What is Learning Management System (LMS)?

Without a doubt, learning is now influenced by the advent of the Internet and its various technological innovations. The traditional learning environment in a classroom setup is now facing a major makeover for better or worse. It is not a matter of ‘if’, it is a matter of ‘when’.

Now more than ever, instructors should leverage and adapt their teaching method if they wish to be relevant to today’s generation. One example of such innovation in learning is LMS.

In this article, we will discuss the definition of LMS, the various application of LMS and the procedure of making your very own LMS based online training course.

INTRODUCTION

LMS is an abbreviation for Learning Management System.

The etymology for Learning Management System (LMS) comes from its ability to provide an online Learning platform for academic and training courses, easy and convenient Management of this online training course which includes administration, documentation, tracking, reporting and delivery along with monitoring student’s performance and providing collaboration tools. The System part is due to the fact that LMS is delivered as a Software as a Service (SaaS) model to training instructors or companies which allows them to easily distribute resources and quizzes to students without having the need of specialized hardware for the LMS platform to operate.

LMS is sometimes referred to as:

•    Course management system
•    Virtual learning platform
•    Managed learning system
•    Computer-based learning environment

However, the most commonly accepted terminology is a Learning Management System (LMS) for software applications that manage and distributes sections or all parts of an online training program.

An LMS delivers, manages and provides:

•    instructional content
•    student registration
•    online course administration
•    tracking
•    assessment of student work
•    learning milestones
•    competency management
•    skills-gap analysis
•    succession planning
•    competency-based learning

With today’s rapid evolution in technology, other functionalities are being added to the LMS platform to improve its effectiveness and interactivity while will ultimately result in a boost in learning for its online students.

LMS software applications are often utilized by:

•    Regulated industries for compliance training
•    All businesses regardless of size
•    Organizations, local or international
•    Government entities or agencies
•    Academic institutions, schools, colleges, or universities
•    Online based educational institutes such as Coursera or uDemy

And just about anyone who is interested in delivering training and educational materials in more inventive and fresh ways.

How to create your first LMS training course

• Create an online learning course

1. 1.  If you already have the training materials completed, you can now proceed with creating an online training course and add it to your preferred LMS platform. (If you haven’t decided yet which LMS platform will work for your requirements, please browse our website to help you decide.)
   2. LMS usually comes with pre-configured templates and you just need to copy your training material contained inside the LMS. Other options include importing your preexisting educational plans (which should be in  LMS supported formats such as PDF, PPT or DOC depending on your preferred LMS compatibility)
   3. To increases interactivity, another LMS allows you to upload media files such as video, audio, or graphics to your online course materials.
   4. References are allowed, and instructors can add URL links to other websites and articles.
2. Organizing the online learning course
   1. Once you have created the online course, you can now start organizing it based on your preference.
   2. Simply select if you want it to be a single course or part of an online course series.
   3. Having a specific target market like in mind helps a lot. Structuring your LMS course will depend if the online course will be used by educational institutions, corporations or government agencies.
   4. Proper categorization, groups, skills, requirements and other parameters will help determine your course information.

1. Dissemination of the online learning course
   1.    You are now set to start distributing your online course to your potential students. Having a niche market and target audience will help in determining who will most likely use your course. Decide whether the course will be open to the public or will be by invitation only and whether it will be a paid or free course.
   2. LMS software integrations

Majority of LMS are web-based to provide easier access to the platform. This allows for numerous applications to be embedded into the LMS platform.

Some third-party technologies/applications include:

• AICC which is an acronym that means Aviation Industry CBT Committee allows the connectivity between the course material and the LMS platform.
• SCORM is an abbreviation and it stands for: Shareable Content Object Reference Model. SCORM defines a specific way of constructing a learning management system and training and course content so it can be shared with other SCORM compliant systems.
• LTI is an abbreviation for Learning Tools Interoperability, which is a standard protocol developed by the IMS Global Learning Consortium. It allows services like VoiceThread to integrate with your Learning Management System (LMS) as single-sign-on tools.

LMSs were originally designed to be locally hosted on-premise, where the organization purchases a license to a version of the software and installs it on their own servers and network. Many LMSs are also offered as SaaS (software as a service), with hosting provided by the vendors.

To put it simply, Learning Management System (LMS) is simply a method of creating online training programs and courses, organizing them and delivering them to your prospective target market and audience while using SaaS (Software as a Service) distribution model.

The online learning market is vast and choosing the perfect LMS software that caters to your need is vital in ensuring the success of your online training course. We have categorized LMS for you, in order to help you make a well-informed decision before proceeding with the purchase of an LMS. Also, there are free alternatives for those looking for trial runs and gauging if the LMS software will function as per their requirement.

Are you deciding which LMS will work best for you? Please visit our website for more detailed information and comparison. Do you think LMS is the best approach for your company? Please leave a comment below. Thanks!