Looking at Blogs to Share About Blogs (which do you use?)

I'm currently preparing for a presentation on learning how to blog and learning from other's blogs and so that is exactly what I'm doing. I'm surfing around looking at blogs that I've only been reading in the past to dive a little deeper into some of the tools/widgets that seem most common. Looking to see if there is a standard length of a post....doesn't appear so. Looking at the use of colour and fonts. Has the blogger modified the standard template to their own or are they content with the format offered?

Another big thing I'm trying out is to see how different Blogger is from WordPress. To me they seem quite similar in what they offer. Each has it's merits though and I can see quite easily why someone might choose one over the other. Blogger seems a little more streamline to me and I haven't yet been dissatisfied with it as a tool. However, I can see how someone that prefers more of a standard webpage feel might like WordPress with its tabs and embedded pages.

I'm curious to know, if anyone would like to share, why they may have changed from one tool to another. If so where you happy with the change? Did you stick with the change or go back? I'm very curious about this last question as I have tried setting up a mirror blog on WordPress and it's okay, but I think I'm going to stick to my Blogger version.

Back to the grind stone, almost!

Well my first day back from vacation did not disappoint. I tried extremely hard while away to never think of work; I think I succeeded about 98% of the trip. I had planned to come back and even had blocked off 3 solid days to just click through every single screen of my LMS.

I'm now at the MAKE IT HAPPEN OR ELSE stage of the implementation project. Now realizing I have little choice (economically) for any change to a new system and now need to focus in on every detailed aspect of the system from both a user perspective and an administrative perspective. My goal is to create a list of everything I want to change and prioritize the changes needed with respect to being able to launch the LMS. Is the change a must have, nice to have, can make do with out if necessary? This list of changes will then be presented to the vendor along with my posse (the initial project lead, representative from purchasing - we're still in RPF, and perhaps my director) for discussion on whether any of the requests are possible.

At first I was getting responses from my vendor rep. "yes we can look into that", then it turned to "I'll see what the IT guy suggests", to finally "no". I didn't like the no's and so the new strategy of a list and meeting with the CEO of the company will be our next step. I believe most of my ideas won't require too much change, but I know this is the way every end user thinks.

So my first day back, as I said, was to be the launch of the great little new plan. Of course the "work gods" had different ideas for me and of course our Organization Chart needed to be produced instead. I'm not sure why suddenly so many people want this particular document. I'm also not sure why I'm the one creating it....oh yes, let's thank my former boss for that one (she's lucky I like her so much or I would track her down). One full day of work was all it took me to produce half of the chart. Yes one full day = half an org. chart. I'm hoping a have system down now and the second half will come more quickly so that I can move forward with my LMS must haves.

Great to be back.

Vacation time and I'm still drawn to looking at this screen

I'm happily on vacation. Loving the warm air. Falling head over heels in the waves. Seen puffer fish, 2 eels, a sea snake, urchins, coral, tons of fish, pelicans feeding, an iguana, seagulls (why are they everywhere!?!), I think I might have had a minor sting by a jelly-fish, 3 sting rays, and far too many people wearing bikinis that shouldn't and speedos (no one should wear these).

We upgraded to a fancier room. Love the king bed and the view is spectacularñ oh the plasma tv´s not bad either. Learning many phrases via HBO and subtitling. The upgrade came with unlimited internet. Which brings me here.....Hubby's checking the Leafs' score to see if they are losing (not yet!?! - how are we going to get better picks - don't they get it). Spent the afternoon on Saturday reading play-by-plays of the latest UFC results. But also, try as I might, I've been trying very hard not to think of work and of elearning, or blogging, or anything electronic, but I admit it.....Hello, My Name is Tracy and I'm Addicted to the Computer.

So there we go....a brief check in....no I haven't completely broken my resolution of blogging, it's just really hard to pay attention to it while on vacation. I hope I'll be excused. Just when I figure out this crazy mexican key board I'll be ready to leave.

Cheers everyone!!!!

Potential Questions to Ask When Having an LMS Demo'd

I've been having other LMS vendors contact me wanting me to see demonstrations of their systems several times over the last year. A situation arose recently that made my department seriously question the system we had in place and should we switch to another vendor. I made arrangements to visit a colleague at another hospital to see their system first hand from a user's perspective rather than the sales pitch that provided by vendor demos.

