What’s Coming in SumTotal Learn 19.2

Only three years ago, pundits and learning startups declared the LMS dead. They said that stodgy, old learning management systems could not keep up with demands to deliver new learning methods, facilitate content from any source, or create a modern, engaging user experience. 

Skillsoft acquired SumTotal about the same time, and soon after added the Percipio learning experience platform. With the vast Skillsoft learning assets, Percipio integration, and an aggressive development and upgrade plan, SumTotal Learn is becoming what the wagging tongues said it couldn’t be. 

The Learn 19.2 upgrade, scheduled for release to production in July 2019, improves on the Percipio integration to improve the learning experience, adds new third-party integrations, and provides a long list of usability improvements that includes a quick links widget that enables users to access curated content anywhere. 

Skillsoft Percipio Experience Services (PES) Enhancements  

The PES updates both improve on the learner experience and make integration easier for administrators to manage. 

• The imported Asset Bins that contain Activities now match Percipio’s primary content categories. You can now map TestPrep and Practice Lab content in Learn. Content with the Practice modality filter will now import automatically into Learn. 
• You no longer need to create a default Asset Bin to import content that does not fit one of the seven asset bins. Activity type mapping now gives you a PES content (default) category. 
• Sync is easier for administrators. The secret key is no longer required. Options to Automatically Move  Activities to Production and Do Not Require Registration for Activities no longer display since  those the default behaviors. 
• To reduce user confusion, Learning Activity Name Prefix and Suffix will no longer be available, but you can add them to activity for reporting. 
• You can now control whether learners can access individual micro learning videos without accessing them through the full course. 
• Clicking on a Skillsoft PES bundle will now open a page in Percipio instead of the limited page in Learn so users can access all the functionality. 

Administrators should pay special attention to instructions on managing xAPI files and on managing and reporting on progress details after the upgrade. 

More Integrations 

Learn will now integrate with edX, providing over 2400 courses from 50+ colleges and universities. 

When you integrate with the WebEx Control hub and use the Meeting Center as your WebEx service type, only conference call option will be WebEx. 

Enhancements to the LinkedIn Learning integration are now in Beta and unavailable, but you may take part by contacting your support rep. 

More Usability Enhancements 

Learn continues to make improvements to the user interface. When it comes to usability, little things matter. 

• Extended Enterprise users can now add ILT classes to the shopping cart along with other classes instead of purchasing them individually.  
• When users register for an activity, the default view for upcoming offerings lists the next five based on the start date. Users can still use the filter to display other sets of upcoming activities. 
• For Playlist users, the favorite playlist displays first by default. Users can create a new playlist from the Add to Playlist popup. 
• Managers now have an “incomplete” filter in the Manager’s Exception Report so they can see all incomplete assignments. 
• Administrators can now prevent users from taking screenshots of the SumTotal Mobile app. (This does not control screenshots in third-party apps or activities that open view a URL to another site.) 

Testing your 19.2 Upgrade 

We recommend that you test the changes in Staging right away to become familiar with the new administrative requirements. 

Even more important is to test your business processes to ensure that backend technical updates have not affected them. 

Download the Guides 

This is a quick overview of the changes coming in SumTotal Learn 19.2. We recommend downloading the  SumTotal Suite 19.2 What’s New and the new administrator guides from SumTotal Connect right away. 

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