Learning Management Systems (LMSs)
Simply, an LMS is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, and reporting of training programs, classroom and online events, e-learning programs, and training content.
Wikipedia’s definition is concise
LMSs range from systems for managing training and educational records, to software for distributing courses over the Internet with features for online collaboration. Corporate training uses LMSs to automate record-keeping and employee registration. Student self-service (e.g., self-registration on instructor-led training), training workflow (e.g., user notification, manager approval, wait-list management), the provision of on-line learning (e.g., Computer-Based Training, read & understand), on-line assessment, management of continuous professional education (CPE), collaborative learning (e.g., application sharing, discussion threads), and training resource management (e.g., instructors, facilities, equipment), are dimensions to Learning Management Systems.
Criteria for Choosing an LMS
Many large companies have their own LMS system and many small training providers don’t need one at all. I should say here that because an LMS is not “needed” in order to begin offering e-learning and because they are generally quite costly, they are somewhat outside the scope of my goals, as stated at the outset of this article. However, in the interest of understanding the full scope e-learning, I’ll share these few brief notes.
If you’re looking to differentiate among the many LMS providers, you’ll probably want to consider price, service, ease of use, number of users and/or learners it accommodates, whether you host on your own server or the provider’s, inclusion of course authoring software, inclusion of conferencing software, ability to work with other software you have, and general sophistication of the system.
Vendor Options
As I said, many LMS systems are quite costly. Of the few I list here, some look like a pretty good value for trainers who can’t afford a large, robust system; others are providers whose names came up most frequently over the course of my research. Because this was outside of my scope, the notes are a bit more scant.
Moodle
Moodle is a free and open source LMS. Some say Moodle is quite cumbersome—but it’s free! Some LMS vendors work off the Moodle platform and enhance it, giving users a low-cost solution but with better service, such as the two listed below:
Pricing
Free
Vendor-enhanced option: EasyCampus by Educadium
$29 per month
Based on Moodle, EasyCampus includes course templates and wizards; enrollment and reporting tools; social networking tools; payment services; etc. The Professional version features unlimited courses, 500 user accounts, and 2 GB storage.
Vendor-enhanced option: Remote-Learner
Remote Learner advances the capabilities of Moodle and offers support.
$795 per year for the entry-level package, called Sandbox.
Odijoo
Odijoo lets you develop and post online courses for free, and takes as its fee 10 percent of your revenue income.
Odijoo’s service includes a tool to create courses online or import Articulate courses, which you can conduct as facilitated or self-paced courses.
Pricing
10 percent of the revenue you take in from charging for courses (paid monthly)
Atlantic Link
Atlantic Link offers the whole package: an LMS plus rapid e-learning software. Based in the U.K., Atlantic Link has been in the U.S. since 2007. Its platform enables concurrent developing (two users can give feedback at once). It also lets you record and edit audio, and it works with Captivate and Camtasia. A host of fun interactive activities are built into the software.
Pricing
$2,700 + $6,000 + 18 percent update fee for the Perpetual package
$3,300 per year for the hosted LMS version
Course-Mill by Trivantis
Course-Mill is an affordable, lower end LMS for unlimited users.
Pricing
$14,995 (software)
$7,500 setup + monthly fee for the hosted solution
Source: eLearn Magazine
Tags: corporate, e-learning, learning, LMS, software, training, Universities
Tue, Jul 20, 2010
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