One of the most frustrating aspects of many learning management systems is being forced to adjust your training plan to fit the LMS.  It’s understandable.  Most of these systems are built with a one size fits all design.  This approach is easier to build and fewer options can make it simpler to 'go with the program'. However, if you try to work outside the box while creating online training, things can become much more complicated if they are even possible. Continue reading to learn how to create an e-learning training plan that suits your needs with the Accord LMS!
 
Accord has the features you need to create the training plan you want for your unique organizational structure and training requirements. This article will introduce you to those features and show you how to customize your Learning Paths to better facilitate your instructional style and requirements.

Context Menu

Both the LMS Admin Catalog and Team interfaces use a mouse click to open a context menu with different options depending on where you click.  For example, click on a folder in the catalog to get a list of everything you can do with that folder.

 

The Accord Admin Interface is separated into five different pages or tabs.  Each tab provides the admin tools covering one of the core aspects of Learning Management. Note: Accord Reports, Charts and the Learner UI have their own admin tool tabs.
 

 

Catalog

 
The Accord Catalog is the repository of all training content and resources.  The Accord LMS is set apart by the hierarchical folder structure of the Catalog.  The Accord catalog offers Admins the opportunity to organize their learning elements similarly to how they organize files on their computer. 
 

Benefits of the Accord Catalog

• Manage and deploy learning elements individually or within courses.
• Default or custom folders control how learning material is presented to learners.
• Easily limit access to catalog contents based on Learning Role and Team membership.
• Provide Learners with curated self-enrollment catalogs and training resources.
• Learning Elements (LE) can include most content types including, but not limited to: SCORM presentations and quizzes, Videos, PDF, Instructor Led Training Sessions, Web Meetings, Microsoft Office documents, Google documents, Assessments and Surveys.
• The Accord LMS can also utilize and track almost any web based asset.

 

What can you do from the Catalog Tab?

• Create Folders or Learning Paths with Courses or any type of training heirarchy you want
• Create Online Training Learning Elements
• Set Conditions (Prerequisites)
• Review and update a folder’s Enrollment
• Create and manage sessions for Instructor Lead Training
• Manage Session Registration and Waitlists
• Set LE and Folder scoring requirements and weighting
• Copy, move, and delete Learning Elements and Folders
• Purchase from more than 20,000 courses from our integrated online marketplace.
• Reorganize Folders and LE with simple drag and drop tools, or iPad friendly options

 

 

The catalog has five default folder types each with it's own unique presentation, properties and allowable child folder types. The default folders are Folder, Learning Path, Collection, Course, and Chapter. Although you have the option to use as demonstrated, you can also simply have Learning Paths and Courses, or just Courses or even just Folders for you LE content. All of the Folder properties can be edited, and new folder types can be created to meet your content catalog requirements. The Accord Catalog is more than just a list of courses.  The catalog and its folders offer you considerable flexibility in how you build, manage, and deploy your training resources.
 

 

Enrollment

 
 

 

 

What can you do from the Enrollment Tab?

• Add or Drop enrollment for the Learners' My Courses
• Add or Drop content for the Learners' self-enrollment Catalog
• Query Learning Catalog to find enrolled Learners and Learning Roles
• Query Learning Roles to find enrolled Content
• Create, Delete, or Restore Learning Attempt records
• Export Learning Enrollment records to CSV

The Enrollment page provides a single interface supporting a wide range of  LMS enrollment features.
 

Learning Roles

 
Learning Roles are among the most powerful tools available within the Accord LMS.  Properly applied and automated they can reduce administrative overhead by an order of magnitude as compared to a traditional LMS.
 
Although Learning Roles can be used for many different purposes, their main function is to link Learning Content with Learners. You can enrolled Learning Content, Social Groups and Resources to Learning Roles each with unique Start and Due dates. The Learning Roles can then be assigned to a group of learners to provide training consistency.  Each learner can have multiple learning roles to customize their training.  For example, I could be assigned both the Customer Service and Supervisor Learning Roles. Roles and Teams function together to provide specific access to the Learning Catalog content.  In addition, Roles can be automatically added or dropped for Learners based on their Profile fields. This is an incredibly powerful feature that most LMS do not offer. For more information, please see read the article on Role Management Rules.
 

