This article is paired with selected sessions at Learning Solutions Digital Experience (LS-DX, May 3-14, 2021) to present the best information available about Learning Experience Platforms (LXPs) and actual applications of the technology to real problems. Note: you will need to register for LS-DX in order to view the selected sessions—see the end of this article.

An LXP (Learning Experience Platform) may not be suitable or needed for every organization. LXPs and their push technology can be a disruption to workflows. If an organization is using handwritten methods to record and document training (and there are many such organizations in this situation), that organization probably is not going to benefit from an LXP.

So which are the organizations that can improve their training outcomes with an LXP?

Organizations with a failed LMS

If your LMS is not supporting learner expectations for access to learning materials, you need an LXP. The sign of failure is not just complaints about the LMS, but users (or their managers) figuring out workarounds that help learners come up with their own learning plans. In addition, larger organizations are likely to realize more benefit from LXPs, more quickly, than smaller organizations.

Organizations with a lot of learning content

If your organization has so much useful information and other content accumulated over the years that you have “librarians” (formally titled as such or people to whom everyone goes to find answers), you need an LXP to help steer employees to the content they want. Look for evidence that resources are not being used or even found. An LXP can fix that and probably cut down on the number of “hallway ambushes” that kill the productivity of your experts.

Organizations with persistent important skills gaps

If your enterprise or government organization relies on team members to train and reskill each other, an LXP can help scale access to skills development.

Learn more at LS-DX

Remember that all sessions at LS-DX (May 3-15, 2021) are recorded and will be available for on-demand use following the conference. Three concurrent sessions (45 minutes each) after the first day of the event address concepts and details of learning experience platforms, and you can add those sessions to your agenda when you register for the conference. All times shown here are US Pacific. (This list repeats sessions shown in the article published Monday, May 3, 2021.) Register today for LS-DX to attend this event!

DEMOFEST—LXP & The Leadership Academy

Friday, May 07, 2021, 12:00 PM - 12:45 PM

  • Scot Durost, CDM Smith
  • Jason Beck, CDM Smith

How do we help all employees become better leaders for today and tomorrow? Our team of L&D professionals was tasked with this simple mission: To create a platform that ensured that all employees (not just senior staff) can sharpen their leadership skills. Welcome to the CDM Smith Leadership Academy! Join us to learn how our talented designers and development professionals leveraged our LXP to provide skill development opportunities to employees on-demand and in real-time.

Session 222 - Building a Learning Platform on a Limited Budget

Tuesday, May 11, 2021, 9:00 AM - 9:45 AM

Marco Madrazo, Head of Learning Experience Design - Holiday Inn Club Vacations

COVID-19 has forever changed our world. The social and economic impacts of the pandemic will be felt for many years to come. Many businesses no longer exist, while others are struggling to survive. Learning departments have experienced hefty reductions in budgets and personnel. As a result, many cannot currently afford their learning platforms. With new safety standards in place and increasing demand for compliance training, how are we supposed to offer these learning solutions to our people and track it all? Our company faced this dilemma and we worked tirelessly to solve it.

In this session, you will learn:

  • Why using Wordpress with the LearnDash plugin is an effective, low-cost solution for building a learning platform
  • How upskilling our existing talent saved us valuable time and made them stronger designers
  • How using an AGILE-based process allowed us to build and test faster, which resulted with an on-time implementation
  • How this initiative allowed us to build more trust and credibility with our executive team

Session 243 - On-Demand: Building Learning Ecosystems for Sales Teams with Media and Adaptive Tools

Tuesday, May 11, 2021, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

  • Britt Olson, Training Systems Manager - Milwaukee Tool
  • Chad Udell, Managing Partner, Strategy and New Product Development - Float

LS-DX on-demand sessions are recorded videos you can access starting at this date and time, and watch at your own convenience.

With so many ways to deliver learning to teams of all types today, it can be difficult to visualize success as you create the ecosystem for your audience. What types of media should be used? How should advanced tools like adaptive paths and recommendation engines be used? How can I be sure my learners are getting value out of the content, and how can I plan for growth?

In this session, you will learn:

  • How content strategy is a vital part of the overall plan
  • How to create a plan for growth by partnering on a strategic roadmap
  • What to focus on when creating a next-gen learning ecosystem
  • How using video, podcasts, and short-form content helps mobile professional get more out of the systems they use