Many people in learning and development are quite familiar with learning management systems (LMSs). Maybe you use one now, or maybe you’ve used one for years.
On the other hand, there are plenty of people who aren’t familiar with an LMS, haven’t used one, or don’t know what an LMS is. Maybe you’re new to training. Maybe your role in training has never involved using an LMS. Or maybe your company still hasn’t adopted an LMS, and you’re still administering your training through an excruciating series of databases, network folders, SharePoint, Excel spreadsheets, and paper-based training records in manila envelopes stored in metal filing cabinets in various rooms though out the office. 🙁
If the paragraph above describes your situation, here’s a 100-level primer explaining what an LMS is. We’ve also included some additional links to other LMS-related articles. Hope this helps get you up to speed quickly.
What Is a Learning Management System?
A learning management system, or LMS, is a software tool that businesses use to manage their training programs. Schools and universities also use them to manage their education programs.
What Does an LMS Do?
Although every LMS is different, they generally allow you to:
- Import and/or create training content
- Assign training to employees
- Deliver training online to employees
- Schedule when employees must complete training (“due dates”)
- Track when employees complete that training
- Store records of completed training
- Run reports on training
They may also do a number of other things, depending on the LMS.
How Will My Employees Use an LMS?
The employee experience with an LMS is typically quick and easy, and requires no advanced computer skills from your employees.
Generally, they will:
- Open an Internet browser window
- Enter a URL to go to the proper website (many companies put a link on their company intranet page)
- Login with a unique username and password
- Immediately see a list of assigned training, including due dates (if applicable)
- Click a button to launch and complete training that can be completed online (if applicable)
- View details about training that must be completed in-the-field, in a classroom, or offsite
In addition, the LMS will provide other features, such as company news, optional elective-based courses, learner dashboards, automated email notifications for key training moments, and more.
Is an LMS Difficult to Administer?
While all LMSs are different, and some are more difficult to use than others, in general most are designed to be quick and easy to learn and most feature an intuitive interface.
That said, this is something worth checking out when you evaluate and demo various LMSs.
What Kind of Help and Support Do LMS Providers Offer LMS Customers?
Again, this varies from LMS provider to LMS provider. However, here are some reasonable expectations:
- Administrator training (how to use the LMS)
- Online knowledge base
- Newsletters for LMS customers with helpful tips
- Dedicated support team
If you’re evaluating LMSs, be sure to ask the LMS provider what they do to help you use their product.
Is an LMS Cloud-Based (or What)?
Some LMSs are web-based, meaning you can pull them up on the Internet, login in, and take or administer training there. This is also what people mean when they say it’s “in the cloud” or it’s “cloud-based.”
Other are Intranet web-based, so they reside wholly on a server that’s part of a company’s private network. In these cases, people access the LMS from work or remotely via VPN.
And some LMSs can be used either way—as a web-based solution or on a private network, depending on what you want.
Again, check with your LMS provider to see what they offer.
Are LMSs Only Good for Working with e-Learning/Computer-Based Training (CBT) Courses?
Some LMSs may only work with e-learning modules (also called CBTs), but most will work with a variety of training formats, including instructor-led training (ILT), OJT skill assessments, assessments such as quizzes, and more.
What’s the Best LMS?
There’s no way to answer that, primarily because the LMS that’s “best” for one company may not work as well for other companies. It depends on the training needs of each company.
Instead of asking “what’s the best LMS?”, you should determine what you’d like an LMS to do at your work place. Then you can find the LMS that best matches your needs.
One side-note to that, though: there may be things that an LMS can provide that you haven’t thought of on your own but that you’d come to value very much if you used them. Because of this, it’s best to get to know the features of the LMS and ask a representative why those features are useful. You might also want to consider using an LMS that companies like your own are already using successfully.
To help you determine what you might want an LMS to do today and what you might want one to do in the future, we’ve included an LMS buyer’s guide checklist at the bottom of the article that you can download for free. You may also find this Choosing an LMS article helpful.
Do LMSs Automatically Come with “Built-In” Training Materials?
Not typically, but LMS providers often also make training materials, and you can typically get training materials along with the courses if you want.
Check with LMS providers to see if they also offer training that can be delivered in the LMS. It can be helpful to get an LMS and training materials from the same provider, even if it’s not necessary.
If I Buy an LMS from One Training Provider, Can I Use Self-Created Training Materials and/or Training Materials Created by a Different Training Provider?
Yep, in most cases, that’s no problem.
What’s Unique about the LMSs by Convergence Training?
We’ve designed our LMSs to be particularly useful for manufacturing and industrial companies.
Our LMSs have special features built in that facilitate real training processes used in these industries. They’ve also be designed for companies of different sizes and, for different specific industries (for example, we have one for mine operators), and even specific needs (we have one for contractor and visitor orientations and another for OEMs).
The video below offers a quick, 2-minute overview of the Convergence Training Enterprise LMS, our “flagship” LMS and one of four we offer (scroll below to see the full list).
Tell Me More about the LMSs by Convergence Training
Convergence Training makes five LMSs (click any link to learn more):
- Enterprise—Our most powerful LMS. Can be used at one site or at many sites in a single organization.
- Express—A quick and easy LMS. Great for smaller companies looking for a turn-key solution.
- Contractor—Specially designed to deliver site-specific safety orientations to contractor employees or visitors before they arrive at the job site.
- Surface Miner—Aids in compliance with MSHA’s Part 46 training requirements (and other MSHA/mining-related training needs). Comes with mining safety e-learning courses that can be used for Part 46 or Part 48.
- Customer Campus—Perfect for OEM companies who sell products to customers and then want to provide training about those products to the customers. Also great for training providers who provide training to multiple client companies.
Plus, we’ve got Convergence Mobile software that can run on a mobile device (tablet) to extend the functionality of some of our LMSs into the field or even into remote locations with no Internet connection.
What Can You Tell Me About Return on Investment (ROI), Training, and Learning Management Systems (LMSs)?
Good question. Check out this post that discusses issues related to ROI, training, and LMSs.
What More Can I Read about LMSs?
You might also find these articles interesting:
- LMSs and New Employee Onboarding
- LMSs and Safety Training
- Choosing an LMS (Free LMS Buyer’s Guide–Includes the Checklist at Bottom of this Article, too)
- 6 Must-Have LMS Features
- Is an LMS Only Good for e-Learning? Nope.
- Do You Need An Authoring Tool to Use an LMS?
- Checklists and LMSs
- On-the-Job Training (OJT) and an LMS
When I Hear About LMSs, I Keep Hearing about SCORM. What’s SCORM?
SCORM is a set of technical standards for e-learning products. If an e-learning module is SCORM-compliant, and an LMS is also SCORM-compliant, you should be able to import the e-learning module into the LMS, assign it to your employees, and track if they have completed it or not (and, if the e-learning module included a quiz of some sort, track your employee’s score on that quiz and whether or not they “passed” the quiz).
You can learn more about SCORM here.
Hope that cleared the fog a bit. Need to know more? Drop us a line and we’ll help you out.
To get started on your LMS search, you may find the LMS Evaluation Checklist below helpful.
Learning Management System (LMS) Evaluation Checklist
Here’s a handy checklist to use as you evaluate different LMSs to find the right one for your company.