Microsoft Viva Learning: How to Manage Training on Teams

What is Viva Learning by Microsoft Viva

Designed to be the digital learning hub within organizations, Viva Learning is one of the main modules of the Microsoft Viva suite. This platform supports the professional growth of everyone in the company by collecting and distributing training content, both corporate and third-party, in a single workspace for learning and collaboration.

Directly integrated into Microsoft Teams, Viva Learning leverages the philosophy of "Teams as a platform" to enhance the work experience. Teams, in fact, is not just a tool for real-time communication with video calls, chats, and work groups, but also a platform capable of hosting a wide range of applications from both Microsoft and third parties.

Think, for example, of Planner, which integrates into the Teams app to enrich private or group chats with the well-known boards used to organize the activities of a department or project. Or consider SharePoint, which through Teams allows users to manage files and documents without separately accessing sites like the company intranet.

Within the Microsoft Teams ecosystem, Viva Learning is available as a personal app through which individual users can access training content provided by the company or, in the case of administrators, manage colleagues’ learning with features such as course assignments and progress tracking.

Overview of Viva Learning in Microsoft Teams

If we were asked the question "What is Viva Learning for?", we could summarize our answer like this: Viva Learning is where the need for continuous learning meets the ease of access to corporate training resources.

For this reason, Viva Learning is designed to offer organizations an integrated learning system that supports the development of personal skills in a personalized and collaborative way, also thanks to Microsoft Teams features.

It is not just a course repository, but a true extension of the work experience that fits seamlessly into the daily workflow to create more room for professional growth.

With the goal of improving the employee experience within the company, Viva Learning also allows the creation of personalized learning paths to support individual users or team members in developing skills useful for their roles.

These learning paths can be created by platform administrators or be built from the platform's own suggestions, which rely on the user's role and interests to recommend the most relevant content for their professional development.

Suggested learning content in Viva Learning

Like in a large shared library, Viva Learning turns corporate training into a collaborative experience by giving users the ability to:

• share courses with colleagues via Microsoft Teams chat
• evaluate learning content with public feedback

Each piece of content on the platform becomes part of a network of shared skills, while internal training becomes a daily element, an integral part of work life, enriching not only the individual but the entire corporate community.

How to access Microsoft Viva Learning

Viva Learning can be integrated into your company’s digital workplace with the purchase of any Microsoft 365 license, through which the app can then be made available within Microsoft Teams. However, it is important to note that Microsoft 365 Business or Enterprise licenses only provide access to basic features, which include a limited library of learning content.

To unlock the full range of features offered by Viva Learning, you need to consider purchasing one of the following licenses:

• Microsoft Viva Learning, available at €3.40 per user/month. This license provides full access to Viva Learning features, including the ability to integrate third-party content like LinkedIn Learning, Coursera, edX, and centralized management of internal training.
  
  
• Microsoft Viva Suite, available at €7.60 per user/month. In addition to Viva Learning, this license grants access to the entire Microsoft Viva ecosystem, providing a comprehensive experience for managing employee wellbeing, productivity, and learning.
  
  

Below are the details for activating and accessing Viva Learning.

License verification

As previously mentioned, the first step is to verify your organization’s Microsoft licenses.

If your organization has a Microsoft 365 Business or Microsoft 365 Enterprise license, the basic Viva Learning features will already be available in your digital workplace. However, to access advanced features, you will need to purchase an additional license, either the standalone Viva Learning license or the comprehensive Microsoft Viva Suite.

Activation and setup for administrators

To enable Viva Learning in your company's digital workplace, administrators must log into the Microsoft 365 Admin Center, where they can activate the integration with Microsoft Teams.

Once this step is completed, they can proceed with configuring advanced features, including integrating third-party learning content via partner apps. This is managed directly through Viva Learning's admin settings to ensure full control over the resources available within the platform.

Administrators can also manage permissions, defining which content is accessible to various user groups within the company’s Microsoft 365 environment.

User access

Once administrators have completed the setup, users can access Viva Learning directly from the Microsoft Teams app. To do this, they simply need to:

• open Teams
• open the side menu
• click the "Apps" button
• select Viva Learning

This will add the Viva Learning app to the Microsoft Teams interface, providing quick access to the internal training hub. From there, users can explore available content and follow the learning paths assigned by their managers, recommended by colleagues, or chosen based on their own interests.

These learning paths can also be automatically suggested by the platform, based on the user’s role in the company and the skills required by their professional profile.

Viva Learning tabs in the Microsoft Teams desktop app

What are the main features of Viva Learning

Viva Learning features focus on making corporate learning a more accessible and personalized experience.

Through native integration with Microsoft Teams and the entire Microsoft 365 ecosystem, Viva Learning enables centralized content management and increased user engagement.

From basic features, such as the ability to assign courses and track the progress of colleagues, to more advanced ones, Viva Learning is a comprehensive solution to transform how organizations support the professional development of employees.

