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Things to Consider When Selecting an LMS
Choosing the best learning management systems can be overwhelming due to the fact that your whole online learning ecosystem is to be built on it. Due to the many LMS platform options available online, confusion can chip in when trying to choose one that will suit your needs.
Here, we explore top considerations when choosing the most suitable LMS platform for you.
Things You Should Know When Choosing an LMS
1. Understand Learning Requirements
Before you start searching for a learning management system, you must know the expectations of the user at the end of the training session, and that is your final goal.
For example, if your school is conducting a training program of a particular coding language for learners, you need functionalities such as user registration, navigations through course lessons, give certifications, displaying course progress, and setting up a timer. Notably, it doesn’t involve a lot of collaboration. Additionally, you should consider a learning management system that allows interaction between instructors and learners. Also, the LMS that you choose should allow the sharing of comments and uploading of assignments.
The other point to consider is that the student may not have access to the internet or wife availability. By offering a download facility, you will be able to make sure that they have access to offline learning materials. Thus, it is crucial to understand your learning needs.
2. Mobile Friendly
You may be used to a mobile phone which has brought the globe into the palm of people’s hand. A good number of students, whether high school or college learners, opt for logging into the LMSs instantly as they travel to their homes.
In case your learning management system is restricted to laptops and desktops only, then you can lose prospective users of your LMS. Thus, predict your potential users and also explore devices that they prefer.
In the case you want to build a learning management system with WordPress, responsive platforms that can meet your needs include LifterLMS, Sensei, LearnPress, and LearnDash. Learning management systems such as WizIQ, Edubrite, and LearnDash have the capability of meeting this need since they are responsive and can work well on desktops and all kinds of mobile devices.
3. Ease of Integration
Users of your learning management system can work simultaneously or communicate with numerous other platforms. In cases such as these, integration features such as webhooks and Single-sign-on can tailor your learning management system better. Single sign-on enables users to access learning management systems with similar credentials employed in other applications. Also, a webhook is a better option for having real-time communication between your learning management system and other systems.
Also, you can link your learning management system with social platforms such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter, as well as gamification engines. This is the best chance to increase your audience.
4. Content Compatibility
Learning content is a major component of your learning management system. Other LMS features revolve around course material or content that is to be delivered to learners. Having appropriate content will determine the effectiveness and impact of the course. Visual content ensures that learners understand the topic well, while to-the-point slideshows assist in delivering precise information.
As a result, the initial step is identifying your content type. Needs can differ from PDF to word documents, PowerPoint to XML presentations, as well as a pure audio transcript to video streaming.
Additionally, content can consist of;
- Certificates
- Quizzes
- Surveys
These needs ought to be considered when selecting a learning management system platform since they are crucial to every course. After narrowing your requirements, you can search for a learning management system that is compatible with the type of your content.
5. Evaluate and Report
A comprehensive reporting and analysis solution is inevitable when selecting the best learning management system since it provides insights regarding students’ performance and, ultimately, the effectiveness of the course.
Moreover, it’s a nice tool for background monitoring as an administrator. Also, you can refer to in-depth quiz reports as well as compliance tracking of online learners so as to determine the total time that they spend on a specific lesson and the number of trials made by students for passing quizzes.
The reports can be categorized in the following manner:
- Course Reports
- Assessment, Enrollment, Schedule
- User Reports
- Performance Comparison, Progress of users, Login activities, Active Users.
- Organization Training
- Curriculum, Certification, Complete course report by batch or location.
- Custom Reports
Personalized to meet your needs
6. Reliability and Security
Each learning institution is possessive regarding its sensitive information. A security breach is a great threat to the trust and reputation of the school or organization. Assuring the confidentiality of the content together with the protection of the personal data of users is your role. You have the right to know what security and encryption protocols are implemented in your learning management system. The utilization of SSL and firewalls play a critical role in ensuring security.
The reliability of a learning management system may be judged by knowing its contingency plans, disaster management, and downtime. Your learning management system ought not to ditch your students when they are in the middle of learning. Users can lose patience and focus in case their LMS goes down several times. Additionally, they can’t afford to lose their work because of the technical issues of the system.
You should go through the reviews of the LMS vendor’s past and present clients to get a genuine insight regarding the reliability of the software.
7. Structure of Licensing or Pricing
Your budget plays an important role in choosing a learning management platform. The pricing model of learning management systems differs from vendor to vendor. Well-defined pricing structures that do not have hidden costs attract shoppers.
Comparison of learning management systems based on their licensing and pricing policy isn’t workable since there are many variations in parameters. Additionally, learning management systems apply feature-based pricing, whereas others need course payment during sign-up through payment gateways.
Why should you choose LMS?
