What is an LMS? A Guide to Learning Management Systems

If you are new to online learning, you might be asking yourself, “What is an LMS?” LMS is an acronym for Learning Management System.

What? You’re still not sure what a Learning Management System is?

No problem, let me explain.

A learning management system or LMS is a software platform that allows organizations to host and track learning content such as online courses and webinars. If you have ever taken an online class before, you most likely have used an LMS and didn’t even know it. Learning management software has been around since 1990 and is used by businesses as well as educational institutions. These days, if you want to give anyone online training or learning content, you will be using learning management software to deliver it.

Very small organizations might prefer to email learning content to their staff or store it on a shared drive that everyone has access to. And for some organizations, this will probably work for a little while. But eventually, most businesses get to the point where they need to start tracking who has taken what training and who needs a specific training assigned to them. That is where LMS software comes in.

Learning management systems specialize in not only hosting elearning but also automating the processes of assigning it to users and then tracking and reporting on their progress. Many modern learning management platforms also offer features such as badging and certifications. That way, when a learner completes a task, they earn a badge. It is a way to incentivize learners and make the process more fun and engaging. Features such as badging are sometimes called gamification. Most modern learning management systems will have some form of gamification and it exists just to make learning more engaging.

As mentioned earlier, elearning lessons are hosted on LMS systems. These lessons may be made with content authoring software and then imported into the LMS. Some learning management systems allow you to create lessons in the platform itself and this makes content creation and hosting the content much more convenient for the administrator.

Another very important aspect of what learning management software does is the tracking and reporting of learning. Many organizations will need to provide proof that learners took the courses they said they’ve taken. This means that the LMS needs to provide administrators reports that show who has and has not taken their required training. Some LMS platforms will let users customize the reports they expect the system to generate for them. This is an important feature because many organizations have needed specific to them and not all standard reports may satisfy their requirements.

As you can see LMS software is pretty important when it comes to organizations training their staff. As the need for better training and reporting increases, learning management systems will continue to evolve. But one thing is for certain, online learning and learning management software isn’t going anywhere.