Council use of Learning Management Systems (LMS) and elearning March 2015

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Council use of Learning Management Systems

(LMS) and eLearning

March 2015

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About this Survey

This survey was conducted by Learning Solutions to gather information from NSW councils about their use and experience with Learning Management Systems and eLearning. As eLearning is becoming an increasingly common mode of delivery for some training courses (either as stand-alone programs or as part of a blended learning program), LGNSW undertook this research to gauge the uptake of eLearning and to explore ways in which the Association could further assist its members with the adoption of eLearning.

The survey received 44 responses, representing 29% of the 152 councils consulted. As shown in the table below, respondent councils were a mix of metropolitan and regional councils and most were of large or medium size. Approximately one-third of respondents did not identify themselves.

Respondent Councils

Metropolitan Regional Councils

Blacktown, Camden, Campbelltown, Gosford, Hawkesbury, Holroyd, Kogarah, Liverpool, Parramatta, Penrith, Warringah, Woollahra and Wyong.

Albury, Gundagai, Inverell, Lismore,

MidCoast Water, Newcastle, Port Macquarie Hastings, Queanbeyan, Shellharbour, Shoalhaven, Tweed, Warrumbungle, Wingecarribee, Wollongong, Yass Valley.

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Use of Learning Management Systems

The type of Learning Management System was listed by 15 councils. These were:

 Learning Seat (5), with one council using it for e-learning and Aurion HRIS for learning data administration  Oracle (2)  Janison (2)  ELMO (1)  Authority HRIS (1)  Aurion (1)  Customised product (3) 0 10 20 30 Yes No 43% 57% N u m b e r o f co u n ci ls

Does your council have a LMS?

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

We haven't considered it Lack of time Lack of money Still looking for a LMS A LMS is not a priority Other

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Other reasons that were cited for not having a LMS related to:

 Being in the process of assessing a system currently (2)

 Poor timing, with new or pending managers and priorities

 Lack of employee access to computers

 Uncertainty about commitment to eLearning

Some of the comments that capture the broad use of the LMS are below:

We use LearningSeat for delivering e-learning and reporting on course completions Aurion HRIS is used for administering the internal training calendar, employees registering to attend courses, completing forms associated with Study Assistance, Reimbursement, External Training, Seminars and Conferences, reporting on course attendance and other training metrics, performance

management and individual development plans.

Many and varied reports and sets of stats, collection of certificates and qualifications, production of certificates, notification of refresher due dates, production of course attendance forms, generation of restricted training days or periods, lists of qualification and certificate holders etc, etc

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 Scheduling courses Registering participants Elearning delivery Tracking progress Reporting completions Managing employee development plans Other

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E-Learning in Councils

Success of eLearning

On a scale of 1 (extremely unsuccessful) to 10 (extremely successful), the eLearning

experience was given an average rating of 6.0 by respondents. Scores ranged from 1 to 9. For most councils the experience has been mixed and in others it is early to gauge its success:

eLearning systems have been used for training on the MS Office Suite of products, ie Excel, Word etc

Only just started using some programs

We have technical problems with the system which is a hindrance. Generally speaking take up of new starters is quite good, it’s chasing those that drag the chain that is more of a concern Some areas more useful than others

Staff complete mandatory training such as Code of Conduct, Child Protection, WHS, but do not really use for professional development.

Lack of hardware and venues together with workforce workload.

Depending on the user, some do not like it as they feel it is childish, others enjoy it.

0 5 10 15 20

Not at all Occasionally Frequently Extensively

9 (21%) 20 (52%) 11 (26%) 0 N u m b e r o f C o u n ci ls

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Factors contributing to the success or lack of success of eLearning

Twenty councils provided comments about the factors contributing to the success or otherwise, of eLearning at their council. These comments are summarised in the table below.

Factors leading to success Factors contributing to lack of success

Access, digital literacy skills, quality of product Lack of IT infrastructure

Management support Staff appear to have a preference for face to Face learning.

Access to IT resources Technical issues and more support from above Comprehensive trialling and running a pilot

program

Development of eLearning modules takes too long and no funds to buy them in

Staff who participated were highly motivated. Also, suited their learning style and IT skill level.

Time. Also, current modules look and feel out-dated and thus make them less engaging for staff.

Comfort levels with eLearning Pressure to find a solution within an unreasonable timeframe; lack of

expertise/honest and frank advice; assumptions about expertise (ie IT person vouching for the product when he clearly did not have a lot of experience with LMS'); getting stuck with a product that we then have to make work and the huge amount of time we've expended in trying to make the most of our investment.

Employees can undertake the training at a time that is convenient to them. No travelling or accommodation costs.

Lack of success - outdoor workers and childcare not having access to mobile technology to complete e-learning or time "off the floor" in order to complete. This is the case of indoor workers as well - often because managers do not realise the staff have e-learning to complete, the staff fail to allocate the time to complete their training.

Success is based on easy access to learning program. Challenge is changing habits from face-to-face delivery to on-line learning. Communication and engagement with staff, monthly reporting to Directors.

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Benefits and Challenges of eLearning

The primary benefits of eLearning were associated with reduced course delivery and ancillary costs, although the most commonly nominated benefit was “greater flexibility around the time and place of learning”.

The greatest challenges with eLearning related to employee reluctance to use eLearning (cited most commonly as the top barrier) and the inadequate computer skills of employees. Staff access to computers was also a major challenge, along with access to high quality eLearning products within budget.

