A Learning Management System, or LMS for short, is a software application that acts as a framework for managing all parts of the learning process. Companies utilise a learning management system (LMS) for various purposes, including courses such as tracking, reporting, administration, and delivery of educational courses and employee training programs. In LMS, any form of content such as videos, courses, documents, and so on can be integrated and managed. Learners go to the LMS site and look for systems that interest them the most, exactly like they would at a library.
The LMS has grown over the years to become an important part of businesses and their training plans, propelled in part by the expansion of digital learning and acceptance of mobile knowledge in the last decade to the latest Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) interventions. But where did it all start? What was the corporate world like before the LMS?
Where Did The Concept of an LMS Come From?
It goes without saying that modern LMSs are inspired by many of the ideas and innovations of the past. Significant milestones in the history of the LMS are there and give examples of tools that have had a direct impact on how LMSs operate now.
Sidney L Pressey invented what he named the testing machine in the 1920s. It looked like a typewriter and featured a variety of practical exercises and multiple-choice questions, with trainees drilling in answers that were logged in the machine’s back. Much like features still used in today’s LMS, the testing machine wouldn’t progress until the correct answer was given.
Gordon Pask and McKinnon Wood designed the SAKI (Self-Adaptive Keyboard Instructor) in the 1950s. This device customised questions based on a learner’s performance and increased the complexity of the questions as the learner’s performance improved.
In 1960, Dr. Donald Blitzer developed a computer-based training tool that allowed students to track their own development. PLATO (Programmed Logic for Automatic Teaching Operation) has also been the first platform to function as a learning community and allow collaborative learning through instant chat and email. The HP-9100A, released in 1968, paved the path for the development of today’s LMS systems. The first calculator from Hewlett Packard was jam-packed with never-before-seen computational capabilities.
In 1983, MIT’s Project Athena allowed students to access files from any computer on campus, and in 2000, the world was exposed to Moodle, the first open-source learning management system. Learners could choose the content they wanted in a modular, object-oriented dynamic learning environment, allowing personalised learning.
Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM )file, was introduced in 2004 to meet the demand for a uniform format. This standard format for describing content packaging and metadata characteristics has now become the cornerstone of modern LMS.
LMS Today
LMS has been there for a long time, but they have not changed much. It is difficult to explain why this is the case. However, there is still time to consider what makes an effective, modern LMS and how it affects staff training. The training requirements of a global workforce in modern times demand drastic changes in LMS’s.
Unlike previous LMSs, the modern LMSs are expected to:
- Deliver a diverse range of training materials in several formats, allowing students to choose what and how they want to learn.
- To motivate learners, use gamification in the form of badges, points, and leaderboards
- Create chat rooms and message boards for students to collaborate and learn, allowing for social learning
- Facilitate learning on the go in informal settings by providing instant access to the relevant knowledge
- To ensure better learner management, report and track how learners are doing and the impact of the training
- Utilise monitoring data to provide learners with customised learning routes depending on their job positions and prior knowledge.
4 Reasons Why You Should Replace Your Outdated LMS
Unpleasant User Experience
An LMS typically has two parts: an admin interface and a user interface (UI).
Admin Interface is where the administrator (you, the teacher, instructor, or learning manager) may complete all administrative activities related to the company’s learning programs. When students enrol in one of your courses, they see the User Interface (UI). The user interface runs in your browser or on your device as an app.
Understandably, administrators overlook the need for a user-friendly interface for their students. However, when utilising an LMS, learners should not become bored or nauseous. Even better, they should like using it. The term “user experience” (UX) comes into play here. We may invert the argument and show you what your learning platform’s UX should NOT be like to understand better what creates a truly great UX for your learners:
- A program that runs slowly and definitely and it is not comfortable to use.
- An inconvenient and time-consuming application
- An outdated user interface
In other words, your learning platform shouldn’t appear like a standard course catalogue.
Insufficient Functionality
This is particularly aggravating for companies with a large workforce from an admin perspective. An outdated LMS will not be able to support the growing demand to:
- Allow users to register in bulk based on job descriptions/roles, geographical locations, and language.
- Assign courses to various groups of students or clients.
- Users can get personalised course certificates.
- Managing a portal with tens of thousands of visitors
- Exchange data with instructors or other LMS administrators.
- Assist students with any technological difficulties.
- Learning should be enjoyable for the user. An outdated LMS fails to deliver a memorable learning experience to modern users.
But how do you keep your employees engaged and interested in every learning topic? Here are some elements that can be incorporated into LMS to make the learning experience fun.
Cohort-based learning is a teaching method in which a group of people meets at the same time to learn and interact on a given topic. They are interactive and real-time, rather than self-paced, and they feature community-driven, active learning rather than solo, passive information consumption. Cohort-based courses have a set start and finish date, reinforcing the real-time aspect and creating scarcity among the vast amount of knowledge available, and are frequently taught in person.
As a result, the LMS should have chat rooms where users can converse and exchange queries with their teachers. This will help your staff learn more effectively while also giving them a sense of belonging. Moreover, setting and achieving goals as a group is invigorating and motivating. When learning in a group, the competitive spirit comes alive when team leaderboards are used.
Unsatisfactory Reporting and Analytics
Despite the fact that some Learning Management Systems offer it, they usually just have rudimentary reports on test results and the number of courses that learners have finished. In most cases, there is no detailed analytics available on:
- Team’s learning progress
- Time spent on course X
- Course status
- Quiz attempts
- Completion rates
- Retention rate
- When a user last logged in
However, in order to comprehend the learners’ competencies and, as a result, identify skill gaps, extensive analytics are required. Every year, hundreds of thousands, if not millions are spent, on employee training. Organisations should be aware of the importance of employee training. Resultantly, it is crucial to ensure sufficient data can be collected from an LMS to determine its effectiveness.
Lack of Personalisation
This is perhaps the most serious flaw in a learning platform. The majority of corporate Learning Management Systems are nothing more than a drab collection of PowerPoint slides, spreadsheets, courses, and quizzes. Finding the correct content in a typical LMS is frequently a challenge, not to mention time-consuming.
In today’s environment, one-size-fits-all solutions are not going to cut it, especially in the educational arena. To improve the efficiency of your training, give your staff the right content at the right moment when they need it. Otherwise, you will waste time educating your employees, squander money on ineffective content, and lose their motivation.
In order to provide obvious next steps, your learning platform should have recommended necessary courses based on your employees’ previous activity. The instructional resources for your students have the same feel as a finely tailored suit. As a result, individualised material maintains your learners’ motivation, promotes retention, and boosts your return on investment.
However, there are situations when more than routine maintenance is required. One alternative is to retool or refurbish the equipment. Another example is a replacement. But, before you decide which path is best for your company, make sure you have weighed all of the advantages. Changing an enterprise system is a significant undertaking with far-reaching implications across your firm.