Finding the most suitable Learning Technology for your Organization

A lot of organizations today are finding it difficult to get the most out of their learning ecosystem despite the abundance of learning tools available in the market. They desire to have the best learning ecosystem but they don’t want to waste money on tools that will not meet their learning needs.

To create a great learning culture in an organization, the learning technology must have several characteristics that will make the learning experience enjoyable and bring maximum Return on Investment (ROI).

This article looks at things you should consider in choosing a learning technology that is most suitable for your organization, whether academic or corporate.

1.     What are your organization’s vision, mission, objectives and goals? Choosing the right learning technology starts with establishing some clear criteria. What must-haves do you expect from all the various technology your organization uses? How will this new learning technology integrate with other existing technology?

2.     What are your training and learning Objectives? Be very clear on what your training and learning objectives are. Before going online to search for an appropriate learning technology, be clear on what you want to actually achieve from your training and learning sessions

3.     Would the technology make collaboration easier? The right learning technology should make collaboration easier in order to promote social learning in an organization, especially when the organization have remote workers and employees in different locations.

4.     Is the technology designed for synchronous or asynchronous learning? If online learning in your organization is synchronous or asynchronous or both, get appropriate learning technology to help you deliver learning according to your learning strategy

5.     Can learners access it from any device, anywhere? There is every tendency that your employees would take lessons with their mobile devices and if the learning technology you are acquiring does not support mobile learning, then it is not a right fit for your organization. Make sure you choose learning tools that can make your employees use any device they prefer.

6.     Is the technology learner-centered? Choose learning technology that put learners in the driver seat. Look for tools that allow for multiple interactions among the learners.

7.     What happens when you need help? Find out what customer support arrangement has been made by the technology vendors. If at any point, you need some help in using the technology, how long will it take for the vendors to respond to the issues? If there are no solid customer support arrangement, do not acquire such technology. Make sure you choose a company that puts customers before everything else.

8.     What do the customers of the technology vendor have to say about the technology? Check for reviews to see what their customers have to say about the technology. You may even through that find other ideas about how to use the technology. However, note the size and the industry of the reviewer has their learning needs may be different from yours. A perfect learning technology for one may be the worst solution for another.

9.     Is there a Demo? Ask for a live demo so that you can test for all the features of the learning tool before you make a decision.

Do not make a decision to acquire a tool until you are very sure it is the right tool for your organization.