Doing it on our own - Part 3 - Curating content to make it work for you

I have blogged long and often about LMS systems and have been involved in six projects to instal them at various companies and organisations. However they can cost a lot of money especially when you look at all the bells and whistles they can deliver. It was noticeable at the last trade show I attended that a lot of these were all singing all dancing with a seeming emphasis on delivering a ‘Netflix’ style functionality.

What if you don’t have that money? There are options and I will look at them later, but to start how can you share content which has been curated. The good news is there are apps available which allow you to do this straight away.

• Flipboard – Flipboard is an app which allows you to curate content based on topics. You can setup a topic and other contribute or you can be the sole owner. However users will subscribe to it and see the updates. Flipboard is public so the content will have to be company non specific (no secrets or data) but it’s a good place to start.
• WordPress – a blogging site which offers the ability to embed images, videos and audio, allowing you to compile a list of content with tags allowing searching. Easy to use and setup and easy to access. Paid for versions are low cost and will offer a wider range of options.
• SharePoint – Microsoft’s standard so loved by IT departments and tolerated by most. However it does include media libraries to be set up allowing uploading of videos, audio, files and documents in pdf format. Items can also be linked which will allow YouTube and TED Talk videos to be added. It may take a little learning to get working but if your IT department is using Office 365 then they will have access to this 

All three of these options will allow you to share content quickly and easily. However, none of these will track what people have done or create a record or their learning. For this you will need a Learning Management System or LMS.

Whilst there are a lot of systems available, a lot are based on the Open Source platform Moodle. It is possible to download, configure and administer a copy of Moodle free of charge. However, as someone who as done it I wouldn’t recommend it. It needs a high level of IT knowledge and I only managed it with help. That’s not to say it isn’t possible, but I would look at is closely before you do and find someone who is using it to help you understand what is involved.

Instead there are LMS systems available which won’t cost the earth. The Charity Learning Commission are one option, My Learning Hub, How To Moodle and many more are available. They offer simple straightforward systems which will allow sharing of content and logging of usage. There will be some element of user management especially starters and leavers but keep the info low (don’t include job roles) and it should be straightforward. Once people have a taste of what a good LMS will do then it maybe upgrading and expansion may be an easier sell.  

So, explore platforms and start curating.