June 25th, 2009 by Robin Green

In LMS training programs, oftentimes trainers ask staff members to work in groups to develop ideas, produce reports, and assume different roles within a group to achieve organizational objectives.

We’ve all seen the corporate art poster that reads “TEAMWORK” at the top, and at the bottom, the old Japanese proverb: “None of us is as smart as all of us.” There’s a photo in the center of hands of placed one over the other, suggesting that cooperation and team spirit yield success.

Some of us with a dryer sense of humor have also appreciated another poster, with the same image and “TEAMWORK” at the top. Below the image reads the slogan: “None of us is as dumb as all of us.”

Which slogan is more accurate, humor aside? Are teams a worthwhile venture in a training program–or in any educational context, for that matter?

Studies have shown that when a strong and clear structure exists, team learning systems can be highly efficient and successful. When lead by an experienced trainer or organized by an LMS online system, the benefits of creating teams for training purposes outweigh the few hazards of teamwork. But teams do need to be coordinated correctly.

Everyone is born with different talents, and throughout our lives, we each cultivate different sets of skills. We all have something unique to offer. Experienced teachers have always understood this, which is why group projects continue to be assigned to students–even in this individualistic day and age.

However, despite the fact that “teamwork” is a sort of buzzword in the corporate world, businesses often make only put forth a superficial effort to create a functional and trusting team environment. Many managers continue to nurture competitive work environments, convinced that the strongest employees will rise to the surface.

This becomes a major obstacle to corporate team-building efforts–managers themselves often possess weak teamwork skills or don’t really believe in teamwork, and so imparting and fostering these skills in others becomes difficult and unrealistic.

But when teams are organized and guided with good faith, a successful team learning experience creates a happy, productive staff. But when teams are handled poorly–tasks are unclear, competition exists, etc.–the opposite scenario becomes true: a tense, unhappy, and unproductive staff.

Because of this, both trainers and trainees benefit largely from team-building learning systems. LMS training can help to organize teams and assign individual tasks and aid in the development, distribution of goals and roles amongst team members.

LMS training can also be used to provide teamwork skills training. Teamwork is something that is taught–it’s not an innate understanding or knowledge that comes natural to most people. There are plenty of team-building learning systems online. Coggno offers a wide range of cost-effective courses on areas ranging from Group and Team Management, to Workplace Communication, to Team Dynamics and Motivation in the Workplace.

Team development LMS training can help both managers and staff become better communicators and achieve organizational goals together.

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Coggno.com provides world-class online training.

June 12th, 2009 by Robin Green

When adopting or creating LMS online courses, imagine yourself as a student. The whole idea of online courses is centered around convenience and usability for all learners.

Convenience is crucial in the online education world. Students can access an LMS course from any computer, without requiring special software. Course assignments, tests, and activities can be completed at a student’s leisure, any time of day and anywhere. With the growing number of places providing Wi-Fi–and various projects throughout the country that are working to create city-wide free internet–LMS online courses are optimally flexible to learners’ busy schedules.

LMS providers like Coggno offer a range of user-friendly tools. Students can watch videos, simulations and screen recordings. They can complete comprehensive tests and assessments interacting with a simple interface. Using Web 2.0 programs like discussion forums, blogs, and wikis, students can interact with each other and develop a sense of group dynamic and community, which is often key to learners’ success.

These are just a few possibilities that your LMS online course may provide students. But what about special learners such as the visually-impaired? For visually impaired students, many of the exciting features available in an LMS online course can be tweaked.

Ergonomics, the science of designing technology according to human needs, has led to useful and fascinating developments not only for people with disabilities, but for everyone. The ease with which people interact with an LMS can be facilitated by ergonomic accessories.

Various kinds of keyboards that make life easier for users include expanded, miniature, and chorded (with one key per digit per hand) keyboards. There are also large print keyboards with high contrast colors, such as black on yellow. Sticky keys, Clicklock and Togglekeys (two Microsoft Windows features) are still other assistive technologies that make online learning more accessible to all people.

A computer system used to artificially create human speech is called a speech synthesizer, and can be implemented in software or hardware. A text-to-speech (TTS) system turns normal language into speech.

Though many computer operating systems have included speech synthesizers since the 1980s, and despite their increasingly mainstream status, TTS systems have a long way to go in terms of sophistication. Clarity of voice is generally the measure of a synthesizer’s quality, but other challenges the programs face include the task of keeping up with the world’s growing vocabulary—new words, names and places.

The ability to verbally communicate with a program adds a new dimension to an online course experience, and may be the key to accessing and interacting with an LMS online course for visually-impaired people.

Other exciting LMS features for visually-impaired people are audio tools like Coggno’s Apple Podcast Producer. Podcasts are another increasingly mainstream medium, because of their convenience, sharing ease, and the creativity they allow. Podcasts can be used in an LMS online course to provide and reinforce learning material; record lectures, interviews, and discussions; and act as announcements, updates and reminders for LMS students.

Podcasts are easy to create, produce and share, and learners do not need an iPod to listen to them. Podcasts are normally in the form of mp3 files, meaning they’re accessible to all learners. Indeed, accessibility for people with disabilities means accessibility for everyone. The greater variety of features you use on in your LMS online course, the greater ease with which your students learn.

