Wi5Connect has built a learning platform that integrates three capabilities: learning management system, communities, and analytics.  I recently spoke with Matthew Bowman, their President and CEO.  He described the education model they created which I think nicely integrates formal instruction with peer learning and knowledge management.

First, there is a learning management system that supports multiple presentation formats (video, audio, Powerpoint and others).  After participation in the formal part of the learning experience, two types of assessment can be conducted. There are traditional testing formats. You can also do a more dynamic Flash-based assessment that can provide more content in the assessment format.  Then participants go through a goal setting process for how they will take the learning back to their work place.  Next, they apply the new skills and come back to a community of peers and share their experiences.  Below is an image of the learning module and the pedagogy used to help users learn and apply the contents of each lesson.

Here is screen shot of the Wi5Connect goal engine that allows people set goals to help them put into practice the new knowledge they gained from the online training.

I think that the community experience is where the much of the impactful learning in achieved. Many studies have shown that much of real business learning occurs in informal conversations with peers. The community provides a platform for these conversations and a focus for them. Below you see some of the components of the community as you can see the tabs from the home page of the community.

This community sharing provides a knowledge capture function for the enterprise as it captures insights and lessons learned by the participants.  Then the community members score the value of the lessons, as well as the impact of the skills obtained from the lessons. This sharing and scoring is preserved in an accessible format, rather than lost in conversations or buried in emails.

Matthew said that this type of program helps with employee retention in several ways. First, the investment in learning in helps the employee to do their jobs better and shows a willingness by the enterprise to invest in their employees. Second, the social network developed during the experience helps with on the job social networking and helps build greater commitment to the enterprise. Since this is a virtual experience, it helps build the social network across geographically diverse areas that might not otherwise occur. At the same time it gives a business purposes to the social networking. This type of networking also helps reduce political barriers between departments and fosters better overall communication within the company. All of this makes sense to me.

Wi5Connect has two versions of this approach. There is LearnSocial that is applied within the enterprise.  Then there is CommSocial that is designed for customers and prospective clients. CommSocial provides firms a chance to offer training in the products they sell and receive useful customer feedback. It also provides a platform for customers to cross sell to each other and to prospective clients. Secure login is provided for security purposes. CommSocial can separate communities for any reason such as keeping competitors apart.  Wi5Connect has found high use for the communities in both versions and this is not surprising. You can also integrate CommSocial with a CRM tool to track customer and prospect use.  Here is a screen shot of the learning piece in action.

The virtual environments are especially useful in a down economy as they are very cost effective. LearnSocial allows a single person to literally coach and train thousands of employees across the globe. I like the integration of social networking with learning. It puts an enterprise 2.0 spin on the platform with all the advantages of transparency, accessibility, and built-in knowledge capture.