How to Make Sense of your Training Technology Solutions

It can take months of design and development to implement an effective training technology solution. The ideal result is growing knowledge, changing behavior, and improving performance. Sometimes those outcomes can be observed through improvements to the underlying organizational goals. However, most employee development teams are limited in their ability to directly measure the impact of learning. So, how does one make the case for additional training development or improvements to current training programs?

Tracking in the eLearning world translates to collecting Big Data.

The solution: Data tracking. Tracking in the eLearning world translates to collecting Big Data each time a learner interacts with your content. Learning libraries, learning portals, and Learning Experience Platforms (LXP) each have unique functions. Consequently, the method of data-tracking for each will vary.

Training Technology Solutions for Tracking Learning

Training technology solutions can provide invaluable insight on a multitude of things, ultimately helping you troubleshoot weaknesses in your e-learning material. Here are a few common data points to keep in mind:

• Completion: How many learners have completed activities or the full course
• Proficiency: The number of correct/incorrect responses
• Progress: How fast learner getting through course material
• Satisfaction: Feelings of contentment with the training experience
• Utilization: How often your employees refer to training
• Virality: The number of non-mandatory course completions
• Devices: Which devices were used 

With more complex eLearning activities like simulations, measurement and analysis can be more of a challenge. This will often require a training technology solution that allows for customization, and an analyst to design scoring criteria that can give meaning to raw numbers. Keep in mind, analysis will be dependent on your technology strategy. There are a few methods that capture different kinds of data:

Integrated LMS often follows SCORM or Experience API standards that allow easy data-tracking

Manual tracks basic data that is manually entered into the system (IE: how often a student signs into a course)

Click monitors pages clicked by learners

Custom is broken down into database and clickstream. Database prompts learners to type in basic information upon starting a course. Clickstream, on the other hand, uses web analytic tools to generate a web log.

Web Server monitors the frequency of course visits.

Innovations in Data-tracking

There have always been notable technical challenges to data-tracking. SCORM was limited in its ability to capture data between multiple systems and applications. Experience API (xAPI) was the obvious solution. The xAPI specification is meant to facilitate collecting learning experience data from multiple platforms in a cohesive language and allowing training and operational systems to communicate. Specifically, training activity data is recorded and sent via secure statements to a Learning Record Store (LRS). LRS records all the statements made and can be shared with other LRS(s).

There have always been notable technical challenges to data-tracking.

Making Data-driven Training Decisions

Though most of the effort exerted by employee development teams is devoted to creating engaging training design, the training technology solutions supporting course content are also a key factor in driving organizational success. Digital learning is becoming more complex as training technology evolves. To make data-driven decisions going forward, you will need a well-defined strategy for measurement and evaluation. So, be sure not to neglect the training technology factor in your learning solution.