What’s new in Totara 17?

Announcing.. Totara 17

The recent release of Totara 17 brings several exciting updates to the platform, improving the UI for all users and making it even easier to create a professional and attractive interface.

Centralised Notification System Improvements

Many of these improvements are centred around the development of the centralised notification system, which was first introduced last year. Notifications for performance activity have now been migrated to this system, so can be managed at site-wide level. Administrators can generate system-wide defaults and create customised notifications regarding particular performance indicators and events. What’s more, you can now run a report on the notifications sent on your site, facilitating troubleshooting and helping to monitor trends or individual notifications.

Improved UI

The update also features various significant UI improvements, particularly within Totara Perform. The performance activity screen has been simplified, with more information available with one click. The navigation side panel has been altered to show users their progress through individual sections, improving navigation of multi-stage performance activities such as appraisals. For site administrators, performance activity responses can now be downloaded in .csv or .xlsl format, in addition to an integrated live report within Totara. Furthermore, administrators can use the new clone option to copy an achievement path from one competency to others within the same framework, saving a significant amount of time.

Weka Text Editor

There are also numerous updates throughout the Weka text editor, including new text designs, straightforward image resizing and captioning, and new layout blocks with several column options. The featured links block has also been updated, allowing the flexible layout of navigation points and/or images across the site.

Technical Improvements

The update also features some technical improvements, with the Machine Learning Service becoming responsible for learners’ personalised recommendations, alongside offering improvements across system performance and efficiency.

Summary

Overall, we’re excited about the improvements that Totara 17 offers and are currently working with our clients to upgrade them to the latest version. As a Platinum Alliance Totara Partner we ensure our clients benefit rapidly for major releases. We also use Totara as a base to innovate from using our plugin eco-system called Accipio One which includes an advanced eCommerce system (Shop), Training Management System, diagnostic tools and much more.

Click here to watch Totara’s 5-minute overview, or here for more details about the improvements directly from their website.