0 5 10 15 20 25

Reduced course delivery costs Reduced ancillary costs Greater flexibility around time and place Better quality training Greater access to training for more staff Increased employee computer skills Other

Top Three Benefits from eLearning

No. 1 benefit No. 2 benefit No. 3 benefit

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14

Employee reluctance to use eLearning Inadequate computer skills Problems sourcing high quality eLearning within…

Difficulties with staff accessing computers Insufficient time allocated in work hours to eLearning Technical difficulties Lack of support from supplier of Elearning programs Other

Top Three Challenges with eLearning

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Some councils expanded upon the challenges they had faced:

1. Poor product 2. Poor resourcing post implementation resulting in "shovelware" (ie electronic page turning) and inability to create quality learning 3. General lack of understanding about e-learning - an LMS is simply one tool - even the best courseware is not "e-e-learning" per se. Getting some traction for the idea that e-learning is much more complex (and worthwhile if you invest/know what you're aiming for) is an ongoing issue.

Support from above in chasing outstanding

Source of eLearning Programs

Comments listed under “Other” included webinars (1)

What eLearning programs have you developed?

Topics most commonly developed by the 16 respondent councils related to INDUCTION and WHS, IT and other areas of COMPLIANCE training. The full list of topics is below.

Inductions, compliance training and some regulatory refreshers

Working near overhead power lines, Backhoe operations competencies Trim, Induction, Bully Free,

1 for Child Care on Curriculum Development

1 for Curriculum Development for Early Childhood Education & Care. Induction before start date, WHS inductions, Code of Conduct refresher Orientation, EEO, code of conduct, WHS, Sun Heat and Sharps Awareness Use of computer applications

IT induction 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 Developed own programs in-house Worked with external provider to develop own programs Purchased programs Other 13 5 16 3 Where did you source your eLearning programs?

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Too many to mention, some examples: Access & Equity, Various WHS programs, Intro to Recruitment Child Protection, Code of Conduct, Recruitment and Selection, GIPA, Staff Induction, WHS

Code of Conduct, EEO, Privacy & GIPA

Conflicts of Interest, Enterprise Wide Risk Management, Information Management Business Rules, Gifts and Benefits Customer Service at Council, Manual Task Awareness, Government Info (Public Access) Act 2009, Privacy & Personal Info Protection Act (PPIPA), SPMAS, Workstation Self-Assessment, Sun Protection, Positive Working Relationships (Refresher), Enterprise Wide Risk Management 2014, 2014 CCTV Policy and Procedure

Induction, recruitment and some systems training

Discrimination - Something to think about Emergency Preparedness,WHS Induction Induction program and policy and procedural roll out.

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ELearning in the Future

Topics of interest in the future

Regional Collaboration

The following comments were provided by councils:

 Launched Learning Seat as e-Quip across 5 Councils in mid north coast

 More information on systems and processes that worked or didn't.

 Good progress to selecting appropriate LMS given their experience

 Still exploring

 No but would be interested in pursuing

 Campbelltown has introduced a very basic online induction program.

 Visited a neighbouring Council to look at their LMS as part of initial research.

 Only preliminary discussions have been held.

 We have talked to providers about a ROC resource situation but nothing has come of it

 The eLearning platform we use is a shared resource between 6 MIDROC councils

 Initial investigation stage

Further assistance that could be provided by LGNSW

Responses focused on:

 Facilitation of information sharing amongst councils

 Development of a common LMS platform

 Development of sector-endorsed eLearning programs

0.0% 10.0% 20.0% 30.0% 40.0% 50.0% 60.0% 70.0%

Yes No Don't know

25.0%

65.6%

9.4% Have you explored eLearning and LMS options with other councils in

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Individual council responses are listed below.

 At this stage for Hawkesbury it would be organisations that provide a range of quality

eLearning solutions. Topics that we have considered eLearning are around Code of Conduct (Governance, Privacy etc)

 reasonable cost for courses - currently cheaper to develop our own than use yours - due to the pay per person cost structure

 Have courseware set up so that Councils can "borrow" the e-learning programs and they tailor into the standard HRIS/Recordkeeping systems that Councils use.

 Not sure at this stage

 An overview/summary of which LMSs are working for Councils (and which are not) and reasons why. Benefits/improvements those Councils have seen/achieved

 Recommendations for systems that work within LG, assistance in setting up the modules??

 Everything

 Provide details of elearning that's successful in other Councils.

 If you've got information on TRIM and/ or TechOne modules + the usefulness/ best LMS's, that would be great.

 Publish the results of this survey (including lessons learnt by other councils - providers, challenges and how to overcome them, hindsight).

 Development of a platform to access elearning programs.

 The development of specialised training packages at a reasonable price. It appears that many companies want to sell their E Learning systems rather than appropriate training packages. To us the training modules are far more important than the systems for recording who has completed what training?

 Any information is appreciated

 None

 It would be great to have one standard eLearning and Learning Management System that could be used by all Councils similar to how HR Advance has been used as a great tool in HR.

 Developing a core set of eLearning modules for topics where vendors do not provide a standard solution, e.g. Code of Conduct. It would be critical that such modules be strongly endorsed by LGNSW in order to support pushing them through Council & Legal Services who seem to believe that every council requires a bespoke module.

 It's a huge area - not even sure where to start. In my view the biggest problem is finding people who know what they're talking about. I spent 12 years in the e-learning space and I feel frustration at the lack of innovation and genuine expertise/experience organisations have about e-learning. Ditto "consultants" - many of them are just marginally ahead of

organisations in their understanding of e-learning. I'm not sure that "courses" by LGNSW would help or be useful - it's the sort of thing that really needs a community of practice/project approach over a period of time. It's like saying "What assistance could LGNSW provide re safety?" It's a big question.

 Information on what's available for LG in eLearning modules. Any information on LMS being used in LG.

 A common introduction to local government e-learning course that is SCORM compliant so we can import into our e-learning course and link to our other induction courses. Potential shared services for a LMS?