How to Use a Digital LMS Platform to Create a Multimodal Learning Experience

A multi-modal learning experience is, quite simply, learning that involves multiple senses. It’s what you were probably familiar with when you were young, learning in a classroom where the teacher shares new lessons in lecture form, then demonstrates the concept on the chalkboard, and then perhaps assigns an activity where you use test tubes or another tangible object to understand the new idea. Each of these steps solidified the concept in your mind, and, chances are, you still remember it today (2+2 = 4, water is H2O, and so on).

Multimodal learning is primarily concerned with the senses and is immensely helpful when looking to boost learning retention. However, few people realize that multimodal learning can also be applied to digital learning strategies—even though online learning may not feel like a sensory experience.

In order to optimize learning and create an engaging environment, teachers and educators of all kinds should look for ways to bring multimodality into the virtual learning environment. In the corporate world, this is key to boosting employee engagement, retention, and compliance rates.

Multimodal learning, when applied to corporate learning and development initiatives, can open up a new world of strategies for training managers. Not only does multimodal learning benefit learners because it is more engaging, but it can also benefit companies as a whole by providing a framework by which they can build training initiatives and strategies. Even in a digital environment, courses can be designed to create multiple learning experiences. All you need are the right tools.

Want to bring a multimodal strategy into your corporate learning and development plan? Here’s how to create a multimodal learning strategy and implement it in your company’s training initiatives.

Find a flexible digital LMS platform

You cannot create a multimodal learning experience without proper tools. The first step for any company looking to create a multimodal learning experience for their employees, partners, and customers is to find a platform that will suit their learners’ needs. This means that the digital LMS software should be flexible enough to function for learners whether they work in the office or from a remote location.

ExpertusONE’s digital LMS platform can operate from a variety of locations, with or without internet connectivity when in an offline mode. As a result, it serves the needs of multiple types of users, from employees to customers. To support multimodal learning goals, it is important to have a customizable learning platform that allows you to brand your website, add courses or create courses from scratch, and track learner progress. All of these things are possible within ExpertusONE.

A multimodal learning experience will evolve as training managers discern which courses (and therefore which strategies) encourage the greatest retention of information.

Related post: In the Market for a New LMS? Prioritize These 4 Things

Think outside of the box to incorporate multimodal learning

Crafting a multimodal learning experience takes creativity. Most digital courses already engage two types of learning: visual and auditory. This is a great first step or foundation for the learning experience. That said, some of the visual learning and auditory learning components of corporate training are still unengaging and, to put it simply, a bit boring. In order to yield the best results from the multimodal learning experience, you must be creative. This means that the best-case scenario for a company’s learning and development team is to evaluate each course on its own to look for multimodal learning opportunities instead of providing a broad sweeping general multimodal strategy.

Taking an individualized approach to each course will help learning managers and strategists identify the most effective multimodal learning offerings. For example, a highly technical course—perhaps a compliance training course about a new medical device—may require more visual learning assets than a course that is largely conceptual, like a management or leadership course.

Within that highly technical course, a multimodal learning strategy could look like an audio track played as elements of the device’s design are shown up-close in a slide presentation. It could also look like a video demonstration of the content with a set of quizzes that use visual aids to determine if the learner understands the function of the course. In the ExpertusONE digital LMS platform, learners can easily access video and audio content from within the platform through the integrated LMS content player—instead of having to open a link to a YouTube video or download a large audio file.

Different learning objectives will require different strategies. If companies implement leadership courses or company culture initiatives, multimodal learning may look like a videoconferencing session where both auditory learning and visual learning are engaged.

If a company is looking to prioritize health and wellness initiatives, especially for teams working from home, part of multimodal learning could be encouraging the practical application of wellness tips. Perhaps the learner would be encouraged to walk outside for 15 minutes (kinesthetic) or create a written objectives list (kinesthetic and visual).

Multimodal learning strategies can help companies boost training retention rates and create a more engaging learning environment for employees, partners, and customers alike. More and more companies are embracing remote and hybrid work styles, which can create challenges when it comes to engagement. Multimodal learning may be the solution that helps companies communicate with their employees key messaging, company goals, and even standards for workplace culture and operations.

Investing in a flexible, functional enterprise LMS platform is the first step to building an engaging learning experience. Look for platforms that can work on desktop or mobile devices, whether the employee works from home or in an office, and with both offline and online capabilities. Multimodal learning is the future of the digital learning experience, and companies can easily incorporate this strategy into their learning goals when they have a strong technological foundation and a set of engaging courses.

Looking to incorporate multimodal learning in your training strategy this year? Contact us for a demo. You can also peruse our blog for helpful tips on creating engaging courses, how to use digital LMS features in your training strategy, and the foundational principles that ensure learning success.