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Coggno.com offers a wide variety of online training courses.

June 5th, 2009 by Robin Green

LMS online exam preparation classes are effective and serve a practical purpose: helping people start their path on a new career without interfering much with their lives.

For those who have already completed a program or degree in their fields, taking the big test–be it a board exam or other standardized test–can be an enormous cause of stress. Oftentimes institutions offer preparation courses and set up group study sessions, but these aren’t for everyone.

When I study, I require two things. First, I need my own space. I need to at least have the illusion (even if there are other people in the room) that I am alone, or at least that my thoughts will be able to follow their own track without interruption. I need to be able to talk to myself, to take long pauses and concentrate on one point, going over it in my head, over and over.

The second thing I need in order to study for an exam is a means to practice. This is where LMS online prep courses come in. Class notes and old tests are imperative; I am myself an avid note-taker. But they only serve to a certain point. What I really is solid review and an outside source that objectively understands the relevant information for the exam. And then practice.

Exam preparation may take some time, but what it doesn’t require shelling out a lot of money. Many LMS online exam prep courses are an appealing option not only for the low cost, but for other reasons as well.

Preparing for an exam can be done online at your own pace, in a timeframe that you yourself set, and at times of the day when you choose. Online courses provide practice, refresher and review assignments, and supplementary activities. Some also offer online tutorial support.

Online courses are a low-cost, convenient and practical form of getting certified or simply knowledgeable in a field. And some typical concerns about eLearning–for example, a lack of face-to-face dynamic and teacher-student relationship–become irrelevant in online exam prep classes. This is to say, who really needs that personal touch when studying for a major exam is mostly something you need individual time and practice for?

Another helpful factor in LMS online prep courses is that you can begin any time you choose. And now may be the right time for you to get started. Whether you’re beginning a new career or switching careers, you always hold the power to reassess your circumstances and plan new and exciting career goals. Succeeding on a major test with the help of LMS online exam prep may be your ticket to the future job you’ve always wanted.

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Coggno.com is a leading provider of high-quality LMS platforms.

June 2nd, 2009 by Robin Green

Mike, a college friend of mine, is in a tough situation to which eLearning and LMS online courses could be the answer.

When Mike returned from his two years in Africa working with the Peace Corps, the economy was in shambles and he couldn’t land a job. A few weeks ago the press found him standing on the corner of 13th and G streets with resume in hand, dressed in a new suit and a sign around his neck saying: “Will work for job.”

“I’m looking to start working professionally and I’m tired of searching on the internet for jobs” he told NBC news. “I have a bachelor’s in physics and I spent two years in the Peace Corps.”

It hasn’t been a smooth year for Mike and many others. No matter what point in your life you’re at–be it quarter-life, mid-life or somewhere in the middle–you may be finding it necessary to review your options and goals, and reassess your professional direction.

Increasingly colleges and universities, technical schools and institutes offer LMS online courses. These provide students certifications or degrees, or supplement face-to-face learning. Partly due to the recession and an exceedingly competitive job market, all kinds of people are more actively seeking out LMS online vocational degrees.

What exactly is a vocational course?

Vocational courses are related to a particular skill or kind of work. In a vocational course, students complete a series of tasks and assignments which prepare them for real work experience.

Vocational certification programs may include employment areas like social care, health care and childcare; hospitality and catering; leisure and tourism; media and design; construction; business; information technology; and animal care. As you can see, vocational courses traverse a vast landscape of professional possibilities.

When searching for an LMS online vocational course that’s right for you, talk to current or former students who completed the course. Find out whether or not the course included dynamic and practical lessons, strong tutorial support, and qualified professors. Ask specific questions related to your vocational interest and get answers before you begin the online course.

When choosing an LMS online vocational course, of course, practice caution. Think about it: 70% of all post-secondary technical and vocational training is provided by privately owned institutions. Given this, there are some dangers to watch out for–like diploma mills, or non-accredited, fake organizations that sell fake diplomas.

While many buyers who pay for fake degrees do want them to trick employers, many are scammed by fake institutions. In general however, students have an easier time than employers in discovering that an online institution is actually a mill.

Ways to spot a diploma mill range from the obvious (such as blatant offering of a fake diploma) to more subtle clues.

Often no teaching facilities, libraries, personnel, publications or research are available. Promotional literature about the institution may contain grammatical and spelling errors. The website might even display a sample diploma to tempt buyers.

Names of diploma mills are often very similar to well-known and reputable institutions.

Study the organization’s website and note its advertising strategies. If you feel a sense of urgency in the website’s advertising, it may be a mill. Oftentimes prospective students are encouraged to enroll immediately, before tuition or fees are increased, or told that they qualify for a fellowship, scholarship or grant.

Always do your research before committing to an online vocational program. If you find yourself pulled into a diploma mill, you may be able to realize before it’s too late and pull out.

Online vocational courses from recognized and accredited institutions can start you on a path to a new career in which financial woes and instability are issues of the past. LMS online vocational certification programs are available in a wide range of career fields, and their self-paced format is designed fit to your life.

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Coggno.com offers high-quality online education.