r/elearning

My company has for the last 6 years or so been using the free version of Canvas. That's been down for a while now and I guess we're going to hear its ultimate fate on Tuesday after the Memorial Day weekend.

I use it, along with in-person classroom instruction, to train and onboard new customers who need to learn how to use my company's products. The online course is given to them as part of adopting our platform. They get a continuing site license to use it if they get new staff or need it for a reference or we develop new features that they want to know about.

So as our customer base grows, so will the number of enrollees. That makes paying per enrollees pretty painful. The number of concurrent users is probably pretty low, but will grow as the company does.

I would rather have something hosted and pay to have someone else maintain it rather than our IT department.

We do occasionally use it for internal training like HIPAA. But that's under 20 people and it's once a year.

The course itself is of course text and images and a lot of video instruction. There are like 5 quizzes and you do get certified if you pass them all.

I don't need white labeling. I don't need single sign-on. I don't need integration with other systems.

Can I do this anywhere for under $1,500 a year?

This is a little bit of a different post than this group usually see's, but I figured it was a good place to ask.

If you currently work, or have worked, in L&D operations and spend your days inside an LMS, this might be a great way to use those skills beyond your 9-to-5.

The American Red Cross is looking for a volunteer Cornerstone LMS Administrator to support our Disaster Cycle Services (DCS) team. 

DCS is the heart of what most people picture when they think of the Red Cross. We're the people who show up after a house fire to help a family get back on their feet, or who coordinate shelter and relief during a major flood or storm. That work doesn't happen without a well trained, ready workforce, and our LMS is how we build and maintain it.

The Red Cross is a community organization at its core. Our disaster response workforce is made up almost entirely of volunteers...neighbors helping neighbors. When you keep our LMS running well, you're directly supporting the people on the ground doing that work.

What you'd be doing:

• Managing and uploading content (web-based training, Events, Online Courses, Curricula, Videos, Tests)
• Testing new functionality ahead of Cornerstone quarterly releases and providing feedback
• Creating and managing Groups
• Importing training records
• Troubleshooting issues for admins and learners
• Building custom and recurring reports to support field training needs

Time commitment: Roughly 15-20 hours per month, though it varies based on what's in flight.  There are plenty of opportunities to do more as well.  

Who we're looking for: One of two people with hands-on Cornerstone experience, ideally in an admin role, tech savvy, and organized. You don't need to be a Red Cross expert, we'll handle the orientation. You just need to know your way around the platform.  

This is a fully remote volunteer role. If you're interested or have questions send me a DM.

Thanks

i've been looking at how small teams handle onboarding and internal training, and it feels like a lot of them dont really need a huge lms at the start. the problem is usually more basic. they already have docs, sops, pdfs, product notes, recorded calls, and random explanations from senior people, but none of it is organized into something a new hire can actually follow. found honen while looking at tools in this space, and it seems more focused on turning existing files/notes into structured training instead of just generating random course text.

curious how other teams handle this. do you use a proper lms, build things manually in notion/google docs, or use some kind of ai course builder?

For the last six or seven years, my company has been using the "free for teachers" version of Canvas by Instructure. What with the recent security incident, it looks like that stuff is gone and not coming back. Fortunately, most of our educational assets are in YouTube videos and we of course still have all those.

I've been thinking of using the hosted version of Frappe, but I'm having trouble with it. Mostly around creating lessons that look the way I want them to. Anyone have any experience with this?

Or advice in general? It is a short course. But we use it to help train our customers to use our product.

one thing i dont see discussed enough is how quickly internal training gets outdated. you can create a decent onboarding course or process guide, but then the product changes, the workflow changes, the team structure changes, or compliance requirements change. after a while, people stop trusting the training material and just go back to asking someone directly. i've been looking into ai tools that can help turn existing docs/files into training material and make updates easier. i saw honen mentioned, mostly around corporate training and workforce learning. for anyone managing internal training, how do you keep courses and onboarding material updated without rebuilding everything manually?

Hey everyone! I'm part of the team behind Games for Crowds, a browser-based platform of interactive group games built for live sessions like trainings, workshops, and team events.

The idea: instead of the same Kahoot-style quiz on repeat, trainers get a library of different game formats (AI-generated quizzes, word scrambles, emoji guessing, true/false) that they can rotate between to keep engagement up throughout a session. Everyone plays on their phones at the same time, no app or account needed.

