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At BC Ferries, the LMS-based compo-nent of job training and familiarization is openly accessible to all employees of BC Ferries regardless of whether they are currently in training. This means that a BC Ferries employee who has a ques- tion about the company-approved best practice method to perform some task isable to consult the training materials athome, on board, or anywhere an inter- net connection is available. Thus the company?s learning materials form an ongoing authoritative resource that any working mariner can access. TRAINING REPORTS & METRICSOne of the greatest strengths of learn-ing management systems is their abilityto generate reports and analytics whichprovide deep insight into the health of atraining program - both for individual trainees, and for the program as awhole. These reports provide insight into how the system is used, how long trainees are spending on the learningmaterials, and how individual exam questions and whole exams are being performed. There are two main reasons why these reports are critical to any training organization. First, the reports allow the training or- ganization to ?keep their fingers on the pulse? of their training activities. Prob- lems such as poor performance on spe-cific exam questions, common misconceptions about some trainingtopic, or trainees spending an unusuallylong time on some learning material canbe identified and reported by the LMS analytics. When such a problem is iden- tified, corrective action can be taken im- mediately to remedy the situation.Without an LMS, such issues would not likely be made apparent until some per- formance or safety issue manifested it-self as a result of the trainingshortcoming.Second, LMS metrics and analyticsprovide training organizations with a way of measuring the effectiveness of the training programs on an ongoingbasis with the goal of continuous im-provement. As a wise mentor once told me ?if you can?t measure it, then you can?t manage it?. LMS analytics ensure that you can measure training perform- ance with analytics not otherwise avail- able. These analytics provide the necessary foundation for a program ofcontinuous improvement of training - a system of periodic evaluation and im- provement. Every maritime training or- ganization should be engaged in an ongoing continuous improvement pro- gram. TRAINEE-CENTERED LEARNINGA current ?buzz-word? (or more cor- rectly, ?buzz-term?) in learning theory is ?student-centered learning?. The idea is that rather than training being focused onthe trainer as it often is, the trainingshould be focused on the trainee in orderto provide better results. Unfortunately, traditional classroom-based courses arehighly trainer-centered. They occur when and where the trainer is available, and at the pace dictated by the trainer. The June 2012 marinelink.com17MR June12 # 3 (17-24):MR Template 6/11/2012 9:22 AM Page 17
