A learning management system (LMS) is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting, automation and delivery of educational courses, training programs, or learning and development programs. The learning management system concept emerged directly from e-Learning.
Although the first LMS appeared in the higher education sector, the
majority of the LMSs today focus on the corporate market. Learning
Management Systems make up the largest segment of the learning system
market. The first introduction of the LMS was in the late 1990s.
Learning management systems were designed to identify training and learning gaps, utilizing analytical data and reporting. LMSs are focused on online learning delivery but support a range of uses, acting as a platform for online content, including courses, both asynchronous based and synchronous based. An LMS may offer classroom management for instructor-led training or a flipped classroom, used in higher education, but not in the corporate space. Modern LMSs include intelligent algorithms to make automated recommendations for courses based on a user's skill profile as well as extract meta-data from learning materials in order to make such recommendations even more accurate.
Learning management systems were designed to identify training and learning gaps, utilizing analytical data and reporting. LMSs are focused on online learning delivery but support a range of uses, acting as a platform for online content, including courses, both asynchronous based and synchronous based. An LMS may offer classroom management for instructor-led training or a flipped classroom, used in higher education, but not in the corporate space. Modern LMSs include intelligent algorithms to make automated recommendations for courses based on a user's skill profile as well as extract meta-data from learning materials in order to make such recommendations even more accurate.
Characteristics
Purpose
An
LMS delivers and manages all types of content, including video,
courses, and documents. In the education and higher education markets,
an LMS will include a variety of functionality that is similar to
corporate but will have features such as rubrics, teacher and instructor
facilitated learning, a discussion board, and often the use of a
syllabus. A syllabus is rarely a feature in the corporate LMS, although
courses may start with heading-level index to give learners an overview
of topics covered.
History
There are several historical phases of distance education that preceded the development of the LMS:
Correspondence teaching
The first known document of correspondence teaching dates back to 1723, through the advertisement in the Boston Gazette of Caleb Phillips, professor of shorthand, offering teaching materials and tutorials.[3] The first testimony of a bi-directional communication organized correspondence course comes from England, in 1840, when Isaac Pitman
initiated a shorthand course, wherein he sent a passage of the Bible to
students, who would send it back in full transcription. The success of
the course resulted in the foundation of the phonographic correspondence
society in 1843. The pioneering milestone in distance language teaching
was in 1856 by Charles Toussaint and Gustav Langenscheidt,
who began the first European institution of distance learning. This is
the first known instance of the use of materials for independent
language study. Correspondence institutions in the United States and across Europe
were encouraged and fostered by the development in 1680 of the penny
post service, which allowed the delivery of letters and parcels for a
penny.
Multimedia teaching: The emergence and development of the distance learning idea
The concept of eLearning
began developing in the early 20th century, marked by the appearance of
audio-video communication systems used for remote teaching. In 1909, E.M. Forster
published his story 'The Machine Stops' and explained the benefits of
using audio communication to deliver lectures to remote audiences.
In 1920, Sidney L. Pressey
developed the first teaching machine which offered multiple types of
practical exercises and question formats. Nine years later, University of Alberta's Professor M.E. Zerte transformed this machine into a problem cylinder able to compare problems and solutions.
This, in a sense was "multimedia", because it made use of several
media to reach students and provide instruction. Later printed
materials would be joined by telephone, radio and TV broadcasts, audio
and videotapes.
The earliest networked learning system was the Plato Learning Management system (PLM) developed in the 1970s by Control Data Corporation.
Telematic Teaching
In
the 1980s the modern telecommunications start to be used in education,
with computers more present in the daily use of higher education
institutions. Computer aided teaching aims to integrate technical and
educational means and instruments to student learning. The trend then
shifted to video communication, as a result of which Houston University
decided to hold telecast classes to their students for approximately
13–15 hours a week. The classes took place in 1953, while in 1956, Robin
McKinnon Wood and Gordon Pask released the very first adaptive teaching
system for corporate environments SAKI. The idea of automating teaching operations also inspired the University of Illinois experts to develop their Programmed Logic for Automated Teaching Operations (PLATO) which enabled users to exchange content regardless of their location.
In the period between 1970 and 1980, educational venues were rapidly
considering the idea of computerizing courses, including the Western
Behavioral Sciences Institute from California that introduced the first
accredited online-taught degree.
Teaching through the internet: The appearance of the first LMS
The history of the application of computers to education is filled with broadly descriptive terms such as computer-managed instruction (CMI), and integrated learning systems (ILS), computer-based instruction (CBI), computer-assisted instruction (CAI), and computer-assisted learning
(CAL). These terms describe drill-and-practice programs, more
sophisticated tutorials, and more individualized instruction,
respectively. The term is currently used to describe a number of different educational computer applications. FirstClass by SoftArc, used by the United Kingdom's Open University in the 1990s and 2000s to deliver online learning across Europe, was one of the earliest internet-based LMSs.
