Essential LMS Features
Artificial Intelligence (AI): AI integration in a Learning Management System personalizes the learning journey for each learner by recommending course formats and topics tailored to their needs and interests.
Accessibility: Ensuring e-learning accessibility goes beyond merely adhering to web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG) 2.1. It involves designing learning content that provides the best learning environment for all.
Automated Admin Tasks: Features that automate routine and tedious tasks such as user grouping, group enrolment, deactivation, and new user population.
Platform Consolidation: An all-in-one LMS platform can manage multiple use cases, saving time and money and reducing hassle.
Personalized Learning Paths: Sequenced learning paths enable tailored learning experiences. AI can facilitate this process by understanding learners’ preferences and recommending suitable paths.
Intuitive User Interface: A user-friendly interface ensures that learners and admins spend less time learning the system and more time learning the course content.
Course Management: The LMS should facilitate easy course creation, enrolment, and reporting, ultimately reducing the administrative burden.
Certifications and Retraining: The LMS should manage all certification and retraining activities, such as recurring training or compliance programs.
Content Integration and Interoperability: The LMS should support interoperable standards such as SCORM, AICC, and xAPI (formerly Tin Can).
Content Marketplace: This feature allows users to access, browse, and purchase courses within their learning platform.
Gamification: Incorporating points, badges, and awards can increase learner engagement.
Integrations: An LMS should allow third-party integrations with other platforms, such as Salesforce CRM or video conferencing tools.
Mobile Learning: LMS should support access on mobile devices to enable learning anytime, anywhere.
Multi-domain: This feature allows the customization of platforms for different audiences from a central location.
Microlearning: Providing short, easily accessible learning content helps cater to shorter attention spans and promotes learning at the point of need.
Reporting: The ability to track and measure the impact of learning programs is crucial. Customizable reports and dashboards provide important insights.
Social Learning: The LMS should support informal training activities like collaboration, discussion forums, and peer mentorship.
White-labeling and Branding Customization: You can maintain brand consistency within your e-learning experience.
Globalization: An LMS should support broad language localizations, domain management, and global payment gateways for e-commerce.
LMS Licensing Types
Active User (Usage): This model only charges for the user’s first interaction with the system.
Registration Model: This model calculates usage based on user metrics such as the number of users logged in, registered for a course, etc.
Product-based: This model supports the sale of learning content within the LMS.
Revenue Share: This model is based on the revenue percentage awarded to the LMS vendor.
Unlimited: Some platforms offer an “unlimited” enterprise price once a user or revenue threshold is surpassed.
Monitoring Learning Outcomes with LMS
Data-focused companies appreciate that any software’s primary value lies in its insightful metrics, which can monitor productivity and progress. These metrics inform performance evaluations and can ultimately shape your strategies and objectives. This is true for online learning software too.
An LMS can keep tabs on numerous learner activities. Formal learning metrics and reports often comprise:
- Course completions
- Course enrolment dates
- Last usage by the user
- Cumulative time spent on courses and learning plans
- Active courses
- Most accessed courses
- Test/evaluation scores
- In-person classroom course sessions
- E-commerce transaction data
- Learning plan reports
- User activity reports
- Audit trail reports
- Gamification reports (such as badges and contests)
- Certification reports
- External training activity reports
Moreover, your LMS should offer metrics on informal learning activities. For instance, in emPower eLearning, you can monitor social learning activities through the Discover, Coach & Share module. Some examples are:
- Peer review activity reports
- Channel-specific activity reports
- Answer likes and dislikes
- Top 5 experts based on answer quality
- Quickest answers by experts
- Answers marked as the “best answer.”
- Ratings on user-generated content contributions
- Sharing activity
- Content views
LMS Deployment Options (LMS Implementation)
Open source: Typically, open-source learning management systems are free and web-based. Users can modify the source code to meet their requirements and maintain consistency in their learning platform’s appearance and content.
However, a significant disadvantage of open-source LMS is requiring the user to possess some programming skills to operate the system effectively. Also, extensive customization may result in higher costs.
Enterprise LMS, Also called commercial Learning Management Systems, are usually user-friendly and provide various support services and features. An enterprise LMS offers intuitive user interfaces and sometimes includes asset libraries to assist learning administrators in creating and rolling out learning materials swiftly.
This type of learning management system falls into two categories:
SaaS (Software as a Service): More contemporary, web-based platforms, like emPower, offer the primary purchased platform with free upgrades and the flexibility to fully scale their system to align with the present and future needs of the organization. The vendor provides support services and stores all data in the cloud.
Installed LMS: These learning management systems are locally hosted on the purchasing organization’s servers, facilitating customization of all LMS aspects. Unlike a SaaS LMS, where the vendor is responsible for service and support, the organization’s internal IT department must maintain and update the e-learning platform.
Industry-specific LMS: These are more specialized and developed for a particular industry to host any learning materials and assets the organization requires. Assets can include certifications, online games, and other industry-specific training activities.
LMS Specification Support Types
SCORM (1.2/2004): The SCORM standard enables e-learning authoring tools and content to interact with your learning management system. SCORM allows tools within the LMS to format e-learning content in a distributable way across the entire platform.
Tin Can/xAPI: xAPI (formerly Tin Can API) is an e-learning software specification that facilitates communication between learning content and learning systems, recording various learning experiences stored in a Learning Record Store (LRS). An LRS can exist within traditional e-learning platforms or independently. Empower supports the Tin Can Standard 1.0.
AICC: As the first-ever e-learning standard, the AICC helped make content CMI-5 compliant (Computer Managed Instruction), its successor, which aligns with xAPI. The AICC allows the LMS and e-learning content to communicate via HAC protocols.
LMS LTI: Introduced by the IMS Global Learning Consortium, Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) specializes in remotely hosted apps and web-based e-learning content.
The Recognized emPower eLearning Cloud LMS.
Empower Solutions’ Learning Management System (LMS) for Corporate Solutions is a powerful platform that helps organizations manage and deliver training programs. This LMS offers a comprehensive and efficient solution for corporate training needs with customized course creation, automated tracking, and reporting features.
Our unswerving support for our product stems from the belief that while everyone requires an LMS, emPower has reinvented the potential an LMS could possess with artificial intelligence. Users of emPower eLearning, including customers, partners, and employees, appreciate learning due to the platform’s comprehensive features, from enrolment to unique features and smooth usability. These attributes contribute to an engaging, automated, and manageable learning experience.
The Beginning is the LMS
There’s no superior method for content delivery than an LMS.
However, have you ever contemplated, “Having learning content readily available would save me a significant amount of time,” or “How can I demonstrate to my team that these learning courses align with our learning objectives?”
Indeed, you could rely on numerous reports, spreadsheets, and data points, OR you could opt for a suite. With the emPower eLearning Learning Suite, you can address any learning challenge—from content creation and management to program implementation to evaluating the impact of learning on your business.
It is as simple as it sounds.
Exploring our Ultimate Guide to Selecting the Right LMS-Part 1
