AI + API + Analytics = AI-powered LMS powerhouse

Every system, every tool, every platform worth its salt is riding the AI bandwagon. And why not? By increasing productivity by 40%, AI technologies could deliver as much as $2.9 trillion in business value and recover a staggering 6.2 billion hours of worker productivity by 2021.

Analysts at Gartner define artificial intelligence as technology that “applies advanced analysis and logic-based techniques (including machine learning) to interpret events, support and automate decisions and initiate action.” As per its Emerging Technology Hype Cycle, out of the 5 key trends blurring the lines between humans and machines, AI continues to lead the way.

With the AI market touted to grow into a $190 billion industry by 2025, the scales tip both ways – for the consumers and the vendors alike. From increasing efficiency of a function to improving how the world runs in general, the advantages of Artificial Intelligence are aplenty. Vendors too are strengthening their investments in this technology with a view to getting a competitive advantage over their peers and competitors. 

Naturally with all this chatter, expectations for AI have soared across all industries, countries and product segments. Yet many people still remain uncertain about the adoption of Artificial Intelligence in Learning and Training.

Modeled after the Gartner Hype Cycle is the 2019 eLearning Predictions Hype Curve, which does a rigorous analysis of Twitter activity to determine the most mentioned eLearning-related keywords across the social network. This analysis focusing on more than 2.3million words, including 60,000+ tweets from a target segment of about 40 eLearning influencers showed that AI has clearly reached a“ peak of inflated expectations.”

What does it means for the LMS in particular?

As AI becomes a priority for enterprise learning leaders, especially with organizations pursuing broader digital transformation initiatives, it’s critical to move the needle to LMS AI.

However, AI in an LMS should not be a narrow definition of the term which curbs the actual potential of both - the technology and the platform. Additionally, in an L&D context and to ensure the entire learning journey is covered, the focus should not be on AI alone. It’s critical to piece AI with other technologies that enable smart use and movement of data. Read Analytics and APIs.

There you have it. An AI-powered LMS powerhouse.

Here’s a breakdown of the what, the why and the how of AI, Analytics and APIs needed in a learning platform.

1. AI

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is one of the key tools in providing contextual support to enterprise learning because of its ability to learn (continuously), determine and establish learning pathways that are personalized to the unique needs of the learner, while doing heavy lifting for the admins too. Below is a checklist of things to ensure the AI in your LMS gives you the desired value –

• Personalization of Learning

Adapting learning materials and modes to meet the varied backgrounds and abilities of learners has been one of the biggest challenges of digital learning. Until AI. Not only can Artificial Intelligence help meet learners where they are, but with its continuous information gathering process it can also customize learning for them. In context of an LMS, an AI-powered recommendation engine, along with its user-centric UI, makes for an enriched and smart learning journey. Relevant content, using both Content-based recommendation and Collaborative filtering, is suggested to the learners automatically as it constantly gathers intelligence from user behaviors, skill-sets and information pieces across the board to produce a rich pool of related content and deep search results.

• Enhanced User Experience

LMS AI brings about high content customizability aligned to the learner’s needs and interests. AI sifts through the content, mapping it to the learner’s journey and user behavior as it goes along, and puts only the most relevant content on their learning path. This predictive and adaptive ability of AI facilitates high engagement between the learner and the topics that are recommended. Here is how you can use AI to boost employee engagement. As a result, from the learner perspective, the content is tailored to their requirements and knowledge level, leading to an enhanced learning experience.

• Automation

Automation is at the heart of an AI-powered LMS. With its ability to execute tasks that normally require human intervention, AI does the leg work otherwise needed by the LMS administrators. An AI algorithm in your LMS can very well manage the content scheduling and delivery processes for admins. It can also analyze learner behavior to understand skill gaps and then present targeted recommendations, taking the load off the admins to manually perform competency mapping.

2. API

While AI- and Analytics-powered LMSes are great, they, in their standalone application, don’t impact the entire learning journey to a large extent; the learning journey that begins from login continues across diverse applications, interfaces, systems and data sources.

This is where APIs and Integrations come in. They provide the heavy lifting needed to share data securely across the extended enterprise, regardless of its source or format. In other words, APIs facilitate information to flow between applications, in turn, automating workflows and processes, as opposed to getting everything done manually. They are the key enablers of AI-driven learning experiences for customers, business partners and employees, alike. In short, complete understanding of LMS Integrations 101 and Leveraging APIs in your LMS should be your top priority.

3. Analytics

While AI and API, together with other key LMS features, take your learning/ training further, it is the data points that are churned out from ever learner progress, every content consumed, every minute spent, every training dollar invested that matter the most from a ROI and business impact POV. However data dump alone doesn’t mean much for a busy training manager. Business intelligence and insights into the effectiveness of the training programs along with (auto scheduled) reports can make or break the training program. In short, Analytics are the eyes and ears to the effectives of your AI and API. Along with reporting on learner behavior patterns and progresses, they also highlight weaknesses within the learning experience, so organizations can continuously improve content quality, information structure, interaction design and underlying functionality. Here’s what LMS analytics can tell you.

AI-powered learn-tech tools & solutions are all around us and are already impacting us in ways that we cannot fathom. While AI in an LMS is powerful by itself, combining it with the other two As – API and Analytics can help in pushing the pedal to the metal on your L&D interventions.

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