Trainers who are familiar with LMS as a Learning Management System know that it is more than just a platform for e-learning. It has been designed to provide all the tools and functions needed in an e-learning system. When schools use LMS, they have access to such features as assessment, tracking the progress of learners, and virtual or real classrooms among others.
Teachers appreciate the LMS because these platforms include features for planning lessons and delivering courses. It is known as an online learning platform that brings teachers and students together in a virtual environment to allow them to share and communicate information with ease. Teachers, learners, administrators, and other individuals involved in education can have access to this system.
1. Courses and Courses Management
One of the most important features provided by any LMS is that it has been designed to provide courses for learners. The e-learning system allows educators to test their students while at the same time allowing them to assess results, view a learner’s progress, generate reports and track data over a period of time. In addition, you can easily communicate with your students from different parts of the world through this software application as they allow for online education and communication among learners and teachers.
LMS is also used in virtual or real classrooms where instructors take over roles as subject matter experts. Virtual classrooms help in providing access to various resources such as documents, images, videos along with texts that are authored by experts from all over the world. A virtual classroom is also a place where learners have the opportunity to interact with fellow students through chat rooms, discussions, and other communication tools
2. Quality of Instruction
When teachers upload their weekly lessons into this application, it allows them to organize their syllabuses efficiently based on various factors such as learning outcomes, credits, and objectives among others. Some of the features that demonstrate increased efficiency include tracking progress, particular assessments, and being able to communicate quickly and conveniently with your students who can be in any part of the world. Your learners are able to learn at their own pace while you reduce costs for transportation between institutions because most e-learning platforms are online only.
3. Easy Student Management
Most instructors rely on LMS to track the progress of their students during the assessment. This enables them to keep a record or history of their performance over time and to be able to compare results with other students in the same class or institution.
In addition, LMS tracks attendance, grades as well as academic standards among others by providing instructors with real-time updates on students’ performances. The information available is very useful because it helps teachers measure their problem areas and make changes accordingly. If all your learners are online, you will save yourself from having to manage registers which is very tedious. Instead, you can spend more time teaching your class in an efficient learning environment.
4. Online Assessment
The virtual classroom offers a great opportunity for instructors who want to give assessments online that can be accessed by many learners. The e-learning platform facilitates the sharing of information whereby students can access lessons and assessments at their own convenience through their personal computers, laptops or any internet-enabled device
Course Management System (CMS) is a great software application for all schools that are looking forward to improving their e-learning capabilities. These platforms provide you with an opportunity to focus on teaching content while they take care of other administrative tasks for you like assessing your learner’s progress and results among others. Some CMSs are available as open-source applications which means that a learner from one institution can borrow the course created by another institution without having to pay them anything. You only have to ensure that both institutions are using the same online education software application such as Moodle.
The licensable LMS applications are usually very costly so it is advisable to conduct thorough research before you decide to subscribe to any of them. Make sure that the application will cater to your institution’s learning objectives as well as all your future expansion plans. The features must be able to accommodate learners from different walks of life such as high school students, universities, and even corporate learners who require specialized training among others.
While you look into these software applications, ensure that they offer integration with other enrolled systems within your organization otherwise their efficiency might not be realized because most institutions have a large number of internal databases which provides them with pertinent information about their operations for example attendance records, grades and academic standards among others if the LMS application cannot connect to these systems, you will be wasting your investment on the software.
Educational institutions that wish to improve their online learning capabilities are advised to purchase known applications for example Magna Carta and Moodle which have been around for longer than others in the market. Their popularity makes it easy to find support and help while using them. You can also take advantage of all the features offered by these reputable companies because most of them offer free training and support as well as updates on a timely basis. Other features of LMS applications include assessment tools, instructor implementation statements among others depending on what they sell.
Another important aspect is institution owners should ensure that the chosen platform hosts other courses related to your industry organization as well as those outside it. This will make your institution stand out among others because many learners who buy from you might want to enroll in other courses in the future.
You should look into the cost of the online learning platform before you decide to settle on one since they come at different prices. The subscription fee is usually determined by their features so choose something that offers value for money and comes with great benefits like free training as well as support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The application must also be easy to use and include useful information about each course available whether it is owned by this institution or any outsider.
The virtual classroom provides an excellent opportunity for instructors who wish to give assessments online that can be accessed by many students who might be spread across the world. The design of these virtual classrooms is usually user-friendly and can be accessed by everyone using a computer, a tablet, or even a mobile phone. They provide employers with an opportunity to customize e-learning courses for their employees more efficiently all over the world.
Virtual classrooms allow you to share information about your institution easily without requiring instructors to spend much time preparing supporting materials like example class notes among others. These online education software applications are also cost-effective especially when compared with traditional classroom training where students have to pay tuition fees regardless of whether they show up or not. Most virtual classrooms come with support services from teachers who will assist learners in any issue that they encounter while studying at home or working on a particular project.