I can not begin to tell you how invaluable this visit turned out to be for my learning. I was pleasantly surprised to see that I actually had some features that she didn't have offered on her system. I was able to ask what the best features were from her perspective and which ones she never bothered to use. This was such a great comparison and was quite relevant as we both work in health care, I with 2700 employees, her with 10,000 employees and 4 sites.

I thought I'd share some of the questions I took with me on my visit as they might come in handy for you should you be on the LMS shopping journey. I highly recommend seeking out someone else in a similar industry to you and seeing first hand how the user is using the product. If you can do it with out the vendor's assistance I believe you'll get an even greater unbiased opinion from the user. The questions are in a particular order and some may seem like they have obvious answers, but I've learned that you can't be so sure of what is exactly included in a system.

1. How does the system import user ID information? (Active Directory, or what every system your HR team uses)


2. How responsive is the vendor to your inquiries, troubleshooting, etc.


3. Can users access the system from home? (Is this important to your organization? - probably)


4. Is there a yearly licence or a one time fee, per user or for the whole system?


5. How often are upgrades issued? Are they part of the fee?


6. How long did the user take to pilot the system? How did they run their pilot?


7. Does the system track external credits?


8. What kind of comments have you heard from learners using the system?


9. How intuitive is the system for learners and users(admin)?


10. Does the system allow for email notification to learners?


11. How many years has the person being using the system? How much longer do they plan to continue using the system?


12. Does it integrate with Outlook or what ever mail/calendar system you use?


13. Can you display course thumbnails or other images?


14. Can course due dates be assigned or does a learner have to manually adjust?


15. Is there space for News, Updates, Info text to be displayed on homepage of system?


16. Is it searchable? How so? Might you need to purchase a mini-search engine?


17. Can you administer practical, hands-on tests/assignments to users?


18. Are evaluations attached or part of courses?


19. Does it have discussion boards, wikis, etc? Are these important to your org.?


20. What kind of reporting does it allow? Can it be exported? In what kind of formats? Is it customizable - can you report on anything/everything?


21. Is it SCORM compliant? What version?


22. How robust is the support documentation for the user? For the learners?


23. Can you set up course/info that online one particular set of learners can access?

I'm sure there are a million other questions that could be asked, but I hope these at least arm you with the option to seek out greater knowledge of a system before you commit to purchasing. Please feel free to respond with additional questions someone buying a system might want to have answered.

Does it have to be timely to be relevant?

I saw a very interesting online conference come across my email the other day. It's for "Stepping into Virtual Worlds" which happens January 30th, completely virtually through Second Life. How incredibly neat is that?

I did see this posted last year, but I was too late to attend at when I found the conference. So when I saw this the other day I was excited that perhaps I could attend this year and experience some true learning through Second Life. I've sat in on some concerts, movies, and even a few comedy shows. I've visited some sandboxes where I could read text and learn how to perform some tasks. I haven't yet experienced a learning scenario.

I mentioned this to my boss and thought what a great opportunity to see some of the potential opportunities for this type of training. I can imagine how wonderfully it could possibly work with a hospital facility's training needs. Best yet, is I could use it as a work at home day and stay in my pajamas.

Unfortunately the feedback I received from my supervisor, who by the way is supportive about my elearning initiatives, question the relevancy of such a seminar at this point in "our" elearning journey. "If something like this is years down the road of time from where we (our organization and learner) then should I be wasting time exploring this option now."

My answer is yes. I think it's quite important to be exploring all learning/networking options out there within reason. When I say within reason I mean within money constraints and time constraints. I've found that you never know where the next great idea is going to come from that you can apply to your/work learning environment. Being on the forefront of many of these tips, tricks, and techniques is very much intriguing and exciting.

I'm curious if others have come across this "road block" within their personal learning initiatives. Do you believe that there is a proper time for seeking out new learning techniques or should one explore them as they present themselves?

Disneynature Earth to be Release Earth Day 2009

One of my favourite things about going to the movies is acutally watching the previews of movies yet to be released. This weekend I was pleasantly surprised to see the trailer for EARTH from Disneynature.

The movie is to be released this upcoming Earth Day, April 22, 2009. I'm a sucker for nature shows, but to combine it with Disney too....I'm there, get me my ticket. On a slightly more serious note the trailer looked fantastic. The cinematography looked as if we will get an extraordinary look into a year in the life of many creatures from around the globe.

