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Anyone can become Teacher

Google opens up Google Classroom, an educational service that allows anyone to create and teach on its platform. So, anyone can join the class from anywhere and learn. Classroom makes it easy for learners and instructors to connect—inside and outside of schools.

From our very good friends over at techdipper.com

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Learning Management Systems (LMS) have been used in education for many years, but only recently have they experienced explosive growth and popularity. In the past, they were primarily used by schools and universities to provide online courses that complement classroom learning. Now, learning management systems are used for corporate training for employees and to automate company record keeping. According to the LMS Industry User Report, the LMS industry is expected to be worth over $7 billion by 2018. Over the past few years, learning management systems have evolved to better accommodate the demands of their recent popularity. Here are the top ten LMS trends to watch for in 2016.

Extended Enterprise
To meet the needs of many diverse industries, LMS systems include more than just learning courses. You can create customer service portals, develop e-commerce strategies, and allow easy access to product information through learning management software. A personalized LMS portal is the standard. It creates better training for employees and information sharing for everyone invested in business.

Automated Course Authoring
The LMS industry now includes features that make the software more efficient and easier to use. Automated course authoring is one of the most meaningful advances that integrates the use of pre-made themes, templates, and other online assets. In addition to the minimal effort required to produce assessments, it also reduces the costs of development and course creation.

Open/SAAS
Both open source software’s and SAAS (software as a service) have drawbacks that balance the benefits of using them. While open source makes customization simple, it requires frequent maintenance and downtime. On the other hand, SAAS incorporates easy set-up and access with minimal administrative requirements, but can be very difficult to customize. Using a combination of both open source and SAAS gives you the best of both systems.

Big Data
While other feedback tools like focus groups, surveys, and assessments give companies an estimation of the pros and cons of their assets, big data offers the use of predictive analytics and other advanced methods to extract concrete statistics and numbers. A company can gain better insight on learning behaviors and preferences, and utilize that information to improve courses and proficiency.

Gamification
Introducing the elements and mechanics of game design into your learning management system capitalizes on friendly competition and organic growth. In a recent survey conducted by docebo, 72% of people revealed that they were interested in adding game aspects into their learning and training regimen. Adding gamification into your LMS increases engagement and balances time management with reward based incentives.

Wearable Tech
Google Glasses, Apple Watches, and Fitbit Trackers are the newest batch of wearable technology. LMS technology will soon catch up with this growing trend with its own form of wearable technology. Accessible, entertaining, and dynamic training keeps learners engaged and educated.

Cloud-Based Systems
In the past, company data was privately kept and maintained in a server room behind a firewall. Now, many companies have moved their data to online storage. Learning management systems are quickly following the same path and utilizing the Cloud for online storage. With online learning management systems, you’ll be able to update content quickly and reduce training costs.

Social Media Orientation
Since the onset of social media, sharing progress and success with others has become unanimous. Transferring that sentiment to LMS helps users to actively engage with each other and the system. Future evolutions in LMS will mimic the interactions of social media sites, such as Twitter, SnapChat, and Instagram, and allow systems to adapt to their users and create personalization for user preferences.

Blended Learning
A blended learning environment is a mixture of digital and practical learning. Useful in industries that require hands on activities, LMS and classroom learning will work together to maximize results. LMS provides ease of scheduling, supplementary learning materials, and online testing and reporting to reduce classroom time and more efficiently train employees. The evolution in LMS will be invaluable to construction, oil, and machine oriented industries, allowing new hires to train without endangering themselves or the product.

Responsive LMS
Since access to the internet are available across various devices, an LMS program needs to be able to adapt to any device it’s on. A responsive LMS can auto-adjust its course elements according to screen size and resolution. Learning management systems that respond in this way allow everyone to have the same experience. When looking for an LMS that includes responsive reactions, look for software that has built-in preview and customization tools.

The Evolution of LMS
Over the past few years, the use of learning management systems among various industries has increased substantially. Many LMS systems have undergone several modulations to make the creation of courses easier, engagement higher, and statistics simple to analyze. Older systems can no longer serve the advanced educational organizations of today, making evolution a necessity. As the LMS industry grows, there will be even more improvements and updates to existing systems.

Author Bio:
Frankie Gordon is a software analyst who enjoys researching data security and writing about technology. His work has been featured across multimedia platforms regarding software development, online security, learning management systems. In his free time, he works on creating his newest game using CryEngine technology.

