Streamlining Your Workflow: Simplified User Access Controls

Jim Stover 2026-05-30

Managing user access shouldn’t feel like a chore. Whether you are onboarding a brand-new cohort, adjusting mid-year subscriptions, or cleaning up your active user list, your administrative tools should move at the speed of your organization. That is why I am incredibly excited to share a sneak peek of our upcoming consolidated User Access workflow!

Does it ever feel like managing subscription and token workflows were designed by different people? (HINT: they were!) This upcoming update was created with one core philosophy in mind: giving you absolute flexibility without sacrificing speed. I know that individual account updates can take up too much of your day, so we have completely revamped how you will purchase, assign, and modify platform access within the training management system.

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New Online Course: Introduction to Computer-Mediated Teaching and Learning

Steve Harper 2026-03-30

If you’ve just stepped into an apprenticeship instructor role, or you’ve recently hired someone who has, the Introduction to Computer-Mediated Teaching and Learning course is a great place to begin.

Starting out as an instructor can feel like a lot, especially when you’re expected to navigate computer-mediated learning (CML), classroom instruction, and hands-on skills training and assessment all at once. This course is designed to make that transition smoother by focusing on practical strategies you can use right away. It helps new instructors build confidence and gives Training Directors peace of mind that their new hire has a solid foundation to work from.

It also acts as a bridge for those who are getting ready to teach but haven’t yet attended NTI. Instead of waiting, instructors can begin developing the skills they need to be effective on day one.

The course is led by Dr. Steven Schmidt, a Professional Educator from NTI, who brings a strong background in educator preparation and online instruction. His approach is straightforward and focused on what works in classrooms and CML environments.

Participants will also attend a live Q&A session with Steve Harper, etA’s Director of Learning Management System. This gives instructors a chance to ask real questions about implementation, best practices, and how to support apprentices within the platform.

Whether you’re preparing to teach or making sure your new instructor is set up for success, this course helps establish a clear, practical starting point.

Registration opening this week. Keep your eye on the EMP (electricaltrainingevents.org) for full registration information.

Duration: 5-weeks.

Format: Online, self-paced, with weekly assignments due. Approximately two hours of homework per week.

 

LMS Update

Steve Harper 2026-02-06

Happy Friday! The start of 2026 has brought some solid improvements to the LMS—both under the hood and right in front of you as an instructor. One recent update stood out as particularly helpful, and we think it’s worth a closer look.

Improved Visibility in CML Progress Reports

CML Progress Reports have been updated to give instructors a more complete picture of their class.

Progress Reports will now include students whose course access is set to begin on a future date. Previously, these students were not visible until their access became active, which could make rosters and progress checks feel incomplete or confusing.

What’s changed:

    • Students in a session/course with future-dated access now appear in CML Progress Reports

    • These students will show no progress yet, which is expected until their access begins

    • Once their access becomes active, progress will track normally

What this means for you as an instructor:

    • A more accurate view of your full class roster

    • Fewer questions about “missing” students in reports

    • Better planning and communication before a class or term begins

This update improves transparency and helps instructors understand who is enrolled, who is active, and who is scheduled to start—without guessing or waiting for access dates to arrive.

Steve Harper – Director – LMS

 

ICA License Stacking is LIVE!

Jim Stover 2026-02-05

HUZZAH! Effective today, February 5, 2026, TMS administrators can assign consecutive ICA licenses to instructors without interrupting access. Training centers no longer need to wait for an existing license to expire before assigning a new one. This updated workflow allows a new license to be assigned in advance, ensuring continuous access with no gaps.

Jim Stover | Director | Training Management System

Add a 2nd MFA Delivery Method to Bulletproof Your Login Experience

Jim Stover 2026-01-26 No Comments

Recently, some major email service providers experienced technical difficulties that may have delayed or prevented the delivery of Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) codes.

Please be advised that these disruptions originated with the external email providers and were not caused by an issue within our internal systems. Most services have now stabilized, and you should be able to receive these security codes as usual.

Did you know the LMS has the ability to deliver MFA codes via SMS text and Authenticator app as well as email?

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Post CML Update – What to Know

Jim Stover 2025-12-30 No Comments

I wanted to follow up as we near the completion of the CML Module Update.

As a consequence of the update, users who have already been in a particular module will see a slide asking them if they want to resume or restart.

If they select Resume, the slide in the module will not do anything.

They must click Restart to reset the module.

Here is an example of the first slide asking to Resume or Restart (notice how Restart is really small and at the bottom?). Clicking the big white Resume button will take them to this next slide where the Yes and No buttons do absolutely nothing. (See screenshots)

Users that encounter this situation need to close the module, relaunch it and select Restart. This will only need to be done the first time a user accesses one of the replaced modules.

This does not affect module completion. If the module was complete prior to the update, the completion status will be retained.

Also, anyone who gets a blank screen, garbled data, or anything else out of the ordinary should try the following:

  • Log out of the LMS
  • Clear their browser cache completely. Not just the data for the LMS. You can find instructions HERE
    • Select all time, not just a specific timeframe. ALL historical data must be cleared.
    • Make sure that Data and Cookies at a minimum are selected.
    • Close and restart the browser after the cache is cleared.

Continue to watch this space if additional idiosyncrasies are found.

Jim Stover | Director, TMS

Navigating the Upcoming CML Software Update

Jim Stover 2025-12-01 No Comments
🤝 Navigating the Upcoming CML Software Update
I’d like to take this opportunity to follow up on the LMS notice regarding the upcoming update to the CML course modules. While these technical updates are a necessary part of maintaining a robust learning environment, I understand they can occasionally cause confusion for both you and your students. This update has been scheduled during what is a historically slow period of LMS activity to minimize the disruption, but I understand that it will potentially negatively impact certain students. This is the underlying reason for providing additional lead time for you and your students.
I want to inform you, the instructor, our first line of communication with the students, about why we do these updates and how you can best support your students through the process.

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