What Is a Learning Management System (LMS) and Who Can Benefit From It?

A learning management system (LMS), also known as learning management software, is an application for management, documentation, analysis, and delivery of education and training programs. LMS includes the basic modules of information management, teaching and training, online learning, content management, instructional design, management of learning assets, and support services. LMS is designed to manage, consolidate, document, store, retrieve, and share educational records electronically. This system helps reduce the time and effort spent on documentation processes. It provides centralized support for time and cost management and provides instructors and administrators with an integrated set of tools for managing the day-to-day activities of teaching and training. The LMS concept emerged directly from e-Learning. Although the first LMS appeared in the higher education sector, the majority of the LMSs today focus on the corporate market. LMS was first introduced in the late 1990s.

A learning management system must have certain characteristics to ensure that it is used effectively. These features include ease of use, customized reports, the ability to import and export data from various sources, the ability to create, maintain and share student accounts, the ability to monitor and track the progress of students in courses, the ability to charge course-by-course fees, the ability to access vendor and third-party information for course reviews and suggestions, and the ability to provide students with a secure online portal where they can register, create and download e-learning applications, download course material, and print out any required documents. Apart from these features, an LMS must also have certain additional attributes such as support for the emerging web technologies such as Java, Flash, and PDF, support for enterprise application solutions including e-learning, multi-tiered licensing, and multi-version distribution service.

A Learning Management System allows instructors and trainees to schedule and course record appointments, follow up on the courses they've already taken, and automatically track and report instructor and trainee interaction. The LMS is often used to replace or supplement the traditional on-site or distance education programs and can be customized to work for all types of courses. E-learning training is becoming more popular for corporate training and LMS makes it easier for businesses to take their employees’ training from anywhere in the world. Six major advantages of LMS are adaptability, maintenance ability, durability, reusability, accessibility, reusability, and interoperability. However, there are some drawbacks, such as a well-built technology infrastructure that is required to implement LMS.

A learning management system provides many benefits for corporate training programs. It streamlines communication between the company and its employees and improves the quality of the training they receive. The LMS was designed to identify training and learning gaps, using analytical data and reporting. The most common use of LMS is to deploy and track online training initiatives. Moreover, anyone with a login and password can access LMS whenever and wherever. LMS users fall into two categories such as online learners (who use LMS to participate in online training courses) and eLearning team (who use LMS to disburse information and update the online training content). However, the role of the LMS varies depending on the organization’s objectives, online training strategy, and desired outcomes.