We work in a business world where change is a constant factor. One of the areas we see this is in the area of Office IT. It is important that a business and its staff keep up to date in this area and invest in training and upskilling to meet all future business needs.
Within the office IT environment a key element is the use of Microsoft Office applications. Some of the benefits that we gain when we invest in Microsoft applications include the following

New Operating System skills – Windows 8

With a new operating system from Microsoft, (Windows 8) being rolled out over the next few years businesses will have new challenges to meet. Training will be needed on Microsoft Windows 8, as well as the new version of Microsoft Office 2013. As the older operating systems e.g. Windows XP, 7 are being phased out it is important that all systems are compatible with Windows 8 and all users are comfortable in its use.
We suggest that companies allow 12 months to effectively implement Windows 8, and that training on Microsoft’s new applications is a must.

New Microsoft Applications skills and tools – MS Office 2013

With a new version of Word, Excel, Access, and PowerPoint to learn, computer training in these
applications will be very important to take advantage of the new tools and techniques being used by the Microsoft Office 2013 version. Office staff and end users should make sure that their knowledge is up to date with these versions. Computer training in Microsoft Office 2013 applications will give staff the knowledge they need to make full use of the applications. These new skills will give a business an advantage over the competition.

Stay Competitive with Ongoing Microsoft Training

Getting ahead of the game will make your business more competitive and position itself to benefit from an upturn. Over the next few years, the industry will witness the transition from Windows
XP and Windows 7 to the new Windows 8. Also many companies will be upgrading their MS Office applications from Office 2003 to Office 2010 and the revised layouts and formats that come with that. With proper planning and training a business will use the new skills attained by staff to improve competitiveness, sales, customer care and overall profitability

A dedicated and motivated sales team will reach their targets and goals and therefore ensure the success  of the business in the long term.
Some people say that a good salesperson is born and not made. I believe that good selling skills can be trained or shown to any salesperson. With this in mind here are some of the key areas to watch for a successful sales training programme

Positive attitude
A successful sales person should have a positive and outgoing attitude. They should be trained to be positive in their dealings with clients or customers, management and colleagues.
They will also be trained to be open in trying new ideas and sales techniques. At the end of the day the positive attitude will persuade customers to buy the business products or services.

Integrity
The integrity of the business should always be maintained in all aspects of selling. To maintain a good name and long relationship with clients and customers a salesperson should be trained to be honest at all times.  Honestly and integrity should not be compromised for the sake of short term profit. A good name or word of mouth promotion will help a business in the long run.

Management
When training sales staff management should provide access to all the tools and information they will need to support them in their daily sales tasks. A well trained and informed salesperson will be able to explain the merits or advantages of the business product or service to clients or customers.

Team Work
To paraphrase, No man or Woman even is an Island. When training sales staff group training or team building is a very important aspect of their skills building. The team can share ideas and skills and assist the business achieve their sales goals or targets.

Training
A good sales training programme will be designed and developed to enable sales staff achieve their potential. The right person within the business or and outside training organisation should be chosen to give the training and they should have good practical experience in delivering a training plan.

The salesperson should be taught how to make an approach to a potential customer, present their product and service and complete the sale. The confidence gained with the training will assist them in  this task.

Though you may only run a small business for now,
no doubt you have dreams to make a name
in the world of business even more.
This is where Financial Management comes into play.

Financial Reporting and Accounting

This type of reporting is essential if you want to keep track of your company’s
financial history and will give you an accurate picture of all your
company’s income and expenditure. Upon analysing the accounting and
financial reports, you will be aware of what your company
is spending and just how much.

Earnings from specific product lines or services can be identified,
as well as sales contributions from your marketing staff.
This type of reporting is an essential way to manage your costs and
analyse your marketing efforts.

Financial Statements – Simple Financial Ratios

Analysing your financial statements and using simple financial ratio gives you
a clear indication of how your company is faring against other companies.
Though it is not essential, it can really point out what your company
might be lacking and what needs to be improved upon.

If you strive to be the best in the industry, it only makes sense to benchmark
your company against other great companies.
You can review how sales trends are affected by the change of season,
or change in taste of your consumers and more.

Ongoing Research

Stay on top of your game by conducting research on how other companies are
handling their expenses and the new methods or technologies which will aid you
in controlling these costs. Companies who are willing to set aside some budget for
research will be rewarded handsomely in their bottom line.

A good research can point you to the right direction,
whether or not you have to tweak some procedures or streamline your operations to
improve your performance. Ultimately, you can devise strategies to
improve areas that not up to par with competing companies.

Financial planning and budgeting

Good financial planning is essential for any company or organisation.
This involves planning ahead and setting key projected targets or
figures which will be used in comparing the budgeted verses actual figures.
If you can reach your targets and manage your expenditure in achieving it it will
leave your business in a healthier state.

