Unleash the Power of Discussions

This article is going to discuss the benefits of discussions

When it comes to most eLearning models, in the absence of face-to-face teaching, there’s often a lot to be desired when it comes to peer-to-peer interaction. Discussions, along with our other peer learning features, are a great way to regain the element of interaction which conversation and dialogue bring.  

In case you haven’t run into them before, a Discussion is a lesson type that offers a great way to prompt dialogue among your learners about the content you’re teaching.  Discussions work well in training programs because they add another layer to the learning approach, allowing users to take the new concepts they’ve gained from your training, then apply them to a discussion with other learners within the program.  It’s a great way to build a learning community across your learner base. 

Here are some creative ideas about how Admins and Content Authors can get the most out of our Discussions feature:

Bring dispersed teams together: Capture elements from remote team members’ experiences out in the field, through learner-generated posts.  What results is a custom social feed, connecting team members working across the country through conversation about training content.  Learners can use text, images and video to post about virtually anything:

• Reinforce best practices 
• Share customer stories from the road
• Demonstrate properly executed company policy and procedures 

All the while, other team members are commenting on others’ posts, and Instructor users are weighing in and mediating the conversation. This adds a completely new dimension of interaction and engagement to your training program. 

Break the ice with your learners: Use Discussions as a way for your learners to introduce themselves to others within your learner base:  

• From our Admin Portal, configure a Discussion with a prompt that introduces your course, and instructs users to submit a post introducing themselves to their peers.  

• As your learners upload text, images and videos, you’ll get to watch as your learning community comes to life!  

This is one of our favorite ways to see the Discussions feature used, because we get to see firsthand how providing learners with the chance to express themselves can transform engagement in a training program.

Establish a Helpline: We’ve also seen Discussions used as a way for Instructors and Learners to communicate about a variety of different topics:

• Answer inquiries about completion, scoring or stars
• Troubleshooting, or technical support on using the platform
• Create a custom, live FAQ on course content

There are so many creative ways to put this feature to good use, with minimal set up. Just a bit of creative brainstorming could make a huge difference in your training program--and could even change the very culture of learning at your company.

Let us know if you have any questions about how to set up Discussions - we’re always happy to help you get the most out of this agile feature!