourage learners to collaborate to achieve goals using group discussions, IMs, blogs, conferences, wikis, etc. The more interactions that take place, the closer the students' sense of "us" will be. Belonging to a community of engaged learners increases the likelihood that each learner is more deeply engaged with the material. All too often in training management systems, a leader (teacher or trainer) fails to take advantage of peer groups.This may be partly due to challenges posed by peer group arrangements. For example, we've all had the experience of a team effort in which there were one or more participants didn't--lightly speaking--give their all. For peer learning to be effective, the trainer must create a system that insures that all learners are participating. Thus the importance of an efficient learning tool like a training/learning management system, or LMS. Using an LMS, trainers and educators are able to track both group and individual progress. An LMS includes critical tools such as online assessment, automatic marking, a resource organizer for project work, and progress tracking mechanisms. Trainers are able to track which employees have completed their course requirements and those whose obligations are unfulfilled, or who may require updates or "refresher" courses. LMS online learning experts strive to be trendsetters, not followers, in the industry. This requires not only thinking outside the box, but keeping in mind our societal need for technology as a collaborative tool. The possibilities are endless. Companies are reacting according to this basic human need, developing cutting-edge technology that provides new ways of interacting online. Cisco, for example, is working on unified communications that combine a virtual meeting space via TV, web conferencing and instant messaging. The idea of collaboration is at the heart of tools like LMS online training systems as well. In designing and maintaining your organization's training management system, keep in mind its community-building capacity. The more interactive and collaborative, the more effective your course will be. Synergy is the bread and butter of today's globalizing economy.