If you go to Disneynature website there are actually several other movies listed to be coming out over the next several years. As per their website, "Disneynature it The Walt Disney Studios' label dedicated to working with leading filmmakers to produce one cutting-edge theatrical release each year celebrating the wonders of the world in which we live."

I look forward to this year's Earth Day and hope this film is yet another great way that we will all continue to be inspired and become increasing aware of the world that we share with so many others.

2 New Upgrades You May Want

Articulate has releases some great updates to for Studio '09. Along with some bug fixes there are 3 new interactions available for use. The new activities are Flipbook, Flashcards and Stairstep. More information including how to upgrade your version can be found at Articulate - Word of Mouth blog.

Also tomorrow Microsoft is offering the new Windows 7 beta and with that Internet Explorer 8. Rumour is to get in early to get this new upgrade. I'm not sure whether it is a good change or not, but many of the reviews I read seem to promote it as "exciting". More info on this can be found on Microsoft's website and all sorts of techy blogs. Give it a Google and you'll find it for sure.

Try a Different Thought Pattern, It Just Might Change Your Life

A dear friend of mine has been on a journey for quite a long time now going out there and inspiring the best in others, getting people to find the humour in their daily lives, and just overall lightening up. It's no wonder then that Jacquie Hermans has called her company Light'N UP (...Laugh and Be You).
In another life, a few moons ago, I learned from her and then performed with her improv. It was such a fabulous experience that I recommend it to anyone who wants or needs that little boost of confidence to go out there and "just be" in front of others. There were many of us in the class that were looking to be able to present, teach or speak better in front of crowds. This method of learning and performing improv was incredible. Not only did you learn to almost not care how you looked in front of other, most of us got up on stage and performed routinely some of the silliest skits you could ever imagine. (Some how I manifested a redneck mechanic, angry/bitter teenage girls, and a little old women with a bit of a Polish accent ....don't even ask.)

What I wanted to draw a little attention to today was Jacquie's inspirational short video blogs. Each is about 2-3 minutes long and touch on topics from Death to Self-Worthiness. Jacquie still runs her Light'NUp workshops, but she also wears many other hats as well. She's a laughter coach and a personal growth trainer and that is where her video blogs have begun, personal growth.

I love the whole concept of video blogs, but haven't gone there yet myself. So, when I saw Jacquie's and watched a few I once again was inspired by her down to earth nature. She is one of those people that was truly put here to make the world a better place.

Jacquie didn't ask me to write any of this and in fact doesn't know I have yet, but I did want to capture a bit here about what she means to me and how she's touched my life. I hope you'll take a moment to check her video blog out when you need a little boost of energy in your day.

Extra Learning Through the Web - Photography Lessons

Well exactly as I wanted, I learned something new tonight just by reading my feeds and looking deeper into various bits of content.

I came across Joe McNally's blog and a few of his video posts on YouTube about how to be a better photographer. (Joe McNally shoots assignments for magazines, ad agencies, & graphic design firms. Clients include Sports Illustrated, ESPN Magazine, National Geographic, Life, Time, Fortune, New York Magazine, GEO, Golf Digest, Discover, Men's Journal, Business Week, Rolling Stone, New York Stock Exchange, Target, Sony, GE, Nikon, Lehman Brothers, & PNC Bank.) He presents simple tips and tricks that any average photo shooting lover can use the next time they are out snapping shots. What's great is he presents them in such a way that the learner/watcher knows that they too can use this techniques the very next time they pick up their camera. What's more it's very candid and includes a few moments of hilarity without being fancily edited; i.e. his wife in the kitchen whipping up a gourmet meal for their 19lb cat.

I hope you'll take a moment to watch at least this clip on steadying your shot and if so interested you might move on to some of his other points to ponder. Thanks for taking the time and effort to share these tips Joe!

2.009 - The Start of Another Great Year

I'm off to a great start for this new year. By now you've seen that this year for me has started on January 5th (Monday - back to work day). So far I've already blown the "getting up at 5:00am with hubby and start working out first thing," instead I opted for sleeping in 10 minutes too late and rushing to work. I've stuck to the "let's eat healthier", but then again it's only 3:10 in the afternoon so we'll have to see if this lasts the week.

I also have stuck to the 1 hour a day set aside for me to catch up on my RSS feeds and commit to writing a posting here. Again....it's only 3:10 in the afternoon and the boss isn't in the office to interrupt. Let's see if this lasts the week.

