Chapman proposes a 6 level maturity matrix to identify the levels at which most organisations are performing, as well as those they should aspire to.

Regulatory Compliance Maturity Model

He suggests that to reach a highly proactive level an organisation must move beyond just testing online to focus more on demonstration of understanding through performance. It is customary and expected as part of the CFR that education and training incorporates performance and experience.

He recommends a blended learning approach structured around Bloom’s Taxonomy that incorporates:

• 60% knowledge and comprehension (e-Learning)
• 20% is self-assessment/simulations/practice (e-Learning and/or on-the- job)
• 20% must be on-the-job practicum

Some of the following may assist in moving towards a more proactive approach to compliance training:

• 360° assessment using survey monkey to find out from employees and others if they are demonstrating the desired behaviours
• On-the-job assessment
• Better integration between talent management and training
• Link with other on-the-job learning activities
• Utilise performance reviews to discuss whether or not they are using the skills they have learnt – assess whether they need further training

The product lifecycle diagram shown suggests that LMSs, as we have known them until today, will likely start to fade from the learning ecosystem scene by 2012. Evidence suggests that over the next five years LMSs will look more like portals and less like platforms. They will feature Web 2.0 collaborative tools, including connected modular functionality, which organisations will select as being most rele­vant for the management needs of the learning organisation doing the purchasing.

Top Ten Trends

1. Home Grown LMSs are on the decline - can’t keep up with the needs for integration and additional features (although home grown often liked more and better designed for the job required) .
2. Moodle moves to the front of the LMS adoption pack – Moodle (24%) moves ahead of Blackboard (17.5%), the global financial crises may have had a lot to do with this.
3. Hosted options for LMSs are achieving popularity – Whether described as SAAS, ASP, a Hosted Service (which combines an application service provider and an Internet service provider), or as Cloud Computing, many LMS providers have listened to their small and medium customers and are now offering hosted LMS solutions.
4. Open source, open applications and open education resources are on the rise - This is more prevalent for the education sector. Examples of open source LMS systems include Moodle, Sakai™, and soon, the full-identity management, multi-institution, and multi-million dollar project, Kuali Student. The variables that make open source attractive in education are increasingly relevant in the commercial market. These include cost-of-ownership, flexibility for meeting unique enterprise needs, and maintenance on terms favoring the customers.
5. Blackboard gains corporate LMS market share – It is believed that this is due to the acquisition of Angel which firmly entrenched them in the enterpirse market, prior to this they were mainly academic.
6. Commercial LMS customers: less formal more holistic - they are moving away from just using their LMS for compliance needs to all other areas of training.
7. Extensibility matters – Openness, also known as extensibility, is fundamental to enterprise software in that it “talks” to other enterprise systems present in customers’ computing environments. For example, Blackboard connects to Facebook and other social networking applications, has an active developer’s network, building blocks, and a commitment to interactivity and integration, all done in a supported way.
8. Campuses and businesses alike are slow to adopt “Enterprise 2.0″ - Quick to embrace the LMS, with over 97% adoption in the past 8 years, these institutions are now re-evaluating the systems chosen during the web 1.0 era in order to deal with 2.0 opportunities and requirements. Nearly 25% of them report a high likelihood of migrating to open source LMS systems for some applications or needs, but are unsure of their choices.
9. The recession continues to constrain – small LMS providers are losing their hold in the market. Lots of acquisitions – Blackboard purchased WebCT and Angel, Oracle acquired PeopleSoft, SumTotal took over PathLore, and Saba acquire both Thinq and Centra. Two companies are also bidding for SumTotal.
10. Revising standards, specifications and structures – SCORM is the biggest one here. SCORM is still under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Defense, there is talks that LETSI will take it over. At the same time, the newly energised IMS Consortium announced their development of a SCORM alternative called the Common Cartridge.   A copy of the full report is available.

So why incorporate avatars?

• The learner is immediately engaged
• The learner relates to the avatar
• The learner’s retention is increased through instructional interactivity

Among other things, incorporating avatars into e-Learning courses facilitates learning, as well as improves the quality of learning among users. Avatars in e-Learning courses serve as mentors, and assist users by sharing their experience, knowledge, and skills. They therefore serve a greater purpose than a virtual simulation and make the course more interesting, interactive, and socially relevant.

Avatars are an extension of a
virtual simulation but also serve as a mentor throughout the course, not just as a retention strategy.

As we know, creating such animations can be very time consuming, but if done well can be beneficial to the overall learning experience. Sealund and Associates demonstrated their high level avatars during the presentation, most designed for global rollouts for multi-national corporations (and very expensive). They have also created a 3D experience.