Learning Paths

What is a Learning Path?

A learning path is a sequence of educational steps or activities designed to help individuals achieve specific learning objectives. It includes courses, resources, and practical experiences that build upon each other, ensuring a progressive acquisition of skills or knowledge in a particular area.

The essence of a learning path lies in its structured yet flexible framework, which allows learners to progress at their own pace while systematically building upon their knowledge and skills.

Each step on the path is intentionally chosen to contribute towards the overarching goal, ensuring that learners are not just accumulating information but are engaging in a meaningful educational journey that leads to genuine understanding and capability.

Why Create Learning Paths?

Learning paths demystify the process of learning any subject, breaking them down into manageable, bite-sized pieces that build confidence and competence step by step.

In essence, a learning path serves as both a map and a compass for learners, guiding them through the content towards their desired destination.

Additionally, creating a learning path will save you time by allowing you to assign the same group of content to new (or existing) users each time.

Common Use Cases

Learning paths offer a flexible, personalized approach to education and training, accommodating various learning styles and paces, which makes them a valuable tool in many scenarios.

1. Onboarding New Employees:

   • Create learning paths to streamline the onboarding process, helping new hires understand company policies, culture, and job-specific skills.
     
     

2. Compliance Training:

   • In industries with strict regulations (e.g., finance, healthcare), learning paths are used to ensure employees understand and comply with legal and policy requirements.
     
     

3. Professional Development and Career Advancement:

   • Employees use learning paths to acquire new skills or enhance existing ones, aiming for career advancement or transitioning to different roles.
   • Organizations implement learning paths to skill up their workforce, ensuring employees stay relevant in their fields and contribute to business growth.
     
     

4. Certification Preparation:

   • Many learning paths are designed to prepare individuals for certifications

Different Types of Learning Paths

1. Linear Learning Paths:

   • These follow a straightforward, step-by-step progression where learners complete one module or Course before moving on to the next. This type is often used when there's a specific sequence of skills or knowledge that needs to be built in a particular order.
     
     

2. Branching Learning Paths:

   • Branching paths offer learners choices at certain points, allowing them to tailor their learning journey according to their interests, skill levels, or career goals. This type is effective in accommodating diverse learning needs and preferences.

Something to keep in mind: Branching paths typically take more planning and forethought to put together, while Linear paths are easier and more straightforward.

In the next section we'll give you some examples of how to create both using LightSpeed VT.

Tools to Create & Maintain Your Learning Paths

The list below outlines all of the different available tools LightSpeed VT offers to create and maintain linear and branching learning paths. We will also tell you how easy or difficult each one is to configure.

1. Assign Training (Linear - Difficulty level: Easy)
   • LightSpeed's Assign Training feature allows you to create reusable learning paths for all types of Users. You can assign the training to them based on Location, Content Role, Team, or by manually selecting specific Users. Creating an assignment will automatically alert the Users of the assignment, and direct them to the Training Center where it will be presented in a linear order.

Click Here to find out more!

2. "Lock" Courses / Chapters to be taken in order (Linear - Difficulty level: Easy)
   • If the content in your Training Center is already in a linear order that you'd like your learners to take it in, without allowing them to skip ahead, you can toggle on an option to "Lock" the Courses and Chapters to be taken in order. Enabling this option means they will not be able to access the next Course or Chapter until they complete the current unlocked one. After the User completes each Chapter or Course, the next one will unlock automatically, creating a quick and easy linear learning path for all Users to follow.

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3. "Catch Hooks" (Linear or Branching - Difficulty level: Easy to Hard)
   • This will allow you to utilize specific events (or actions) taken by a User to "unlock" content and guide them down a linear or branching learning path.

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4. Scheduled Courses (Linear or Branching - Difficulty level: Easy to Hard)
   • Creating a Course Schedule will unlock Courses for your Users based on a period of time. This can be set by days, weeks, or months. Once a User is created, their Course Schedule will begin, giving them access to the Courses in a linear, time-based fashion. For a more complex, branching linear path, you can combine this tool with the "Catch Hooks" one above.

Click Here to find out more!