I had great comments from Dave Ferguson in regards to my post "A New Year, A Chance to Start Fresh." He really put improvement, regardless of the task, into great perspective:

As for the coming year, one of the quotes in my collection is, "There's always room for improvement. It's the biggest room in the house." I can get dismayed or discouraged by the improvement that's always lying around, waiting to happen, but this is a reminder that there ain't no time machines. You can't go back and do things differently.

From this I take away - do not get discouraged or afraid of improvement as it will always be there, and you may as well try to improve as best you can, any change however small is good in that it will either make the situation better or teach you that it was find from the start. Every attempt at improvement is another opportunity to learn and that's really what I'm striving for this year. A HUGE INCREASE IN LEARNING. 2007 was tremendous, 2008 was okay, 2009 will be GIANORMOUS.

I came across this great post today about the trends and changes seen for 2009 or 2.009 as it was labled. I really like that so 2.009 it is, seems so trendy. E-Learning 2.009, by Eva Kaplan-Leiserson. She speaks to the likes of Tony Karrer, Anders Gronstedt, Judy Brown, David Metcalf, Anne Derryberry, and Clark Quinn. Addressed are trends and obstacles we will all face in the coming year surrounding Web 2.0 learning, Mobile Learning, and Simulations and Games. I look forward to seeing where all these land over the next year.

Here's to a prosperous 2009 everyone. Keep up the great work; together we'll continue to learn, develop, and expand our minds together..

Some Great Posts Finishing Off The Year & Predictions for 2009

I saw some great posts from the last couple of days with great summaries of 2008 and 2009 and I'd like to capture them here as well.

Jane Hart's prediction for top tools of 2009. I've used a few of these and agree with Jane that they are wonderful tools and simple to use.

Robin Good led a group of 130+ through an online live mind mapping exercise creating an amazing picture of 2008's collaboration tools. This was incredible to watch it coming together live.

15 ways to improve your presentations in 2009 by Olivia Mitchell. Everyone can always use more tips or at least reminders on upgrading our presentations.

15 Useful Tools for WordPress Bloggers by Jacob Gube. I don't use WordPress, but many do and the options here are impressive.

I'm sure over the next several days the wrap ups of 2008 and predictions for 2009 will start flooding in and I look forward to reading all of them.

A New Year, A Chance to Start Fresh

I was a little disappointed with my self and my postings over the last year, mostly the last half of the year. They became fewer and fewer as I became more consumed with work. It's nice to be really busy, especially with the outlook of economic lows ahead. However, being too distracted with work hindered my learning from and networking with others. My reading of other blogs dwindled and with that my learning decreased which ultimately lead to me posting fewer items to my blog.
I am looking forward to a new year with my RSS reader cleaned out and ready for a whole new load of information ready for my eager eyes to scan through. There is one catch however, it's nice to start fresh but one must develop a plan for actually keeping up with the growing or over-growing amount of information that gets passed through the reader.

My plan is to learn from others and dump out those feeds that I truly only scan the headlines of and rarely look deeper into, this should hopefully make my inbox a little leaner. Second, I have set aside an hour at the end of each day (I find there are more posts then) to read through feeds and post my own thoughts. When I first started blogging I was writing once a day. I would like to get back to that habit, but we'll see if 3 times a work week is more feasible.

I'm hoping that this will work well for the upcoming year. I'll need to revisit "the plan" in a month to see if it is actually working. A little more than an hour may be necessary or work might be all consuming still and not allow me any time. Fingers crossed on this resolution.

Cheers to All for the New Year!

Ever want to just escape it all? (Two LMS's? Are they trying to kill me?)

Ever just want to run away and escape from it all?

I just came from a meeting from our Emergency Planning dept. and have been so graciously informed that they are purchasing a system to ensure or emergency readiness. Great, sounds wonderful. I think we need that. The catch....it has an LMS built into it and they want to run it for just those courses. Ugg Why would we want 2 LMSs running in the organization?

One of the main reasons we even started on this journey was that our educators were getting concerned that they were each tracking the learning of their staff in a billion different ways. Know one knew what anyone was taking or had taken. This is especially a problem with several hundred transfers a month around the organization.

On that note...I don't know how some of my peers cope with more than 3000 staff and multiple facilities. They should be praised.

I'm now in need of a desperate talk with my CIO to see what we can do, what we should do, where we should proceed. I'm quite concerned that when staff see/use this new LMS (it will be their first LMS experience and is scheduled to be up in several weeks) and then need to use my original LMS (yes they have yet to actually see it) they will be very confused and will be drawn to the new system as it is (as my IT buddy calls it) a much "sexier" system.

