What are Learning Management Systems?
Learning Management Systems (LMS’s) are, typically Software as a Service (SaaS) platforms that allow businesses, teachers and institutions to create interactive courses for individual or groups of students or learners. With an LMS, instead of creating a standalone PowerPoint, users can put a range of materials together and then use the programme to turn them into a course that can be reused for groups of learners, and even be white-labelled and sold as a pay-per-user course.
Modern-day LMS’s make their course mobile-compatible, employ blended learning (a mixture of pre-made and live tuition) and can be asynchronous so that students can learn at their own pace. This type of course is popular within businesses where employees need to fulfil certain training obligations as part of their onboarding, or within educational institutions where learning can be supplemented or facilitated from pre-prepared material -Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) are a type of LMS.
LMS’s are usually priced based on number of users, course content or access to specific features.
Who are the main providers?
The LMS market is vast, with several SaaS companies offering advanced course creation and integration services.
Providers either operate as downloadable software or, more commonly, as cloud-based providers with mobile functionality. While some, such as Academy of Mine, are aimed more at corporate courses or monetisation, Braincert, for example, is more of an academic provider focusing on educational institutions. Some companies, such as Talent LMS, allow you to pick from pre-created course templates, and others either offer from-scratch content creation or even a content service n house.
Here on LMSfinder.com, we give you all the information about these companies, so you can make informed comparisons and choose the company, and the pricing tier, that makes the most sense to your circumstances.
What do LMS’s cost?
Some LMS’s are available to use for free, although learner numbers, course functionality, storage, and even course length can be limited. Others, like iSpring, charge on a per user basis, or on a per-feature basis (Braincert). Depending on the options that a company or institution wants, the monthly cost can go up to around $800.