VMEdu Welcomes You to the Post-Capitalism Era

It has been said that we are exiting the post-capitalism era, and we weren’t even aware of it. We can thank this monumental shift to advancements in technology. Many terms have been thrown around in regards to what sort of economy we have ventured into—such as the sharing economy or frictionless economy—but what path are we really following?

In a recent article we discussed what exactly the frictionless economy is. The frictionless economy centers around companies that provide platforms on which suppliers and buyers can do business directly. Uber, Etsy, and Fiver are just a few of the hundreds of companies that have sprung up in the last decade offering people the ability to be a “self-entrepreneur.” 

According to Alex Chriss, vice president and general manager at Intuit, “What we find so exciting about this trend is it’s solving what has traditionally been the number one challenge any entrepreneur or small business owner faces: finding customers. We’ve seen millions of small businesses struggle to find their next customer – and this struggle has set a bar, a hurdle for entrepreneurs to jump over. Technology is lowering this bar.”

But what about the sharing economy? Companies such as Airbnb and City CarShare allows owners to rent out something that they are not using. This has generally been sharing a house, car, or bike, but the only constant in technology is change, so this sharing could expand to new avenues. Each sharing-economy styled company provides users with ratings or reviews, so that trust is built on both sides of the transaction.

So, which economy are we really entering? One thing that we have learned from technology is that there are no limits. So, why would we limit ourselves by believing that we are entering just one sort of new economy? It seems to be that we are entering various economies that will create branches rather than one straight path. VMEdu gives professional trainers and educators the ability to be a part of both the frictionless AND sharing economy, with its Learning Management System (LMS). The VMEdu Authorized Content Partner (V.A.C.P.) program is one of the finest adult learning platforms available. The V.A.C.P. program is for anyone looking to create online adult learning courses for any subject and in any language. 

As a partner, you can create and upload your courses with the user-friendly VMEdu Course Builder. You can also run the courses on your website for free. Course materials can include videos, test questions, flashcards, glossaries, case studies and more. 

Once your courses are uploaded via the VMEdu Course Builder you have the option to sell them to the VMEdu network of more than 750 Authorized Training Partners (V.A.T.P.s) in 50+ countries. Having the support of such a strong network will help you reach a larger number of potential consumers in a shorter amount of time. 

The V.A.C.P platform gives you the ability to sell your own courses, do business directly with customers that have been provided for you, and be your own boss in addition to hosting your courses on your own website to share with your contacts. This program equips you for whichever future economy becomes our reality.

You can find more information on the VMEdu V.A.C.P. program at www.vmedu.com/Benefits-of-VACP.asp

VMEdu Looks at e-Learning Trends for 2016

Almost sixty percent of online educational providers are ready to kick their LMS to the curb.

A recent report referenced by DDI Development on current e-learning trends asserts “that nearly 2/3 of online courses’ students, as well as their managers, are not satisfied with their current LMS and are not going to renew their subscription.”[1]

As a software development firm, DDI is interested in how these trends affect coding and coders. When their blog says, “New e-learning companies create new learning trends, as their online community is very flexible and quick to abandon LMS solutions that do not meet learners’ needs,” they are seeing opportunities for programmers to write the code that provides the new solutions e-learning companies are shopping for. When VMEdu sees this trend, they know they have that solution already.  

“Unlike other traditional LMS platforms, you do not have to pay any licensing fees, buy expensive hardware or hire expensive software professionals to launch your online courses and mobile apps,” says VMEdu, adding, “traditional LMS platforms usually have negligible support for mobile apps; VMEdu creates best-in-the-industry mobile apps for you at zero-cost for Android phones (if more than 1 hour of video is uploaded for a single course) and $250 for iPhones.”

Based on these differences and their LMS’s connection to the VMEdu Authorized Training Partners (V.A.T.P.) network, the company claims, “You will save more than 90% of your current LMS expenses by using VMEdu– and have signifi­cantly more capabilities than those offered by traditional LMS platforms.”

They explain the value of this connection saying, “Courses created by our V.A.T.P.s can be made available and sold through our fast-growing partner network of 800+ Authorized Training Partners in 50+ countries. This makes your course available to an extensive network of companies, colleges, universities, training companies, and individual trainers and experts. No other traditional LMS platform helps you with customer acquisition.”

The e-learning trend is projected to continue explosively, “It is estimated to reach $200 billion worldwide by 2018 - more than 200 million people actively using various learning management systems,” according to DDI. They conclude that “One of the most important features any MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) should provide is scalability.” This trend makes VMEdu happy because “V.A.T.P.s have the ability to scale their training very quickly with negligible upfront investment. They get to create and launch their courses on their own websites and mobile apps using the VMEdu Cloud LMS.” DDI notes that for scalability, “As of now, only cloud hosting is capable of providing sufficient resources for this task.”

“It appears that 2016 will become a year when Big Data will stop being a distant future and become our everyday reality, so it’s best to keep this in mind when planning statistical algorithms for your LMS technology,” says DDI. The VMEdu Cloud LMS enables “your courses to include videos, tests, study guides, flashcards, and more: students can track the progress of their coursework, and determine improvement opportunities.” The ability to track student progress, manage courses and more is part of the VMEdu LMS’s ability to handle big data. As they are fond of saying, “VMEdu’s state-of-the-art Cloud Learning Management System (LMS) takes care of this!”

