Communication platforms have immense potential for use in eLearning; they add an enhanced level of communication features that so many LMS crave. Here are 5 reasons why I believe you should start using communication platforms alongside your LMS.

What are communication platforms?

Over recent years, there has been a growing trend for the use of communication platforms in businesses. These platforms combine real-time communication, including text- and voice-based, with collaborative features such as file sharing, video calling and screen sharing. Slack is a perfect example of a communication platform, with over 12 million active daily users.

Admittedly, I use Slack as a communication platform to complement the delivery of my online courses. Enrolled students are invited to join the Slack group as the main means of communication with me, the course instructor, as well as fellow course students.

But, do communication platforms actually work alongside a LMS? I believe so, yes. Let me share with you 3 reasons why.

Greater student engagement

In comparison to conventional LMSs, communication platforms have a plethora of engaging features that
millennials and post-millennials especially can relate to. Having the ability to instantly communicate and share files over different mobile devices enables enhanced student engagement.

Interestingly, teachers that compared the potential use of Slack in their classroom discovered that their
students much preferred Slack over the Blackboard LMS since Slack was significantly more fun to use and seemingly improved group work.

Wrapping up

I personally believe communication platforms, such as Slack, have immense potential for use in eLearning. These platforms don’t necessarily replace an LMS, but rather provide an additional complementary level of communication to unite the online community.

I’m super interested to hear if people use communication platforms in eLearning and how they think it is going. Please let me know in the comments section below.