I'm confused already and neither system has launched. I'm also quite concerned about the potential of having two areas of administration. Historically our department (or I should say me) has been responsible for the administration of our Core Curriculum (6 mandatory courses that must be sent out to all staff each year). This new system would be responsible for only 2-3 of those courses. That makes little sense as well and would only duplicate much of my work.

I now need to desperately have a meeting with my director and my CIO to get these concerns on the table asap as this new system seems to be a go whether I like it or not.

I want to Blog...Where to Start?

I'm curious to find out a few things from bloggers who have been posting for more than a year:

1. What is your blogging tool of choice (blogger, wordpress, etc)?
2. Have you always used the same tool? If you switched why?
3. How often to you post?
4. Does traffic to your blog matter to you?
5. Do you try to stick to one topic/theme or are you generalized?
6. How many other blogs do you follow?
7. Have you kept your blog in the standard templates offered, have you tweaked it, or have you designed your own fully?
8. Do you blog internally for a company/organization or is it out there for the world to see?
9. Do you try to promote your blog (increase its searchablility - is that a word)?

Trouble Concentrating on One Task at a Time

I'm finding it increasingly difficult to concentrate on one task at a time, let alone complete one and before I move onto the next. Am I normal for my generation; a product of my environment; has work forced be to be this way; is it just too much info all at once? I'm just not sure any more.

I certainly know, as it seems to be discussed more and more that information overload is bogging us down. I never believed that it was really happening. I felt like I was thriving learning more and more. I was excited to read, hear, see the next big thing or learn more about a topic I that found really interesting. I also never believed that I couldn't multitask and still get everything done that needed to be finished.

I now think, as 2008 is coming to a close, that I feel more drained then I have in a very long time. I feel that little has been accomplished. I've started a lot of projects, but have I really completed them to my full potential. I'm not sure. Even when I think of housework, something simple, something just for me....I fly around the house from one bit to another....clean a sink, wait spot on the mirror, do that....do another mirror, do another mirror....lint on the floor, better vacuum...back to sinks.... Eventually it gets done, but the process is crazy.

How did I get this way? It may be a bit because of my work. Rarely does a day go by where I can sit there an concentrate on just one task. There are phone and email interruptions both of which must be answered immediately. For some reason a culture has developed at my work where if a call/email is not answered immediately the person will try another method to reach you. I've even had people come to my office if I don't answer them within 30 minutes. There are the constant drop ins asking questions and usually they are about something irrelevant to the task at hand. I sit an area of the hospital where there are frequent visitors and patients that often need assistance with just logging on the computer. You can not tell them to wait, that is not an option.

And so wrapping up 2008 I seem to have my LMS at least in my grubby hands, but not yet functioning at a level that will make my users or instructors completely happy. I have started to create 2 different elearning courses, but haven't completed either. In case the LMS isn't a go in Jan. '09 then I've started creating 5 other courses for paper distribution. Oh and even if the LMS does work who's to stay everyone is going to access it anyway....the paper distribution better be ready any way. I've hosted 6 orientation sessions over the year. I did run a conference for our staff in April, but I'm back planning (in bits and pieces) the one for next April.

I'm feeling a bit like I'm running in a hamster wheel right now. Once in a while I get out and breath for a moment, but then I'm right back in running my little feet off.....and my brain.

An Interpretation of Training in the 21st Century

I love Harold Jarche's SlideShare here explaining many of the ideas and concepts we need to think about as we move forward in this web 2.0 world and the ways that we are going to continue to foster learning.

I find it very important, yet very difficult still to get managment to understand the greater need for collaboration regarding learning and producing, really anything. I'm fond of his slide representing Supporting Work in Complex Environments. I wonder how many of us are truly adopting this or are we still trying to pursuade our "power's that be" that we need to go this route and go now.

Training 21 C

View SlideShare presentation or Upload your own. (tags: complexity wirearchy)

LMS Is Not Managing Classroom Based Training

My days and nights are still consumed with the issue that our LMS does not manage classroom based courses well at all. I can not find a work around for our courses that run over many different days. The vendor gave me a solution if they are all in the same week, but that doesn't solve it.