A continuing trend is the growth of mobiles: “Mobile LMS technology is supposed to surpass computer counterparts soon (as well as in many other fields of application). Developing mobile LMS apps is vital for any provider aiming for success,” according to DDI. VMEdu says, “We can create the best-in-the-industry mobile apps for your company with your company name and logo. This app can be downloaded from the Google Play Store (for Android Apps) or the Apple App Store (for IOS Apps) and can be used by your students to experience all of your courses. This provides your students the flexibility to study online and on-the-go.”

“Backend as a Service – That’s the one of the trends underlined by Martin Puryear on TechCrunch. Third party services that support chunks of backend tasks are faster to apply than repetitively building generic things. That helps to focus on innovative and competitive aspects of a product,” is a trend Marina Blinova cites in her article on LinkedIn’s Pulse.[2] VMEdu believes that by providing professional trainers and educational organizations with one of the industry’s most robust LMS, those educators can focus on developing the best educational experiences and value for their students.

VMEdu began creating its LMS more than seven years ago. They tested it thoroughly by launching multiple courses and websites, which have now become global leaders in their fields, teaching more than 500,000 students from 150 countries and 3,500+ companies. The VMEdu LMS is hosted on a scalable cloud infrastructure and already hosts hundreds of courses, with more than 50,000 learning resources including videos, questions, case studies, simulated exams, flashcards, study guides and more.

With its professional training and accreditation bodies, innovative LMS and extensive network of training partners, VMEdu has grown to be an industry leader. That growth is one of the most reassuring trends in e-learning today.

[1] “Main E-learning Trends for 2016” (2/25/16). IT News. DDI Development (ddi-dev.com)
Retrieved on 3/3/16 from http://ddi-dev.com/blog/it-news/main-elearning-trends-2016/ 

[2] Blinova, marina (3/3/16), “What do you consider the most promising trend for 2016?” Pulse LinkedIn.com. Retrieved on 3/3/16 from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/what-do-you-consider-most-promising-trend-2016-marina-blinova?trk=hp-feed-article-title-publish

Catching an Academic Wave with VMEdu

It’s not like riding a Tsunami.

But it is exciting, exhilarating and breath-taking to get in early on one of the disruptions that are rapidly reshaping the world we swim in.

Disruptions that wipe the landscape clear are dramatic and threatening. And they are rare. Disruptive inventions and practices in business and industry happen gradually; so gradually, in fact, that they often seem inevitable. This is a point bestselling author Hugh Howey made in a recent article about the state of publishing: “All manner of publishing has been greatly disrupted, but it’s often hard to see because what has changed is what’s now missing from our lives. And these missing things have not disappeared all at once. Rather, it’s been a gradual vanishing.”[1]

The world of publishing—which Howey says includes such products as encyclopedias, maps, those liner notes in albums and CDs, how-to books, instructions enclosed in products, newspapers, magazines and novels—provides an excellent example of the disruption that is now going on in education and training.

Michael Horn, in a piece on Forbes.com, described the disruption this way: “Much of the growth of online learning isn’t just in accredited higher education institutions, but in unaccredited institutions that are hired to do a similar ‘job’ as that of many accredited higher education institutions—advance adult learners in their career pathways. These organizations don’t need accreditation per se though, as they will ultimately develop their reputations from the success of their students with employers.” He cites research done in this regard by Michelle R. Weise and Clayton M. Christensen of the Christensen Institute.

Horn’s suggestion is that schools of higher learning should enhance their online presences and offerings. He gives examples of partnerships that colleges, universities, corporate entities and training organizations can make as a way of turning his suggestion into a reality. One of the companies facilitating this disruption in education and professional training is VMEdu, Inc. This company has a global reach with more than 750 partners in its VMEdu Authorized Training Partner network. It is expanding this with the launch of its VMEdu Authorized Content Partners (V.A.C.P.) program.

In discussing the digital disruption of the publishing industry, Howey says, “In just about every measurable way, these have been great developments.” The V.A.C.P. program brings an enhanced Learning Management System (LMS) and other great developments arising from disruptive innovations in adult education and training to any organization that has created courses related to any field of adult learning in any language; or is already using another LMS to host their courses.

The V.A.C.P. program enables content providers—educational institutions, training companies and those with an expertise worth sharing—the ability to launch courses on their own websites for free, get their own mobile app, sell their courses to the VMEdu Partner Network, offer Sales and Marketing courses on SMstudy, and efficiently track student progress.

Looking at the changes in publishing, Howey says, “It’s difficult to find anything to complain about with this transition, unless you are a middleman who no longer provides a service commensurable with your cost. This is an important point, the act of offering a service that matches your cost.” Educational providers and trainers are very familiar with the costs of some of their products. Student loan debt in America is almost infamous. VMEdu says, “There is no cost associated with creating or uploading your courses, and zero licensing fees.”

The same goes for certain mobile apps for partner courses: “VMEdu will take care of all expenses related to creating, maintaining and upgrading your mobile apps—you pay only $1 per student per month for every student accessing your courses through the mobile app.” This is an example of where the company earns its income.

“Last year, Amazon paid out over $140,000,000 to authors in its Kindle Unlimited program. That doesn’t count the dollars paid for book sales,” says Howey. The disruption of traditional publishing is enabling those who create the works to share a much larger portion of the revenues they generate. Through VMEdu’s cloud-based LMS, the same is happening for adult and professional education providers.

For those considering an educational venture into the new cloud-based ocean of opportunity, come on in; the water is fine.

Surf the VMEdu website and learn more about its V.A.C.P. program: Benefits of Becoming a V.A.C.P.

[1] Howey, Hugh. (2/2/16) “The State of the Industry.” The Wayfinder. Retrieved on 2/3/16 from http://www.hughhowey.com/the-state-of-the-industry/