Learning Management System: Learn About LMS Systems Here

Features of course depends on the system you are looking for in the context of the challenges and learning goals you have. There's a difference, for example, between being a growing company with 100 employees and being a larger organization - or maybe even a network of organizations in an extended enterprise.  Let's dive into the features of LMS systems. 

Creating learning content

Learning content is usually created in a form of content builder, where you can use different formats such as text, video, sound, or in some cases more interactive and gamified formats to build your learning modules or learning paths.

Combining these formats makes learning more engaging for the learner and boosts completion rates and individual results. For this feature, you may want to look for authoring tools in the learning software you're considering. An authoring tool can make it easier for you to develop learning content.

If you're looking for specific learning content for your employee training, most Learning Platforms offer the option for uploading content as SCORM files other vendors sell. Some of the best learning management systems also offer prebuilt content, such as IT security, conflict management, or sales training.

Read also: How to get better and cheaper sales training in a digital universe

AI & Auto-translation

Creating learning content is a crucial feature of any Learning Management System. However, creating quality content can be time-consuming and challenging.  Although a fairly new function, a few modern LMS and learning platforms might already be able to offer you AI-assisted content creation.

AI tools that are specialized in creating content for learning and employee training let you produce new learning content in a fraction of the time compared to before. 

One example is Learningbank's AI Learning Helper. It supports you in sparking creativity, generating ideas, brainstorming for interactive learning, and providing text and information in the format you please, may that be quizzes or a drag-and-drop function or whatever you need.

Another great feature to look for if you have a multilingual team is automatic translations. This is a huge cost and time saver as well. To read more about how an auto-translation tool in our learning platform works, read more here.

User management

User Management or Learner Management is a very important feature. In some LMSs, you can automize actions based on learner profiles, and you can scale learning content to larger parts of the organizations based on departments, responsibilities, and job roles.

Furthermore, you can often tailor specific learning paths for, for example, onboarding of new employees or department specific paths for special system training. Moreover, you can create development plans for the learners individually and follow and boost their process.

Notifications

A notification center where you can send direct messages to learners about new learning paths to complete or general messages is a key feature. Notifications can be sent in different formats such as mail or SMS and can go to multiple devices such as laptop, smartphone, and tablet.

Analytics & Reporting

A huge part of your learning and development should be following up on how your learning was received and who completed what in certain periods. An analytics and reporting tool is essential in many LMS platforms, where you can track specific learning paths and learners’ development.

Here, you can see where you should update content to another difficulty level or boost in other ways to improve content and engage learners.

Display of Awards and Certifications

It gives a certain boost to learners if they receive medals, awards, or certifications when completing learning paths. A common feature in LMS software is a display on user dashboards with their streaks, medals, and the like, and comparisons with team members, job profile, etc.

Integrations to Other Systems, Software, and Apps

Platforms for learning management are not the only platforms that HR spends time on during their workday (digital hr is only getting broader). Most often there is a need to integrate the LMS system to other systems like your intranet, work schedule planners, and more. This feature is key to get the best out of your LMS.

LMS:

You might already have read the definition of the LMS at the beginning of this page, but to have it clear in mind here it is, once again: It is a system or software where you can administrate, document, track, report, and deliver educational courses, training programs, or learning and development programs. Even so, a lot of vendors stick to the this label even though it can do more than a traditional LMS.

Read more about finding the best LMS here. Are you looking for the best LMS for your employees in a large organization? We've made a guide to find best LMS for corporate training here.

LXP:

A Learning Experience Platform (LXP) gives a personal, more tailored online learning experience for the users. The social factor is key at LXPs where users have the ability to create their own content and choose for themselves what learning content to consume. Whereas LMSs have an administrator-advantage, an LXP has the learner-advantage. Furthermore, an LXP is often open source where LMSs are more likely to be closed systems.

LLP:

A Learning Lifecycle Platform (LLP) provides learning content for the entire employee journey. At the same time, an LLP takes some of the best features from both the traditional LMS and LXP. The world's first Learning Lifecycle Platform was created by Learningbank.

Click on the the picture below and let us help you build a great business case for your learning. 

What's the price?

Next up is to look deeper into the different price models for learning platforms. Price models which often are the same for LXPs and LLPs.

Open-Source

An open-source LMS is free to access but can have hidden costs when you need to customize and set up everything from scratch.

Pay-Per-Use

You get charged every time you or someone in your organization use a pay-per-use model. Simple as that. This definition, however, can vary. An example of use could be when a user takes a specific course. Pay-per-use is often subscription-based, and you will need to pay a monthly or annual fee.

Pay-Per-User

Pay-per-user is when you pay for each user who spends time on the platform. The pricing models, however, vary from when we speak registered users versus active users in a specific system. Most pay-per-user-models also have a monthly or annual subscription fee as part of the pricing model. Learningbank's Learning Lifecycle Platform is an example, where pricing starts at €399 monthly including 100 active users.

One-off Model

The title might say it. This model is something you pay for one time only - or maybe one time a year. These models often have a lot of fixed features, which both can be a pro and a con.