Whenever we speak to people about an Online Learning Solution the question of Management Information or Reporting is pretty high on the agenda. Of course, the first thing to be considered is where the content is being held. Is it on your own Learning Management System (LMS) or are you using your Supplier’s Portal either independently or linked to your LMS?
If you’re using your own LMS then the Reporting or Management Information is going to be generated by that LMS. Most LMS’s that we’ve seen offer a pretty good solution here. If you’ve chosen to use your Supplier’s Portal to serve out your video content, then it’ll be important to ensure that you’re able to generate the reports you need to measure user engagement and ultimately the success of your implementation of Online Learning.
As with LMS’s, most Supplier’s Portals tend to offer a good range of reporting functions. We’ve noticed, especially where this is a customer’s first venture into this method of learning, that the number and type of reports required seems to be quite extensive. Whilst in some circumstances it’s easy to see why a particular report would be needed, in many instances we question whether the required reports would ever be used.
There is no doubt whatsoever that good information on usage and Reporting is essential, but you do have to be careful not to go down the route of ‘Paralysis by Analysis’. After all, what’s important is that your users are getting high value from your learning platform, they regularly use it, dare we say ‘love it’ and they, you and your business are beneficiaries from their increased skills and efficiencies.
But let’s get back to the point of ‘Can I create my own reports?’. If customised reporting is what you want and is not available directly out of your system, we are more than sure that your Supplier will create those reports for you within the constraints of the information they hold. Personally, if flexibility in reporting is a big thing for you, we’d suggest looking for a tool that either comes with a Report Generator or one that is capable of integrating with an off the shelf Report Generator to give the flexibility you require.
How can Mi Crow help?
As part of the Mi Crow solution we offer our very own learning Portal, something we affectionately call the NEST. As part of this online hosted solution, we have a built in reporting tool that creates the initial reports we believe you’ll need. We’re not going to pretend that it’s as comprehensive as some reporting tools out there (for instance those that come with a full blown LMS), but it’s focused on getting you started and giving you the key statistics to understand initial engagement, traction and usage. In short, it is everything you need to get started!
