Simplify Your LMS Content Management in 2020
by Steve Jones, Enerdynamics Online Content Developer
Many corporate online training professionals prefer to manage content by deploying files on their corporate LMS rather than running them through the content provider’s LMS and website. While both are feasible options, it often makes sense to host files in the corporate LMS so that training can be easily packaged as desired and so that employees’ progress can
be tracked.
But often times distributing and receiving course files from the content provider can be difficult. The files are very large – much too cumbersome to email. Instead, a file transfer service such as Dropbox is required. This is a security concern for some clients, so they need to find a workaround. When a course is updated, clients must redo the process all over. And until the administrator has time to upload the new files in your LMS, learners are using old versions of the courses. The large files also take up a lot of space on an LMS, which is problematic if your company pays for storage capacity or has a limit on total storage used.
Want to simplify this process in 2020 and beyond? One alternative that can really make life easier is to have your content provider use a centralized distribution service to deploy files. Here’s how it works:
- In Enerdynamics' case, we use a service called Course Container. We upload the course content files to Course Container’s servers.
- When a client orders a course, we create a 2 kilobyte (KB) deployment file on Course Container’s admin site, and then we email the file to our client’s LMS administrator. The client then simply uploads the small file to their LMS.
- When learners access the course through the client’s LMS, the deployment connects to the content on Course Container’s servers and everything runs seamlessly as though the complete course file resides on the client’s LMS.
There are three main benefits to using a content distribution service solution.
- Upload once and be assured you are always accessing the newest content: Clients only need to upload the deployment file once and then continually receive access to up-to-date content. When we update a course, we upload the new course file to Course Container and the existing deployment file will immediately connect to it rather than the old file.
- Easy/light: The 2KB deployment file is simple to distribute. Because it is so small, we can send it as an attachment to an email. The file also takes up much less space on an LMS, which is an important consideration if you pay for storage.
- No writing reports: Often our client agreements require that the client provide usage data on a periodic basis. With Course Container, we can get usage reports directly so there is no longer a need for clients to send us quarterly reports. Yet reports through the client’s LMS are also still available in the same way they were when the files were hosted by the client.
Since we began offering this method of deployment, many of our clients who have tested out centralized distribution have found that it’s easy to set up, it works seamlessly, and it is preferable to loading the full content files on their own LMS. We are happy to walk you through it and show you how it can work for you – just call us at 866-765-5432 ext. 700 or email info@enerdynamics.com to schedule a time.
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If you are interested in learning about Enerdynamics’ growing library of more than 40 online energy training courses and 20 bundled learning paths, all of which can be deployed through multiple platforms including Course Container, please contact us at info@enerdynamics.com or 866-765-5432 ext. 700.
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