• I tried making session 2 a whole new course and that session 1 is a prerequisite, but they can't register for number 2 until they pass number 1.
• I tried about putting all the sessions under one certificate, but they can't register for a certificate only an individual course.
• I tired making one course and just putting all the dates in the details, but that doesn't help the instructor keep track of everyone showing up for all sessions.
• I tried letting the learner registering for the first session and the instructor registering them for all the other sessions (hidden from public view). Nice idea however the instructor is never notified if a new student registers, they would have to go into the course, see who is new, go the the learner management screen add the other sessions (of which they can't see entirely because the window is too small), and then go back and look up the next new learner. Too much for an instructor that may have 6 sessions and 30 learners.

I'm at a brain freeze trying to work around this issue and about 60% of our in class teachings are like this. I'm ready to scrap the whole think and become a shepperd.

An LMS Rant to No One in Particular

I'm working on the "1 course, many classes" issue.

I've got it now that the learner registers for module 1 of 6.

If the learner clicks "my courses" they see module 1 that they registered for (there is no date of the course for them though. (It can't added to Outlook either like it should).

I've kind of got a solution to my "1 course many day" issue, but I've also got some concerns over ease and efficiency of this process. What I worked out is I "display and allow registration" of module 1 (noting to learner they will be registered for the other modules).
Module 2-6 are hidden (do not display).

As an instructor....currently I have to go into the "course manager", & "edit the session" to see if anyone has registered (there are no prompts to the instructor, no emails, this would be great every time a registrant signs up). Then I have to go into "manager learners". Then I have to export or note all the students (I wouldn't really know who is new and who isn't).

I then have to go to "learner manager", find the student, look at their courses, edit their courses, add in the other modules that they need to take.

The learner now does have the next module added to their "my courses" roster.

However they don't get any other notification that it has been added for them (and email to them would be helpful).

Oh and I guess if I wanted to add one course that has more than 1 session......I wouldn't be able to, because I can't see which session is which.

LMS what does it stand for?

This is a really quick post, but after my day yesterday struggling with my LMS, my computer that sounds as if it is taking off like a 747, and the constant screen freezes, I've come up with a new accronym for my LMS.

LMS = Losing My Sanity

When is the content enough? LMS Pilot has become too intense

I'm working on a school project where I get to use Blackboard as a teacher. I have an assignment worth 30% of my overall class mark, but the actual content of the course material I put into the system is only worth 1/3rd of the mark. I've been working at it and working at it creating this in depth learning course on using myUdutu.com to create online courses. I'm at the fifth page (.doc) of my course material and I haven't even gotten past the templates that are available to you as an author.

I'm now mulling over where do I "stop" the course so that it ends at an appropriate place (end of topic). When can I say I've done enough that's about 1/3rd's worth. I think I may be creating the supreme version of the course as opposed to the first chapter.

I've realized today that I'm doing the same thing with my LMS pilot or preparation for the pilot. I've been killing myself mentally and physically (okay only my fingers are cramping up, but it does hurt). I've been working endlessly to get all my physical course catalogue inputted into the LMS catalogue. I've been trying to create 2 elearning courses for the learners to try. I've also been trying to make sure the system works flawlessly from a student perspective, author, manager, and administrator.

A friend was kind enough to slap some reality into me today and allowed me to step back and look at it for what it is....a pilot. Not everything is going to work right away and it probably should not work perfectly. It should be expected that there will be things you'll want to tweak and fix so that it better matches your learners expectations. It doesn't need to have the entire course catalogue created. It just needs a sampling of classroom courses and online courses for them to register for and take. I have 2 SCORM courses from the Ontario Health Association that will make good test courses. One has sound and video. I would love to have one or two of our own courses in there, but it's not a necessity.

My LMS Tips for today is to take it easy on yourself, remember your pilot is only a pilot. It is simply there for you to test out the functionality of your system for you as an administrator and for your learners for ease and simplicity. Can they navigate their way around the system easily? Step back, simplify it for yourself, get the main components in that you require, it does not have to be at the 100% GO LIVE stage. Another really big big tip I got today as well is....you don't have to turn every part of the system on. Our system has the ability for the manager to approve a staff member taking a course. I've been going nuts trying to make sure this works....but why? Mangers don't do this right now in our learning environment, why do they need to do it online. Myself and my colleague aren't convinced it works the way we would want to any way. So we'll leave it be for now. Pretend it doesn't exist and deal with it later if we see it as a necessary tool.

Hope this too helps you sleep a little better my LMS friends.