A few things L&D teams have found useful so far:

- AI Quiz — type any topic and it generates questions instantly. Zero prep for knowledge checks between content blocks

- Format rotation — switching between a quiz, a word game, and a visual challenge keeps groups engaged way longer than repeating one format

- Live leaderboard — creates social accountability that private quizzes don't. Participants pay more attention to content when they know a public quiz is coming

- No setup friction — share a link or QR code, everyone joins in seconds. No downloads, no logins for participants

Everything is free right now during our testing phase and we're actively looking for feedback from L&D professionals to shape where this goes next.

If you work in training or facilitation I'd genuinely love to hear:

- Would something like this fit into your sessions?

- What's missing that would make it more useful?

- What would stop you from trying it?

gamesforcrowds.com

Happy to answer any questions!

We recently started using Synthesia for awareness and training. Turns out going back to documents would have been better
team started hating the talking head vidoes and Gen Z not watching at all.

Any solution for this?

I shifted focus to explainer video instead of avatar video.

So far tried DistilBook, Powtoon, and Vyond.

DistilBook has good automation,
Powtoon seems more older drag and drop,
Vyond needs too much manual work.

We don't have a big team
can you suggest what to do and how to manage this?
any suggestions on softwares

A lot question that's been on my mind lately.

we recently rolled out new onboarding materials for our team. we put in the work: clear structure, short videos, quizzes, the whole deal. technically, it was "good" training. but the feedback? not sure i'll remember any of this next week lol! it got me wondering how do you actually make learning feel engaging not just compliant? i'm not looking for "gamification" or "make it fun" as a buzzword. i mean real, practical tactics that have worked for you: do you break content into micro-chunks? how small? do you use scenarios/role-plays? how do you keep them from feeling cheesy? has anyone had luck with AI tutors or interactive elements that *actually* helped retention (not just novelty)? or… do you just accept that some training is always going to feel like a checkbox, and focus energy on the high-stakes stuff? But I've been poking at a few tools to test this including honen, mostly to see if an AI tutor + mixed formats (like flashcards, mini-projects, audio) actually changes how people engage. early take it *feels* more interactive, but still gathering data on whether that translates to better retention. curious if anyone else has tried something similar or if you've found low-tech solutions that work just as well. If you've tried something new recently win or fail i'd love to hear what you learned!

no perfect answers expected. just collecting real-world perspectives.

So my team is trying to tap into the Japanese market because we have some potential clients there, but right now we're pretty much 100% English speakers. We definitely need to upskill, even if it's just basic business etiquette and common phrases so we don't accidentally offend anyone.

The issue is we don’t exactly have the budget to hire a dedicated language coach for the whole team. I was looking for a workaround and found this tool called Honen that says it can turn rough notes or docs into structured courses.

I’m wondering if anyone has actually tried using an AI tool like that for language training? My worry is that languages have so much nuance that an AI-generated course might just spit out robotic translations or require a ton of manual fixing.

Has anyone done something similar for internal training? Did it actually stick, or should we stick to traditional methods?

Hi Germans,

which trade shows would you attend if you want the latest trends in e-learning? I know about Learntec in Karlsruhe and Zukunft Personal in Cologne.

Anything else?

I run a small franchise network (12 locations) and I need to standardize training for new franchisees. Right now we use a mix of PDFs, Zoom calls and Google Drive folders - it is a mess. I need an LMS that can: track who completed what training module, set mandatory modules before a franchisee can open, generate compliance certificates, and ideally handle multiple locations with some kind of admin dashboard. Budget is reasonable but I do not want enterprise pricing for 50-100 learners. Has anyone solved this for a franchise setup? What LMS did you pick and why?

Send me the most $12,000 in the last 30 days selling my digital product. I think I have a clear understanding of how to present digital products in the marketplace that gets sold. I think I’m gonna create a course teaching people if they know something about something and they wanna create a course how they would do that. I wanna host on gumRoad obviously probably the best platform out there. So I think I wanna teach people how to do this, but obviously they have to say I know this about…. And then we can put the pieces together. Does anybody have an experience in this? Thank you for your help.

Hi there, new to the sub and looking for example homepages from other healthcare systems that use cornerstone galaxy as their LMS system! We are moving from aspire/saba to cornerstone galaxy and trying to make decisions on what we want our home page to look like and would love to see some examples. Thanks!!

I’ve been comparing white label LMS platforms for external training and partner portals. Sharing a short list that usually comes up in serious evaluations.

1. Blend-ed
Built on Open edX and fully managed.
Custom domain, full branding control, multi-tenant setup.
Usually shortlisted when companies want deeper customization and external training at scale.