Advanced features of Viva Learning

Viva Learning offers some features that are not available in standard Microsoft 365 licenses, but can be found in the "Viva Learning" license (specific to the product) and the "Microsoft Viva product family" license (full suite of tools).

Let’s clarify the differences between the basic and the advanced version of Viva Learning.

Starting with content providers, the first advanced feature available is the ability to integrate content from third-party EMS platforms (E-learning Management System), including Coursera, Udemy, edX, and Pluralsight.

In addition, the advanced version of Viva Learning can be a particularly useful tool for project managers. This is thanks to two additional features:

1. Recommend, which allows you to highlight the most useful or important content for the entire company audience.
   
   
2. Manage, which lets you see not only the recommended content but also the status of its consumption by the users it was assigned to.
   
   

In this way, managers can ensure that corporate teams have the resources they need to develop their skills and knowledge, while monitoring their progress and quickly identifying any potential difficulties.

Viva Learning and social learning:
a new learning experience

We have seen what Viva Learning is and what features it can offer to transform corporate training by centralizing it within Microsoft Teams. However, we have not yet explored the goal for which this application was developed, which aligns with the purpose of the entire Microsoft Viva suite: improving the employee experience.

The integration with Microsoft Teams can provide an important clue.

As a personal app for the leading platform in workplace collaboration, Viva Learning focuses not only on simplifying internal training management but also, and especially, on making it a more engaging and collaborative experience.

There is a specific definition for this new approach to learning: social learning.

Social learning is a methodology based on three main actions that users must be able to perform within their digital learning environment:

1. Access training independently by customizing their own learning path.
2. Share and evaluate the content offered on the platform.
3. Create and share content within the company community.

Reflecting on the features we have seen so far, it is clear that Microsoft has aimed to provide companies with a specialized solution to adopt social learning. Viva Learning thus aims to shift the traditional paradigm of internal training, giving every member of an organization the opportunity to actively participate in the training process, not only as consumers but also as contributors.

Recommending a course to colleagues in Viva Learning

This means that each user is no longer just a passive recipient of training content defined by corporate management, but becomes a central figure in enriching the organization's collective knowledge base.

Through tools such as the ability to share content, comment, and interact with colleagues, Viva Learning promotes a learning experience based on mutual exchange. This approach reflects a cultural shift, where learning becomes a continuous and distributed process, fueled by collaboration and supported by technology.

Viva Learning and Moodle: Is integration possible?

The integration between Viva Learning and Moodle represents an extraordinary opportunity to enrich corporate training offerings by combining the content of one of the most widely used LMS platforms in the world with Microsoft’s internal training management features.

But how can these two platforms be integrated to create a single point of access for training?

One of the options is to use custom APIs, which allow you to synchronize courses and user progress between the two platforms. Thanks to the APIs of Moodle and Viva Learning, it is possible to create connectors that enable the import of Moodle courses into the Microsoft ecosystem, making them easily accessible to employees via Microsoft Teams or SharePoint.

Although using APIs allows for a customized integration between the two platforms, a drawback that should not be underestimated is the need for advanced technical skills for their implementation and maintenance. Companies must rely on experienced developers to ensure that the integration works correctly and securely.

A simpler alternative for connecting Viva Learning and Moodle is to use predefined solutions. An example is the Moodle-Viva Learning connector by intranet.ai, which allows for synchronizing the courses available in Moodle with the Viva Learning and therefore Teams environment.

Moodle-Viva Learning connector by intranet.ai

This is a ready-to-use solution, characterized by its ease of implementation and the lack of need for custom development. The connector enables a smooth integration between the two platforms, automatically synchronizing Moodle content into Viva Learning.

This way, users can access their Moodle courses directly from Microsoft Teams or even SharePoint Online, without having to switch between platforms.

Another advantage of our connector lies in the centralized management of progress. Training managers can monitor their colleagues' progress on both Moodle and Viva Learning through a single dashboard.

As a result, a centralized overview of engagement in the corporate training offering is provided, which simplifies not only progress tracking but, more importantly, the identification of potential issues. For example, the lack of time available for training due to work overload or poor prioritization.

Finally, the connector developed by our experts allows for a scalable integration, capable of adapting to the needs of any company, regardless of its size, and ensuring secure support for internal training even when a significant number of users are involved.

Viva Learning and Copilot: using AI for training

The integration between Viva Learning and Microsoft Copilot represents one of the most recent and exciting developments in corporate training, unlocking new possibilities for personalization, automation, and support in user learning through generative artificial intelligence.

Although still in preview, the integration with Copilot promises to further enhance the already advanced features of Viva Learning, including intelligent support for creating learning paths, analyzing engagement, and summarizing the information contained in various courses and content provided by the company.

Preview of Microsoft Copilot in Viva Learning

Let’s look at some of the main applications of Copilot in Viva Learning.

