What is LMS?
A Learning Management System, which is also known as an LMS, is a software platform that helps in delivering, managing, tracking results, and generating reports for online or eLearning courses and training programs. The platform can be hosted on the cloud, which is called cloud-based LMS, or on a local company server or the server of the vendor.
You should always look for an LMS that meets your needs and requirements to deliver effective and efficient online training. Do your research on the need and wants before selecting the LMS; this will make the selection process clearer and easier. Dig a little deeper and look beyond the features to evaluate what a learning management system can do for the betterment of your online learning and training program. Choosing the right LMS can go a long way toward making your online training program more successful.
A couple of years ago, a lot of people didn’t know much about learning management systems for providing online learning and training. But since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, eLearning has become a vital part of our day-to-day working life. The organizations have also understood the importance of implementing an LMS for providing online training to their workforce.
Here are some features you should consider and look for when you choose an LMS for your organization.
1) Responsive and User-Friendly Interface
The LMS software must be responsive enough that the training program can easily be accessed on any mobile device, such as – smartphones, laptops, and tablets. There are multiple LMS apps available in the market to choose from. Users can download the application on their mobile devices and can access the course from anywhere. The interface of the LMS you choose must be customizable and user-friendly. This helps keep the learners engaged as they will be able to easily navigate the information they are looking for.
2) Cloud-based LMS
Cloud-based LMS is easy to set up with little to no training. This also has low maintenance costs than the regular LMS that is hosted on the server. The benefit of choosing cloud-based LMS is that the LMS vendors, who provide this type of LMS, regularly update their software, which helps in the seamless working of LMS. Cloud-based LMS has lower monthly costs and does not require heavy setup costs.
3) Personalized Learning Paths
Choose an LMS that is capable of providing course content that is based on the learner’s history within the software, including the roles and responsibilities that will be handled by the learner. Moreover, the LMS must allow the training managers to be able to create more sequenced learning paths, which will make learning easier and more tailored for the learners. With the help of personalized learning paths, the whole journey would be easier for the training managers and the learners.
4) Easy Course Management
This is also one of the crucial features of an LMS. The software must let you deliver the course content easily to your learners. In addition to this, the software should let you create the course content in the most simplest and straightforward way possible. The drag and drop feature makes it easy to create courses. The software must let you use multiple content formats, like – PDFs, slides, audio, and video files, and must support live training sessions.
5) Course Completion Certificates
The LMS must allow and provide the users with a certificate after the completion of the course. Choose an LMS, that lets you customize the certificates to match your brand, color codes, and theme, and add whatever you see fit to put your stamp on. LMS should also let the learners download the course completion certificates online at any time.
6) Gamification
Adding gamification features to your online course content will help you create an engaging learning experience. Thus, choose an LMS that lets you integrate the gamification tools or comes with a similar feature. Gamifying your training will motivate the learners to take the course and perform even better. You can include – badges, points, leaderboards, etc, to create a healthy competition.
Choosing the right and the best LMS for your organization can be a very tricky task. Keeping your learners connected and updated all the time and providing them consistent training with the help of LMS is one of the many benefits of LMS to your business. We hope the above list will help you decide upon the types of features LMS can offer and you can choose amongst these for your organization.
