Communication platforms are becoming increasingly popular. These platforms enable the users to communicate better and in more interesting ways by simultaneously offering features for calling, texting, video-chatting, and screen sharing.
Initially used majorly by the video-gaming community, communication platforms are not being integrated with learning management systems like Skilljar to enhance the learning experience for the learners and spare instructors of their heavy workload to some extent.
Here are some reasons why a communication platform combined with an LMS can enhance learning:
More engagement
Communication platforms have many features that can be pretty engaging when compared to a typical learning management system. Thus, combining these two can create a learning system that is engaging for the workforce.
Because of a communication platform, the interaction, and engagement between the learners and the instructors also significantly increase. This can make corporate learning a more interactive experience than just a one-sided lecture. The learners can also engage with each other over a communication platform that has been integrated with a learning management system. Such conversations can make learning easier while helping the learners learn from their peers.
Handling FAQs
FAQs or Frequently asked questions are named rightly as these are some of the common questions that learners tend to ask. However, as an instructor, it can get a little chaotic and challenging to answer everyone’s questions one-to-one as the questions keep repeating themselves. Communication platforms can take away some workload off the instructor’s shoulders and eliminate the need of answering FAQs. Earlier conversations can be kept safe as archives for all members to see. This can help them find the FAQs that have already been answered. This will not only help the instructor but also save the learners’ time.
Most communication platforms, like Discord, even offer options to assign chatbots that can answer questions and thus handling FAQs become easier.
Always connected
Traditionally, the primary medium of official communication has been emailing. But let’s be honest, emails can be slow and when it is an emergency, emails don’t really help. In many cases, learners even have to call up to let the instructor know that they have sent an ‘urgent’ email immediately after sending it. But when you integrate a communication platform with your LMS, you get the benefit of continuous connectivity that leads to better learner support and communication.
Not just the learners but even instructors can take the help of the communication platform to communicate time-sensitive information to the learners.
Blend of formal and informal communication
One of the most prominent features of communication platforms is the organized channel system. You can divide the conversations into different channels on the basis of what the topic of discussion is. This can help everyone on the communication platform hold both formal and informal conversations with their peers and their instructors.
The conversation channels can also be made private or public depending on if the conversation is important for everyone to see or if it is just a private one-to-one conversation for clearing doubts.
Communication platforms also support more casual elements for virtual conversations like emojis, GIFs, stickers, etc that can be very engaging and relatable to learners, especially for the millennials and post-Millenials.
Gamification
Communication platforms can help facilitate the gamification of eLearning. Most communication platforms have been developing features like leaderboards, point reward tools, etc while supporting third-party plugins that can be used creatively to create interesting ways of rewarding learners. For example, you can reward points on the communication platform to learners who performed well in a quiz hosted on your learning management system.
Conclusion
Communication platforms enable better connectivity and communication between individuals involved in eLearning. This leads to more collaborative efforts and a better learning experience. Communication platforms don’t have to replace learning management systems, of course. They can rather be used to enhance these systems through integration.