WalkMe as Virtual Learning Environment Software

In the past, virtual learning environment software has been a very hit or miss concept. This has been due in part to limitations in technology available at the time, but also due to a lack of innovative reasoning behind how software like this should work. This was unfortunate, as learning is finally beginning to be respected as something best not done in a rigid classroom environment. As it turns out, few people learn well in a lecture or classroom environment, but rather, most seem to learn well with hands-on training in a technique. Over the past decade or so, more companies are beginning to notice this, with employee training upon hiring moving gradually from ineffective orientation classes to real world hands-on training over a more gradual curve. This has worked remarkably for training in manual labor positions such as industrial work, construction, food service and retail, but alas, with no virtual learning environment software good enough to support this migration, other fields have been unable to embrace this revolution. That is, they have been unable to until now. Times are changing for software of this sort, and it’s in no small part due to a pioneer in this field, WalkMe. WalkMe is unique in four large ways, each of which is changing how we look at tutorial creation and learning facilitation, not just for those who need to learn, but for those who teach. Let’s take a moment and look at how Walkme is accomplishing this. First, WalkMe’s accessibility is a major factor. Being made out of web technology itself, Walkme is natively cross-platform. Anything that can execute AJAX or HTML5 can execute WalkMe, because it’s made of these, the stuff of powerful websites and services. This means that the need for high end computers and bandwidth is moot for WalkMe, as is the need for any special libraries of frameworks, unlike older learning software which had to subclass existing software (awkwardly) in order to perform tasks WalkMe does natively. Second, implementation of WalkMe is extremely simple. Despite its ability to do complex interfaces, nested logic and software-style calculation, WalkMe’s programming interface is very simple, requiring little to no grasp of how programming works. WalkMe follows the philosophy of presenting logic as a prime language, with point and click events and actions rather than obscure programming models that teachers and students may never fully grasp. Third, WalkMe is natively hosted inside the website or service which it is working with. This means that it can directly interact with it, and demonstrate how to perform tasks for the user, and gradually reduce its own automation as the user is eased into whatever task is being demonstrated. This is like the user having a smart personal tutor on the software that is infinitely patient and impossible to tire. It’s content aware and capable of any number of logic systems those who implement it wish to design, meaning the complexity of a task or environment matters very little if at all, to WalkMe as well. Finally, WalkMe’s infinitely possible to customize in the sense of layout, aesthetics and level of integration with a site or service. WalkMe is great for virtual learning, but it’s also great as a standard web interface able to teach itself to users as new features to a service are added, or as a new user is introduced to the construct. This means that a constant learning model is achievable with Walkme, whereas other software cannot do this, due to inefficiency or lack of flexibility and practicality. With a low footprint, ease of implementation and a dynamism never before possible, Walkme is redefining virtual learning environment software, and it will continue to do so for years to come.