The first fully-featured Learning Management System (LMS) was called EKKO, developed and released by Norway's NKI Distance Education Network in 1991.[15] Three years later, New Brunswick's NB Learning Network presented a similar system designed for DOS-based teaching, and devoted exclusively to business learners.
Technical aspects
Most
modern LMSs are web-based. There are a variety of integration
strategies for embedding content into LMSs, including AICC, xAPI (also
called 'Tin Can'), SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model) and LTI (Learning Tools Interoperability).
LMSs were originally designed to be locally hosted on-premise, where
the organization purchases a license to a version of the software, and
installs it on their own servers and network. Many LMSs are now offered
as SaaS (software as a service), with hosting provided by the vendors.
Through LMS, teachers may create and integrate course materials,
articulate learning goals, align content and assessments, track studying
progress, and create customized test for students. LMS allows the
communication of learning objectives, and organize learning timelines.
LMS leverage is that it delivers learning content and tools straight to
learners, and it can also reach marginalized groups through special
settings. Such systems have built-in customizable features including
assessment and tracking. Thus, learners can see in real time their
progress and instructors can monitor and communicate the effectiveness
of learning.
One of the most important features of LMS is trying to create a
streamline communication between learners and instructors. Such systems,
besides facilitating online learning, tracking learning progress,
providing digital learning tools, manage communication, and maybe
selling content, may be used to provide different communication
features.
Features
Managing courses, users and roles
The
LMS may be used to create professional structured course content. The
teacher can add, text, images, tables, links and text formatting,
interactive tests, slideshows etc. Moreover, you can create different
types of users, such as teachers, students, parents, visitors and
editors (hierarchies). It helps control which content a student can
access, track studying progress and engage student with contact tools.
Teachers can manage courses and modules, enroll students or set up
self-enrollment, see reports on students and import students to their
online classes.
With much of the integration of new resources being controlled by
technical guidelines outlined by SCORM (Sharable Content Object
Reference Model), the process of integrating new features within
multiple LMSs has become more efficient.
Online assessment and tracking students' attendance
LMS
can enable teachers to create customized tests for students, accessible
and submitted online. Platforms allow different multiple question types
such as: one/multi-line answer; multiple choice answer; drag-and-drop
order; essay; true or false/yes or no; fill in the gaps; agreement scale
and offline tasks. Some LMSs also allow for attendance management and
integration with classroom training wherein administrators can view
attendance and records of whether a learner attended, arrived late, or
missed classes and events.
User feedback
Students'
exchange of feedback both with teachers and their peers is possible
through LMS. Teachers may create discussion groups to allow students
feedback and increase the interaction in course. Students' feedback is
an instrument which help teachers to improve their work, identify what
to add or remove from their courses, where students feel more
comfortable, what makes them be more included.
Learning management industry
In the U.S. higher education market as of fall 2018, the top three LMSs by number of institutions were Blackboard (31%), Canvas (30%), and Moodle (18%).
The same three systems led in terms of number of students enrolled, but
Canvas slightly surpassed Blackboard. Worldwide, the picture is
different, with Moodle having over 50% of market share in Europe, Latin America, and Oceania.
Many users of LMSs use an authoring tool
to create content, which is then hosted on an LMS. In some cases, LMSs
that do utilise a standard include a primitive authoring tool for basic
content manipulation. More modern systems, in particular SAAS solutions
have decided not to adopt a standard and have rich course authoring
tools. There are several standards for creating and integrating complex
content into an LMS, including AICC, SCORM, xAPI
and Learning Tools Interoperability. However, utilising SCORM or an
alternative standardised course protocol is not always required and can
be restrictive when used unnecessarily.
Evaluation of LMSs is a complex task and significant research
supports different forms of evaluation, including iterative processes
where students' experiences and approaches to learning are evaluated.
Advantages and disadvantages
Advantages
There
are six major advantages of LMS: interoperability, accessibility,
reusability, durability, maintenance ability and adaptability, which in
themselves constitute the concept of LMS.
Other advantages include:
- An LMS supports content in various formats: text, video, audio, etc.
- One can access materials anytime, from everywhere, teachers can modify the content, and students can see the updated material.
- The evaluation of students is easier and fair, based on student attendance and online quizzes.
- Students and teachers can re-use the material every time they need.
- Students can learn collaboratively by setting up a School website with the LMS software and helps "Keeps organizations up-to-date with compliance regulations. If your organization must stay up-to-date with current compliance regulations, then a Learning Management System can be an invaluable tool. Compliance laws change on a regular basis, and updating a traditional course to reflect these changes can be a time-consuming chore.
Disadvantages
- Implementing LMS requires a well-built technology infrastructure. Teachers have to be willing to adapt their curricula from face to face lectures to online lectures.
- LMS can often come across as impersonal and lacking in the dialogue opportunities provided by in-person training.
- Having a learning module presented in only one style can make it difficult to accommodate different learning styles.