Training content drafting

Thanks to Copilot integration, Viva Learning leverages the power of generative artificial intelligence to analyze large amounts of data related to each user's skills, interests, and needs, creating training paths that adapt to their requirements.

For example, if a user works in the programming field and needs to learn a new language, Copilot can create a tailored course in seconds by combining existing resources in Viva Learning and enriching each training unit with personalized quizzes to assess progress. But it’s not just about speed.

The automation capabilities offered by Copilot significantly reduce the risk of errors and the need for manual input. Internal training managers can focus on the quality of the content provided in Viva Learning, while Copilot handles operational details like scheduling learning sessions. Furthermore, the AI can monitor each user’s progress and suggest improvements for the available courses. For example, by recommending the replacement of outdated information with more relevant content for the user’s tasks.

This marks an important evolution in the learning experience: there are no longer rigid, predefined courses but rather a continuous learning flow that evolves along with personal needs and developments in the user’s field. From the company’s perspective, this provides a double benefit: on one hand, the ability to offer truly personalized training, and on the other, the opportunity to optimize the resources dedicated to managing learning paths.

Support for continuous learning

Copilot in Viva Learning acts as a personal assistant that helps users better absorb the content of corporate training courses. In addition to recommendations on which paths to follow to develop useful job-related skills, Microsoft’s AI can provide a quick summary of the training resources available in Viva Learning.

For those tackling particularly complex topics, the benefit is clear since Copilot simplifies the information and creates connections between the various training modules in the course.

Engagement and course quality analysis

The integration between Viva Learning and Copilot also improves data collection and analysis for internal training managers, tracking time spent on each section, the number of repeated views of specific content, the most challenging points, and even moments when attention drops. Copilot processes this data and turns it into actionable insights.

For instance, if a specific group of users shows difficulty with a certain module, the AI can suggest restructuring that part of the course, providing additional insights or support materials. On the other hand, if a high level of engagement is detected on a topic, the company may choose to expand the content, knowing it’s generally useful for the community.

This offers a way to improve training on the go. It’s no longer about waiting for an end-of-course report but taking action during the process to enhance the learning experience and ensure each user gets the most out of the offered courses.

Deepen course content with Copilot in Viva Learning

Viva Learning and SharePoint: training in the intranet

We reach the end of our overview of Viva Learning by exploring the integration between Microsoft Viva's internal training solution and the platform for managing corporate content and documents: SharePoint Online.

SharePoint allows you to create modern sites through which you can digitize communication, knowledge sharing, document lifecycle and, why not, training.

This is where the integration between Viva Learning and Microsoft 365 SharePoint comes into play, allowing organizations to import Viva Learning content into any page of the company intranet and thus provide quick and centralized access to the most useful resources for employees' daily activities.

The intranet becomes the central hub where applications, services, documents, news, contacts and training courses are gathered, combined and offered based on department, location or individual user role.

Training hub based on SharePoint Online

Intranet pages can be customized to enhance the learning experience, supporting Viva Learning courses with:

• Tutorial videos
• In-depth documents and articles
• Links to external informational resources
• Gamification experiences such as quizzes and polls

Users would be able to browse these resources and the various sections of the intranet to quickly find the most relevant content for their training, connect with instructors, tutors and course managers, share feedback with the company about the quality of the available materials, or even participate in internal contests.

These contests are part of the gamification experiences that can be implemented to:

• Increase the adoption rate of the intranet
• Consolidate the skills acquired
• Strengthen the corporate community

What is Microsoft Viva Learning?

Microsoft Viva Learning is a digital learning hub integrated into Microsoft Teams that centralizes access to corporate training resources for an organized and accessible learning experience.

What content is available on Viva Learning?

It offers content from LinkedIn Learning, Microsoft Learn, and company resources hosted on SharePoint, as well as premium content from third-party providers such as Coursera and Udemy.

How does Viva Learning integrate with Microsoft Teams?

Integrated into Teams, Viva Learning allows users to access, share, and receive personalized course recommendations, facilitating collaborative learning.

Can Viva Learning be integrated with Moodle?

Yes, Viva Learning can be integrated with Moodle to provide unified access to the company's existing training resources through custom APIs or ready-to-use solutions like the Moodle-Viva Learning connector from intranet.ai.

How does Microsoft Copilot enhance Viva Learning?

Copilot uses artificial intelligence to suggest relevant courses, guide learning paths, and identify potential skill gaps, making training more personalized and proactive.

How does Viva Learning integrate with SharePoint?

Viva Learning content can be embedded directly into SharePoint sites, especially the intranet, to create dedicated learning hubs that are easily accessible to employees and aligned with other internal resources.

What are the licensing requirements for Viva Learning?

Basic features are available in Microsoft 365 Business and Enterprise licenses, while advanced features require additional Microsoft Viva or Viva Suite licenses.