This is the third of 10 Steps to Building and Selling Your Courses Online.

Course tracking and reporting

When selecting an LMS, make sure you select a platform that meets the state regulatory requirements in the state(s) you will be offering courses in. Most states require that continuing education providers verify that students are who they say they are and that they are actually viewing the course material. A well designed LMS will allow you to place questions or “checkpoints” within video or audio clips. This will verify the student’s validity and participation. A well designed LMS will also be able track a student’s progress within seconds, allowing them to pick up where they left off when returning from an interruption. This type of accurate tracking is necessary for you to determine student progress and level of completion. In addition, the detailed reporting will help regulators verify student completion. Customizable user data can also be used to meet most state regulations and help you gain a better understanding of your student population.

Deliver a wide range of content – from PowerPoint to HD Video

Course providers often use a wide range of content media:

• • PowerPoint slide presentations are used by those who teach both live or recorded courses.
  • Adobe Flash based content, which contains animations and Flash video, may be used by professional training organizations.
  • Other providers have video lessons that could be enhanced by synching slides, photographs, graphics, and html to key points in the video lesson timeline.

A well designed LMS should not only support many different media types, but also needs to support integration of these various medias, as well as tablets and smartphones. DigitalChalk supports these technologies, as well as media such as SCORM and HD Video, which enhances the overall student experience.

Full function tests and reports

Assessing student competence through testing tools is a must in today’s LMS. Randomization of questions and answers from a pool can help keep the test fresh for different students, and can help support multiple tests within the student population. Detailed reporting can also help instructors better understand questions and overall test validity. Questions that are “missed” by 90% of students can be identified and adjusted to better assess student understanding.
Does your LMS or the LMS you are looking to use support a variety of media types and provide fully functional testing and reporting capabilities? Are you able to fully meet the State Regulatory requirements?