How to tailor your learning management system (LMS) for millennial learners

Here are some key points to keep in mind about millennial learners:

• They are committed to lifelong learning. More than any generation that came before them, millennials are passionate about finding work that resonates with them and is “meaningful”.
• Millennials are unlikely to settle for a typical 9-to-5 job and are likely to “push the envelope” during their careers, constantly seeking fresh challenges and “the next big thing”.
• They are more self-directed in their search for a satisfying career than generations before them.
• Having grown up with technology and the internet, they expect on-demand information, in bite-sized pieces, and flexibility in the way training material is accessed.

Here are features of an agile LMS that you can leverage to cater to these needs:

Just-in-time learning

Employees today also want actionable intelligence, or knowledge delivered to them not years or months in advance, but just in time for them to apply it. eLearning designers can facilitate this by unbundling courses, and allowing learners to be self-directed. Let students navigate courses offered by your company in the order of their choosing. Let them decide the pace of their learning, so they can complete lessons, or take tests at a time convenient to them.

Microlearning

Allowing students a high degree of control over their own learning also means chunking up information into easily consumed segments. Today’s students are unlikely to respond well to hour-long lectures, or lengthy chapters crammed with information. Use microlearning strategies to transfer knowledge in short, focused bursts to close skill gaps. These nuggets of information can be delivered using focused videos that are under three minutes in length, taking students through scenarios, sharing an infographic, a quick interactive questionnaire and so on. There are also possibilities to use gamification and present information in a rich media context, using interactive tools for maximum efficacy.

On-the-go and ad hoc learning

For answering any small questions that arise in a personal or work context, there’s an irresistible pull to grab a device and look for an answer. Corporate learning should accommodate this urge by providing training opportunities through mobile technologies. This approach would increase opportunities for exposure to learning material.

Collaborative learning

Today, eLearning takes place within a social media universe, and we learn from our peers, mentors and subject matter experts in a highly collaborative fashion. This is why your online courses must enable group chats, allow learners to comment on threads, ping facilitators to clarify questions, tag fellow learners to discuss a particular aspect of the course, share videos or blogs, so conversation around the subject can drive a far richer learning experience.

Continuous feedback

Effective eLearning courses also must provide feedback to learners, at regular intervals, so they can assess their progress. Learners must be able to access short tests, questionnaires and quizzes at every stage to apply their learnings. They also must be evaluated frequently, so they can meet a series of measurable, incremental goals as they make their way through the course.

The UX as a key part of the learning experience

Gone are the days of logging into a “clunky” portal, stumbling through a difficult user interface to eventually find the 45-minute poorly-created video on a topic that is of little interest to employees. Millennials are so used to the simple, intuitive and also now visually beautiful and attractive platforms such as AirBnB, Uber, and countless other leading apps. To gain the user adoption required for meaningful learning at scale across this cohort of learners, today’s learning platforms need to be easy on the eye and even easier to use.

Find out how Janison’s online learning platform can adapt to suit the needs of your organisation’s learners. Contact us today.