Learning Management Systems (LMS) are widely interspersed into the life of a modern person. You may not understand what it is, nor know how it functions, but be an active user of such system training. If you understand this point, you can change your view of learning and you can benefit from it.
What is an LMS?
As the name suggests, this system allows you to manage educational courses and programs. More specifically, it is designed for administration, documentation, tracking results, and reporting on the results of remote academic courses and programs. Participants of the program can be anywhere and receive knowledge at any time. Thanks to this approach, students can serve themselves, and employers get the opportunity to train and evaluate their employees on the job.
Where does the idea of an LMS come from?
The idea of creating an LMS appeared in 2010.
Since 2011, LMS technical support and development have been carried out by an outsourced developer and a business customer, and the management of the training block has acted. Since a remote outsourcing developer carried out all technical work, this created specific communication problems and did not match the pace of HSE development. Plus, the eFront system had many software errors (bugs) that had to be constantly corrected. In addition, a lot of new functionality was added, which was also not fully debugged. All this led to the fact that at the end of 2013, there were difficulties in the operation of the system: the students’ record books began to work incorrectly, productivity significantly decreased, which led to frequent ‘fails’ of the system, etc. Therefore, it was decided to create an own department of IT specialists at HSE, which would support and evolve the LMS system.
A brief history of Learning Management
To talk about the history of learning management systems it is necessary to remember that the concept of distance learning was first introduced in the 18th century when an American pupil arranged a parallel course in shorthand by posting material in a newspaper. Another hundred years later, this system was enhanced when feedback became achievable. Then the professor sent the idea and studies by mail to the student, and the student, having learned it, sent the finished task back.
The next stage in LMS development history was the option of audio and video recording. Then there were courses on video and audio cassettes. But the most potent breakthrough made it possible to progress in data technology.
After the invention of the computer, local networks of several related machines began to emerge – the ancestor of the Internet. Initially, they were used in colleges, allowing teachers to automate learning.
The last and most decisive stage in developing the distance learning system was the invention of the Internet. The global web made it more convenient for people to access data. In response to this, LMS platforms were created, allowing the possibility of teaching people remotely and independently from each other simultaneously.
Advantages of using a learning management system
Using an LMS for businesses has many clear benefits:
- reduce training costs;
- reduce training/adaptation time;
- maintain uniform standards of work among partners and affiliates;
- create individual learning plans;
- measure learning effectiveness.
If at least some of these benefits match your learning goals, then a learning management system is what you need.
How the modern LMS came to be
Employee education and training have long been facilitated with Modern Day LMS. This modern approach to learning has become the preferred approach for most organisations, given the capabilities of an LMS to make learning easier, more efficient, and more accessible.
Learning management systems have changed a lot from what they used to be, but like the rest of the world, the evolution of learning is continuous.
The most important changes in LMS are:
- Implement accessibility and flexibility.
- Better cooperation and communication.
- Improved personalisation.
- Improved interactivity.
- The impact of analytics and tracking.
Conclusion
LMS access allows the company to develop and maintain courses independently, without additional costs and obligations. It includes interactive elements designed for online learning, helps track attendance and simplifies student assessment.
Given the growth of highly developed programs and looking at the history of e-learning, LMS should be used to enable the process of obtaining new knowledge.
There are a vast number of learning management systems. Some are very simple, whereas others are pretty complex and often quite expensive.
Choosing the most suitable LMS can be a daunting task, as many factors must be considered in the process: the cost of implementing and maintaining the platform, the availability of the required functions, the availability of technical support, and the organisation of teacher training on working with the platform.
