Learning Management System (LMS)

A Learning Management System (LMS) is a software tool that allows one to create, deliver, and report on training courses and learning programs. There are many LMSs to choose from, each offering different features and capabilities.

LMS benefits

  • Single piece of software that provides a platform for online learning content and communication tools.
  • It is used to deliver a blend of traditional classroom instruction and online delivery.
  • It allows easy management of the learning materials and tracking of student learning.
  • Used by students, teachers and administrators.
  • It supports a collaborative learning community and multiple modes of learning.

LMS features

Tutor interfaces provide:

  • Access control
  • Daily management tools
  • Flexible course design and delivery
  • Support of reusable learning objects
  • Syllabuses
  • Teaching material
  • Ability to track student progress
  • Assessment tools.
  • Student Assignment Management
  • Administrative applications.

Student interfaces provide:

  • Access to learning resources with a personalised study units, course materials, syllabuses, basic teaching material for self-paced coursework
  • Learning management tools
  • Study toolkit
  • Collaborative tools - discussion forums, chat rooms
  • Online support
  • Other learning materials - glossary, faq
  • Self assessment such as online quizzes and exercises such as multiple-choice or one-word-answer (formative assessment)
  • Assignment Boxes or areas for submission of student work (summative assessment)

LMS potential

LMS have the potential to free tutors from constraints that currently prevent the full integration of technology in the classroom. The provision of a simpler, user friendly, group friendly system may help tutors to overcome the barriers that are now faced.

LMS technical aspects

An LMS can be either hosted locally or by a vendor. A vendor-hosted cloud system tends to follow a SaaS (software as a service) model. All data in a vendor-hosted system is housed by the supplier and accessed by users through the internet, on a computer or mobile device. Vendor-hosted systems are typically easier to use and require less technical expertise.

An LMS that is locally hosted sees all data pertaining to the LMS hosted internally on the users' internal servers. Locally hosted LMS software will often be open-source, meaning users will acquire (either through payment or free of charge) the LMS software and its code. With this, the user is able to modify and maintain the software through an internal team. Individuals and smaller organizations tend to stick with cloud-based systems due to the cost of internal hosting and maintenance

LMS examples

Most of what has been written online about LMS is pure spam, with titles like the Top 10-20 Learning Management Systems (LMS), eaah nominating their own product as the best. Like with any type of software today, there are many brands of LMS available, most of which are imitations of another's research and development. Choosing what is right for one's project depends on one's scenario and requirements.

However one's choice of Learning Management Systems (LMS) usually starts from the list of plugins or add-ons available for the content management system (CMS) that is being used on the web site. Both WordPress and Moodle have a variety of LMS to choose from. If managing a web site is not desirable, there are many hosted packages available and like any fish market, the catch changes daily.

Disadvantages

As with anything published online, and this especially applies to online lessons and course material, is the problem of plagiarism and the theft of lessons to be redistributed and resold as original content. For online tutors, the only alternative is to protect one's livelihood is by using digital rights management and copy protection.

 

Please report any errors or typos here.