Benefits of Learning Roles

• Create consistent learning programs for groups of Learners
• Provide Individualized learning based on each Learner’s unique requirements
• Simplifies administration and saves time
• Simplifies blended learning
• Automate enrollment and removal of Training
• Enroll Learners in Social Learning Groups
• Assign Start, Due and Expiration Dates
• Automate recurring training based on any schedule
• LMS Admin types can be granted the administration of specific Roles within their Teams
• Custom Reports based on Role membership

 

 

 What can you do from the Roles Tab?

• Create, edit, and delete Learning Roles
• Create Role Groups to organize Roles
• Review a Summary of Role details (Rules, Learner Count, Date and renewal properties)
• Define Membership Rules for automatic assignment
• Control deployment with Start, Due, Expiration, and Renewal Dates
• Schedule notifications prior to start and due dates
• View Roles available to each team
• Set LE tracking options

 
Learning Roles give LMS administrators a way to modularize and articulate their training plans.  These Roles are then assigned through automated membership rules, access codes, HRIS Interface, Bulk Learner Upload, or manual administration.  A combination of learning role assignments can define each user’s individual learning experience.
 

Teams

 
Teams provide a way to group learners in ways that reflect your organization, such as your geographical and departmental structure, like an org chart.  Teams can also be used to group different learner cohorts.  Teams, in combination with Learning Roles, support extended enterprise requirements such providing customized training from a centralized Learning Catalog for Employees, Customers, Distributors, etc. Each can be grouped in their own hierarchical team structure.  Finally, Teams support unique LMS Admin for local administration and reporting from anywhere in the organization.
 

Benefits of Teams

• Conforms to both your organization and the way you organize Learners
• Four standard LMS Admin types plus unlimited custom LMS Admin types
• Empowers local supervisors to lead their team’s training efforts without full system access
• Work with Learning Roles for more granular control over Learners and their Administrators or Supervisors
• Global Enterprise reports can be delivered on a fixed schedule and appropriately filtered to show only what each LMS Admin should see

 

What can you do from the Teams tab?

• Create and Manage Teams in the hierarchy
• Create and Manage LMS Admin Types
• Create and Manage LMS Administrators
• Create and Manage Team Members (Learners)
• Limit Team Access to specific Catalog Content, Learning Roles, and Portals
• Create and Manage Team Access Codes
• Send Messages to members of the team
• Bulk Team or Learning Role assignment
• Bulk Learner import

 
Teams provide a great way to organize a large number of Learners in different locations and with different levels of engagement. Teams also offer LMS Admin types and a powerful way to filter reports. Both LMS Admins and Learners can be members of multiple teams.
 

Configuration

 
The Accord LMS may be the most configurable and customizable LMS on the market.  You’re not likely to visit the configuration menu after your initial setup, but there are a few settings that you’ll want to know about. 
 

What can you do from the Configuration Tab?

The complete list is beyond the scope of this post, but here are some highlights.
 
Notifications
Customize any of twenty-five email templates used by the LMS.

Folder Types
Add your own Folder Type with unique behaviors and identifying icon.

Learning Element Formats
Customize the presentation of your learning content. 

Status Types
Change the icons for your LE completion Status, ILT Session Status, and Prerequisite Status.

ILT Resources
Define your instructors and classroom locations for Instructor Led Training sessions.

License Key and Details
A full range of utilization data including your current active learner count.
 

We’ve just scratched the surface of how the Accord LMS can be configured and customized to meet your exact needs. There are also configurable report definitions which can be automatically sent to administrators filtered to show the information they need.  There are gamification leader boards, points, customizable certificates, content management, a fully modular design, enterprise class site layout and management tools, hundreds of third party plugins and skins, and the list goes on.
 
If you'd like more information, please check out on Online Documentation or contact one of our Solution Specialists to see how the Accord LMS can present your training the way you want. You can count on us.