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Harnessing the power of AI in LMS
We are often asked how AI tools can be integrated into LMS platforms. Here are the most common ways we’re seeing this done: Chatbots and virtual assistants have been around for some time and can offer learners instant support and guidance at any time Generative AI enables course creators to develop content, generate course summaries…
Change management is having a game plan
This quick guide from ISO provides a useful introductory summary of key aspects of the change process. It includes setting frameworks, choosing the right model, and commentary on making change stick. If you’re an experienced practitioner it’ll be pretty familiar, but if you’re building your baseline knowledge of change management, it’s a good jumping off…
Major change management plan template
If you’ve been tasked with implementing major change, it may be one of the most challenging assignments of your career. This Major Change Management Plan Template from Business Enterprise Mapping provides a high level summary of the sorts of objectives and process steps that should be covered in your strategy. It doesn’t provide guidance on…
Overcoming challenges to make onboarding a success
Bringing new people into an organisation presents challenges. Two of the challenges common to practically any onboarding are: People in new situations can easily be overwhelmed. They need to rapidly learn how to do their new job in the new environment, safely. Starting a new job is a vulnerable time in anyone’s life – even…
Announcing our CASS partnership with Ambrosia Training Limited
We’re excited to announce our partnership with Ambrosia Training Limited, who has joined us as a subscriber to our Content Authoring Software Service (CASS). Here’s what Mark Burtenshaw from Ambrosia Training Ltd has to say about their experience with CASS: “We at Ambrosia Training Ltd decided to partner up with Synapsys and subscribe to their…
Totara 19 is here!
Totara V19 has just released, and with the release, it is now much easier to manage goals and personal development. The new Totara Perform features help employees and managers work together better. For example, Goal Tasks break big goals into smaller, actionable steps. Linked Courses connect learning directly to goals, helping people gain the necessary…
Mark Your Calendars: Totara 19 Arrives This Month!
Totara is releasing it’s latest version of Totara LMS, Version 19, in January 2025. We’re pretty excited about this release and the benefits it will bring. Totara 19 offers practical features that make learning management more straightforward and effective. The new Course Enrolment Approval workflows let organisations control who can access training with customisable approval…
Using induction to drive change
Attitudes towards induction programmes are changing. There has always been a focus on meeting the team, health and safety, and operational systems. However, there is a growing recognition that induction/onboarding programmes can be powerful tools for driving and embedding organisational change. In our experience, you have three months to set the culture for new employees….
Beyond compliance and training: how your LMS can improve performance and drive growth
Learning Management Systems (LMS) have evolved from simply managing compliance training and cutting learning delivery costs, to becoming an essential tool for supporting wider business goals. We still see clients looking for confidence that compliance reporting is robust, but more and more the vision is for developing organisational capability, building a culture of learning and…
Values alignment key to successful change?
This 2008 research paper from Emerald Insight – Achieving organisational change through values alignment – investigates the importance of values alignment in successful change strategies. It concludes that widespread resistance to organisational change is caused by a failure of current organisational change strategies to attend to a values alignment process for all those people affected…
Your LMS as a growth tool: Aligning technology with business objectives
A Learning Management System (LMS) is a significant investment, so you would think that it would be linked explicitly to the strategic value it delivers to an organisation, as you would find for core IT infrastructure or production facilities, right? Not necessarily. We’re surprised by the number of organisations that do not have a clear…
How is AI influencing change management?
This article from Primeast explores how AI is impacting change management. It argues that in the change space, AI is transforming task management and improving the effectiveness of change management by driving efficiency, providing predictive insights and automating routine tasks. It argues that with a more agile, data-driven approach, AI helps change managers lead smoother…
Key strategies for using AI to create eLearning content
While AI tools and their use in content creation are no longer groundbreaking, it’s surprising how many people still struggle to craft effective prompts. Many users treat AI like a simple Google search, which limits the value they can gain from it. To make full use of the effectiveness of AI, mastering the art…
Lewin’s Change model
Are you a change manager or senior leader, looking to navigate transitions effectively? Check out this comprehensive post from July on Lewin’s Change Model. The model is a great tool for anyone planning or implementing organisational changes, from IT upgrades to company-wide restructuring. The article breaks down Lewin’s three-stage process – Unfreeze, Change, and Refreeze –…
We won the NZATD award for Best Online Learning Project!
We are over the moon to have won the NZATD Best Online Learning Project alongside Health NZ | Te Whatu Ora for the National Cervical Screening e-learning modules that we developed! This was very much a team effort, with close collaboration between Te Whatu Ora’s clinical experts and Synapsys learning designers. Te Whatu Ora…
Maximising the value of Ai in learning content.
The Gartner Hype Cycle is well-documented, and we’ve seen countless learning technologies pass through it. VR is a prime example of the trough of disillusionment that has swallowed up many enthusiasts. Ai, however, is different. It’s broken the curve, or at least the curve is of a scale and pace rarely seen. But just…
Te Wiki o te Reo Māori 2024 – A Forever Language
As Tāngata Tiriti, our commitment to building our reo Māori is an everyday thing. The trick has been to build te reo into our daily routines. We’ve landed on three ways that work for us During Tū Mai (our daily stand-ups) we check in on each other and our work for the day using te…
Diagnosing the need for change
If you’re interested in frameworks and models for diagnosing the need for change, this article provides a useful summary of the more common diagnostic tools, including Weisbord’s Six Box Model, the Burke-Litwin Causal Model, Force Field Analysis and the 7S Framework. All of them stress the interrelated nature of change drivers and the need to…
Recharge and Relax: Making the Most of the Long Weekend
In just over one month, we will be heading into the second half of the year, making this upcoming long weekend the perfect time to recharge and relax. In such a fast-paced world, prioritising our well-being and making the most of these breaks matters. Whether your long weekend plans include spending time with loved ones,…
New client top ticket items #1: Making change stick
We have the privilege of working across a broad range of sectors and organisations. So, it’s interesting that we often find new clients asking the same questions. In this series of posts, we’ll cut across the most common challenges occupying people’s minds. Here’s a big one: How do we get confidence that we’ll achieve sustainable…