Learning Management System (LMS)
What?
Learning Management System can be defined as a set of software tools for delivering, tracking and managing online training and education. With a powerful Learning Management System (LMS), organisations can manage learning content effectively. Besides that, organisations can deliver learning contents to students and also track the progressing and performance of learners.
How?
Learning Management System distributes courses over the internet, offer features for online authoring, keep the record of learners automatically, registration of employees for classroom and online interactive courses. Several ways of learning can be carried out through Learning Management System. Examples of various ways to learn are Instructor-Led Training (ILT), e-Learning or online training, On-the Job-Training (OJT), discussion forums, video conferencing and virtual classrooms.
Where and When?
When learners enroll on a course under Learning Management System, there is no limitation for venue and time. It is web-based and practice anytime at anywhere learning process. In other words, regardless of the learners’ locations on the globe, the virtual classroom remains to be a meeting place where learning activities are carried out according to their own choice of time and pace of individual learners.
Why?
The virtual learning classroom is designed for the application of any of the known pedagogical approaches namely instructivist, constructivist and socio-constructivist pedagogical approaches.
Learning Management System is very popular among organisations because of its numeral advantages. With a powerful Learning Management System (LMS), organisations can efficiently manage the content of learning content and track the progress of learning without doing face-to-face interactions. Besides that, learning progress can be recorded automatically. Thus, educational institutions choose to use Learning Management Systems (LMS) as it does not only enhance or support classroom teaching but at the same time facilitate the distribution of courses to large learner populations across the world.
Open-source software for LMS
There are several open source softwares used in Learning Management System. These include:
· Moodle
· Saba
· Docent
· Ingenium
· Teamscape
What is the difference between Learning Management System and Content Management System?
People often get confused about Learning Management System and Content Management System. Below is a table showing the differences between LMS and CMS.
Content Management System (CMS) | Learning Management System (LMS) | |
Definition | Content Management System can be defined as a system which is basically designed to support educative or academic courses. | Learning Management System can be defined as a set of software tools for delivering, tracking and managing online training and education. |
Features/ Functions | · Online posting of course material · Learner assessment · Discussion forum · Communication · Allotment of lock boxes · Review of statistics | · Registration of learners · Tracking participation in courses · Testing · Conducting follow-up discussions · Transferring information to other systems including the HR and ERP · Fee processing and fee transfer among departments · Scheduling courses · Managing skills · Managing blended learning |
Drawbacks | · Less flexibility · Inefficiency in providing interactive e-learning · Inefficiency in testing and tracking | · Expensive · Rapid leapfrogs in technology · Customization problems. |
References:
(n.d.). Immedius Learning: What is a Learning Management System. Retrieved on July 14, 2011 from http://www.inmediuslearning.com/c_general/what_is_lms.html .
Shankar, V.(2007, February). CMS and LMS-A Comparison. Retrieved on July 17, 2011 from http://www.contentmanagementnews.com/contentmanagementnews-82-20070220CMSandLMSAComparison.html.
Ting Suk Hua
No comments:
Post a Comment