The term LMS has been buzzing through businesses, universities, and publishing companies alike…but what does it mean? LMS is short for “Learning Management System”, and the title means exactly what it sounds like. An LMS is, simply put, a system to help create, organize, and deliver e-Learning courses. Although educational publishers and universities are among the most common users of learning management systems, an LMS has an extensive list of applications. So how does it work, who is it for, and why should we use it? Let’s find out.
How It Works
Like any other computer software, an LMS solves a problem. While Google Photos helps manage your photos and Word helps you create documents, an LMS allows you to build and manage your eLearning courses.
Most often, an LMS has two components; a back-office that performs the basics of content creation and management, and a user interface that runs like a traditional website. The back-office is used by content creators, system administrators, educators, while the front element is used by educators and learners themselves.
Who Uses an LMS?
Did you ever take an eLearning course in high school or college? If so, you’ve used an LMS. Any and everyone who has participated in digital learning has used an LMS, and that list includes far more than just university students.
The people who can benefit from using an LMS are varied, and include the following to name a few:
- Businesses large and small
- Organizations from local non-profits to international groups
- Government agencies
- Schools, especially institutions of higher learning
- Online educational institutions, like Khan Academy
As you can see, the applications are varied and can serve a broad scope of learning needs.
What Can We Really DO with an LMS?
Don’t get hung up on the term “learning” in LMS. Learning Management Systems are effective tools for more than just schools. Because an LMS can be used for any kind of educational course, it’s extremely useful as a tool for businesses of all shapes and sizes.
Employee Training
Training new employees is a never-ending task for any company or organization. Using an LMS allows new employees to study material online at their own speed. This reduces the disruption caused by traditional training methods, improving overall productivity throughout the training process. eLearning also allows employers to oversee their employees’ comprehension and growth.
Onboarding
The process of welcoming new employees can also be done much more efficiently and effectively with an LMS. Aside from the initial tour and introduction, an LMS allows new hires to review company policies, job expectations, benefits, etc. with little direction from management. This saves valuable time and resources for companies of any size. For an added bonus, employees can refer to LMS at any time if they need a refresher.
Knowledge Retention
When you hire an employee, you hire them for a reason. Whether it’s their potential or their existing skills, they have something to offer your company in a big way. That’s why it’s equally important to learn as much from your employees as they learn from you. To hang on to invaluable information and skills when employees inevitably retire or move on, you can create a knowledge retention system.
After compiling the information that you want to save, an LMS also makes it easily accessible so new employees or transfers can learn from it.
Educational Applications
Unsurprisingly, an LMS is perfectly suited for the creation and organization of general education eLearning programs. An LMS can help schools to offer online courses or hybrid learning solutions, a business to provide expert advice to their clients, or even government agencies to educate the public.
In other words, an LMS can handle any learning-based task and transform it into a well-organized, user-friendly online experience. To easily create lessons, organize them, deliver content, and manage users and their progress, an LMS is the easiest solution. eLearning isn’t disappearing anytime soon! Consider using an LMS to save time, energy, and provide your students (or employees!) the best learning experience possible. If you want to try our in-house LMS, or connect your LMS to our authoring tool, let's talk!
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