What is a ‘learning platform’?
We can perhaps agree it needs be a platform that supports behaviour change and knowledge sharing?
It has been good to try out this week what Microsoft have launched with Teams and think how it might be used as such a platform.
Now, it could be used for the Team(s) communication and sharing. However, my mind has wandered to how it might work as more of an ESN/LMS if you went for a topic focus – creating open/public teams per topic where the business feels it has needs.
Now there are possible problems – not least that the rather unhelpful banner prompts you download a desktop app. Hi Microsoft – its 2017 calling, where is the mobile app prompt!
As for Microsoft – this might be the way to add structure to your sharing of documents and conversations. However, there are clearly the problems with how this should work between Delve, Yammer and other options.
So what about the LMS? Well there has, of course, been the “LMS/VLE is dead” narrative for a while, add to this a renewed discussion around disruption. Therefore, can Teams act in place of the LMS – for example as a “learning experience platform“. Whilst you could argue with a lot of that article this piece certainly resonates:
A disruptive change has occurred. Companies no longer look at their LMS as the core of their learning infrastructure. It’s now the back-end, and they are searching for a new employee experience, which demands a new set of tools.
There are many exciting things happening in the learning technology space: tools like Workplace by Facebook, Slack, and Skype are becoming enterprise-class, and these tools will likely become primary destinations for learners too. Now we need a new class of learning platforms that bring all this content together, deliver it in a compelling way, and give us the social and mobile experience we use every day throughout our life at home.
Whose Education Is It Anyway? 
4 thoughts on “Microsoft Teams: The platform we’ve been waiting for?”