In a highly volatile market and hard economic times that the world is facing
right now, proper and concrete business planning can help your business to
survive – and even flourish.

In the case of financial planning and managements,
they will do more than just review your financial statements,
but also to make sure that expenses can be controlled effectively and
don’t go to waste. This way, when time is right,
those expansion plans can come into fruitions.

This happens because of miss–management of “time”.
It has become imperative that organisations
train their employees in systematic
time management so that they can
achieve productive results in a progressive period of time.

An organisation should motivate its employees to
join the time management training programs.

These training sessions help the employees to keep themselves on track and
hence to fix their goals. Right goal will always steer an organisation in the
right direction and will contribute immensely in generating profits.

An employee should be able to plan and organise his work in an efficient way.
By following certain rules of time management an employee cannot ever get sidetracked.

The general rule is to break the goals into two portions – long term and short term.
This helps to give direction and focus on the organisational goals
and in attainment of the overall business targets.

In business one can control its losses but can never control the flow of valuable time.
Once the business goals go off-track it can not be brought back under control without
a dedicated effort. To be on track and work within the constraints of time,
employees should be provided with time management training.

Proper time management is an essential key to accomplish your goals and
get going. Time management is like an insurance policy against wasting away
your business hours. Employees should be trained to handle the workloads and
complete the given task within the specific time frame and thus gain profits for business.

Time management not only helps an employee to attain its targets but
also gains valuable insights into managing its time effectively between business and
personal lives. Time management training helps to maintain balance in the
working environment by beating off stress and anxiety.

In the cooperative world, there exists a major complaint of work backlog with
limited staff members. In an organisation, work is to be divided among employees
in a productive way. The backlog of work should not be left unchecked.

Keep track of pending work so as to escape massive work burden in the future.
Every employee should undergo some form of rudimentary time management
training program to break away from work backlogs.

Importance of time management

1. Beats stress and anxiety
2. Achieves the goal in a specific time frame
3. Handles multiple projects
4. Generates business profits

To attain long term profits make a clear vision of business goals and
combine them with time management techniques to outdo business failures.

Remember that an organisation’s development needs
would include numerous strategically planned
and executed policies, extending from micro
management to the macro management system.

Successful management warrants the recognition of crucial
areas of development and the analysis of various possibilities.

Management development is not just a priority of the upper management it is in fact,
a synergised effort of each and every individual in the organisation.
Management & Leadership training and strategic management thus assumes a major
role by infusing knowledge, skill and confidence so as to coordinate the smooth
functioning of the entire system.

Customer Needs and Satisfaction
Accepting the fact that customer satisfaction is the best policy,
organisational decisions are made by the upper management based on
a comprehensive market research of the customers’ needs and requirements.

It is the Customer Service Training workshops that get this theory incorporated into
management development. Meant for both the management team and
other employees, such intensive sessions improve customer relations for
a feasible business growth.

Sales and marketing analysis
An extensive study on the state of a market is an essential requirement for
the sales proceedings of every business concern. With competent sales methodologies,
the management of both large and small scale industries can think and
act differently in complex situations.

Management development in Sales Training helps you learn the intricacies of
various sales techniques and in deploying the right strategy. Be it technology,
consumer goods, manufacturing industries or any other sector,
systematic Sales Training for a successful business growth applies to all of them.
Sales training has been classified into two:

• Business to Business sales (B2B)
• Business to Customers’ sales.(B2C)

Building Customer Relationship
When it comes to the large scale industries, it is diversity in the huge customer database,
coupled with its cultural and regional variations that form the most complex of challenges.
‘Equality and Diversity’ training for both internal and external customers,
play a key role in ensuring management development.

This training comprises of employee behavior and ethics, corporate policies,
code of conduct, cultural awareness and equality training.
Although internal customer ethics & behavior are ignored by most companies,
it is important to note that ethical compliance has worked wonders for
those adopting them.

The Management Development program successfully identifies and
analyses the key performance and production factors needed for
an organisations rapid growth.

Management development helps to nurture and develop the skills that are required for
logically managing the resources and associated factors of production.
Other related features covered in the development program ought to
include project management, graduate training, knowledge of the employment law and
training for the trainers.

Education has remained unchanged for literally Several centuries.
A video from Knewton founder Jose Ferreira explaining why the future of learning
is personalized, adaptive & accessible from anywhere

A project manager has a critical role in the management and delivery of any project.
This involves dealing with the key participants or stakeholders in the project as well as
the stages from the planning to completion.
This video gives us a good insight into this role and the key areas to be managed.

Content by http://www.progressivetraining.ie