Learn - terminology explained

In this article, we'll explain the key areas of Learn LMS and how they link together. 

User

Anyone with access to Learn LMS is known as a User.

Group

Users are organised into Groups where they share attributes. For example, where they work, what they do, and any additional responsibilities they may have. Once a member of a Group, a User will see all Mandatory and optional learning assigned to the Group.

• Users can be (and usually are) members of multiple Groups
• Courses assigned to Groups are mandatory for Group members
• Catalogues assigned to Groups contain optional Courses, for Group members to browse and select

Lessons

Lessons are the actual learning. Learn LMS includes a selection of different Lesson types, from video Lessons, to Instructor-led Lessons, and eLearning. Lessons are not assigned directly to learners. Instead, they are assigned to a Course, and the Course is assigned to your people.

• Lessons can be assigned to multiple Courses
• When a User completes a Lesson, the status of 'Complete' shows in every Course to which it is assigned
• Lessons can be assigned to Courses in any order
• Any combination of Lesson types can be assigned to a Course

Courses

Think of Courses as a wrapper for learning. A Course is a description of any assigned Lessons (the actual learning)  and the way those Lessons are shared with your people. Lessons are assigned to Courses, and Courses are then assigned to Groups and Catalogues. 

• Courses can be assigned to multiple Catalogues
• A Course without Lessons is not visible to Users
• Courses can be assigned to multiple Groups
• There is no limit to the number of Lessons that can be added to a Course*

*Consider cognitive load when building your Courses. Instead of having one Course with 20 lessons, consider having 4 courses with 5 lessons.

Catalogue

Think of Catalogues as brochures for optional Courses. Build a Course (by assigning Lessons) then assign the Course to a catalogue. The Catalogue can then be assigned to one or more Groups. Everyone in the Group(s) will see the Catalogue and can choose from the learning contained within it.

• Users will typically be assigned multiple Catalogues through membership of Groups
• A Catalogue with no Courses assigned is not visible to Users

Event

Events are the time and place that Instructor-led learning takes place. As such they are available only for Instructor Led Lessons, where you'll see the option to create one or more Events. 

More about assignments

On a technical level, Learn LMS is built on a relational database. On a human level, that means Learn LMS is all about making assignments – linking together different elements of the system, as you’ve seen from the above descriptions.

Assignments can be made either way between items. For example, the quickest way to assign 5 Lessons to to a Course would be to navigate to the Course, then assign all 5 lessons in one go. The result would be the same if you navigated to each Lesson one at a time, and assigned to the Course - it would just take longer.