2. LearnWorlds
Strong on marketing tools and course sales.
White-label options and branded experience.
More creator or training business focused than enterprise heavy.

3. TalentLMS
Quick to deploy and easy to manage.
White labeling available on higher tiers.
Common in SMB corporate training environments.

4. Thinkific Plus
Enterprise tier of Thinkific.
API access and branded environment.
Popular with scaling course businesses.

5. LearnUpon
Corporate-focused LMS.
Multi-portal capability and solid reporting.
Often used for structured employee or partner training.

6. Absorb LMS
Enterprise LMS with branded portals and strong integrations.
Built for larger organizations with formal learning workflows.

What I’ve learned is that white label can mean very different things. Sometimes it is just branding. Sometimes it includes structural control and multi-client environments.

The right choice depends on whether you are selling courses, training partners, or running enterprise programs.

For transparency, I work at Blend-ed. Sharing this based on what I consistently see in evaluations and RFP discussions.

Curious what others here are using and why.

You open Instagram or YouTube for a couple minutes and suddenly an hour disappears. Somehow none of it even sticks in your head afterward.

I kept trying to fix the habit but eventually I noticed that short form content is honestly just easy and enjoyable to consume, especially when you are tired, bored, or mentally drained after work.

What bothered me was how empty most of it felt.

I would spend all this time consuming content and walk away with absolutely nothing useful from it.

So I started trying microlearning apps hoping they would feel different, but most of them felt way too generic for me. A lot of broad self improvement content, recycled advice, productivity stuff, and book summaries that did not really connect to what I personally wanted to learn.

What I actually wanted was something tailored to my own interests.

Sometimes I want to go deeper into AI workflows and engineering topics. Other times I get obsessed with investing, nutrition, startup ideas, cooking, fitness, shoulder rehab exercises, or some completely random niche topic for two weeks straight.

I also realized that learning feels way more engaging when it is connected to what is happening in the real world right now.

If I am learning about AI, I do not just want static lessons. I want to see new tools, launches, workflows, videos, research updates, and industry news connected to that topic as things evolve in real time. Same with investing, startups, fitness, or anything else.

That was the part I felt most learning apps were missing.

I wanted my screentime to feel like it was building toward something instead of just disappearing.

That is basically why I started building ZunoScroll.

You create personalized learning streams around anything you want to learn and the app generates a constantly evolving feed of short lessons combined with relevant articles, videos, news, and real world updates around that topic.

So instead of endlessly consuming random content, your feed slowly becomes something that actually helps you improve at things you care about while also keeping you updated on what is happening in that space.

I also designed it around the exact moments where people usually end up doomscrolling anyway. Quick 5 minute sessions, audio and auto scroll while walking or commuting, revision features to help things stick, and progress tracking that makes learning feel surprisingly motivating over time.

Still very early, but honestly this is the first time my screentime has started feeling genuinely useful instead of mentally draining.

Would genuinely love feedback from people here, especially from anyone else who has gone through the same doomscrolling cycle.

Hi everyone,

I’m starting to work on a scalable e-learning video workflow for educational courses and I’m currently researching the best production pipeline before fully committing to a setup. The courses will mainly consist of:

• instructor talking head
• screen recording/slides
• light motion graphics
• edited lesson delivery for an LMS platform

Some colleagues recommended Camtasia for recording and basic production, and I’m considering using it as part of the workflow. For those with experience in e-learning production:

What are the biggest mistakes to avoid early on?

Are there workflow bottlenecks that usually appear when scaling course production?

Would you recommend keeping recording and post-production in separate software ecosystems?

Any advice regarding file management, audio consistency, or remote instructor setups?

I’d really appreciate any insight before building the pipeline. Thanks!

I am working on Levelup Lms for the timing but I am researching more LMSs for my corporate training.

So suggest me some more options which are good for compliance, onboarding & remote training.

Also If anyone of you has worked or used Levelup do let me know else suggest me some zero cost lms recommendations please.

I work in workforce development and have been testing different AI tools for building training content for internal teams. ChatGPT is useful for brainstorming and rough outlines, but I still spend a lot of time restructuring everything into something that actually works for employee training. Claude handles longer context better, but most general AI tools still feel like content generators more than real course-building systems. I’ve been hearing more about Honen lately because it seems more focused on training workflows, onboarding, and professional learning instead of student use cases. Curious what others in L&D or corporate training are using right now.