Learning management systems (LMSs) are online software solutions which can be used by educational, business, and nonprofit organizations to provide their staff, employees, or students with targeted learning resources and valuable content that will help them learn important things. LMSs offer a comprehensive platform that helps teachers and industry professionals create, prepare, adjust, manage, and deliver valuable content to their learners.
On top of that, they can also monitor the level of performance and participation their learners have during each stage of their learning process. There are various concepts of online learning and this is a broad term, but with the introduction of learning management systems, the whole thing was brought to a much higher level.
In the past, nobody thought that online learning is ever going to be about something serious and important, but now, we see so many examples of world famous universities having online courses and business giants using LMS to train their employees quickly and efficiently. So, what is it about LMS that makes them so better than the rest of the online learning tools? Stick around for a while and find out more.
An LMS can be used to analyze the needs of learners
When people hear about learning management systems, they think that they are tools specifically designed for managing learning processes and nothing else. Still, there is so much more to these solutions. They can even be useful before the actual learning process starts.
For example, companies have started using LMS because of the fact that they allow them to learn which departments lack in certain areas and what kind of skills their employees need to acquire in order to improve the whole department. Company managers can learn about any performance issues or department needs.
When this first step (analyzing learning needs) has passed, it’s possible to insert all of the important data concerning analysis and use it to create learning programs that will improve the business where needed. It is very important for a business organization to find out what its real training needs are before drafting learning programs.
LMS can support Tin Can
A big problem with many web-based learning apps is that the learning experience that was provided to people using them was not really on a good level. This is why only some people liked to use online learning solutions, and most of them really weren’t satisfied with how the whole process went and they simply couldn’t get into it.
Most learners who use LMS use various other apps, tools and resources while they are learning. Simply put, even when they are using an LMS, they only spend a small portion of time on it. From a practical side, LMS application was not very good and people didn’t find the right quality they wanted.
However, all brand new, modern LMS are accompanied with a Tin Can API, which is a system that integrates all of the learning processes and activities which take place outside the LMS. The content can be accessed at any time, as it is stored in a designated place within the LMS.
The integration also works the other way around, and it’s possible to access valuable resources through the LMS while they will all get saved so that the student can find them again in case he or she needs it. This solution has made LMS practical and now all of the learning can be streamlined through them.
Blended learning
All of the new learning management systems which have a Tin Can functionality within them have powerful tool through which they can streamline learning online, however, with it, they can also participate in blended learning programs.
Blended learning is a better learning method (that uses both online and traditional learning) because it takes the best of these two and combines them to work together fluently. With blended learning, students can collaborate, interact, find information on their own, and encourage experiential knowledge.
This is an even more engaging learning method than online learning, as people will be able to learn practically through their LMS and discuss ideas, findings, and problematic with a teacher and other students together in a classroom setting.
These two things make the general learning experience much better, as the switching allows students to feel comfortable at all times and enjoy their learning. On the other hand, teachers can monitor their performance on an LMS and see how they’ve done courses, quizzes, and assignments at home and be prepared for them when they teach students in a class.
Easy tracking of learning performance
The best LMS can allow teachers to track the progress of all learners no matter how many of them are and help them make sure that all students reach the goals that were set before the start of the learning program.
For example, if a student is struggling to complete a certain learning course, a teacher can see this and give him or her additional resources or provide help in any other way, so that the student can finish the course and get away with the intended knowledge.
A majority of LMS have analytic and reporting tool which can help teachers or managers see where an online learning course is falling behind and where it’s working as it should. If half of the learners are having issues with a certain course and the other half is not, a teacher can analyze their performance in detail, notice trends, and create a similar course that is similar to the first one but more suitable for those who are having trouble with it.
The final words
The modern learning management systems work, they offer a lot of benefits to both students and teaches. Teachers can do some much more without having to invest tons of work and students will find learning engaging and this is an important thing. When someone is not interested in a certain material he or she will have a tough time learning from it.