Definitely understand what an LMS system
In a period where technological advances do not stop, more and more companies are choosing to train their employees on online platforms instead of face-to-face classes, mainly due to cost and practicality. Currently, the LMS system is the most used style, as it gathers several functionalities and is accessible anywhere. But what is an LMS system, exactly?
When deploying any training and development program from a distance, it is very important to know how an LMS system works and to have an effective platform that meets the company’s needs. Based on this, we will help you understand what an LMS system is, what it is capable of doing and what are the advantages of using it. Come on?
What is an LMS system?
LMS is an acronym for Learning Management System, which means Learning Management System. In practice, LMS is software aimed at creating, organizing and managing online courses and training.
Both people looking for platforms to sell their courses and those looking for platforms that support training for their company find LMS a great solution. In the latter case, it is possible to create customized courses for the company’s needs and evaluate the performance of employees through real-time indicators.
This type of system completely changed the way of corporate education, as it facilitated the understanding of employees and the monitoring process by managers. Due to the increase in the performance and knowledge of employees, not only companies have implemented this type of service, but also primary and secondary education institutions, colleges, including independent professors who create their own courses.
As the LMS is based on digital technologies, it is common to offer several learning resources and learning management that are not found in face-to-face teaching. Furthermore, the use of management systems Online learning can reduce the time and cost required to train employees, which is good for the company and the team.
Features of an LMS system
Just as there are many types of LMS systems, there are different functionalities contained in them. Some are important to any business, while others meet more specific needs. It is important to know what features these are and analyze which ones are needed in your company, so that there is no waste with tools that will not be used. So, let’s go through some of the main tools of an LMS system.
Content hosting
In addition to allowing the creation of personalized courses, an EAD system allows the upload of various types of useful content for the learning of employees, such as videos, PowerPoint presentations, PDFs, audios, external links, including courses provided by the platform itself.
Forums
Since courses in an LMS system are distance learning, it is common for collaborators to miss the interaction between students and the presence of an advisor to help with parts of the content that are more complicated. For this reason, most LMS systems provide forums where questions can be asked, even with an online advisor.
In many courses, the contributor’s participation in the forum is mandatory for its conclusion, to prove that he really studied that content and, if he has no doubts, he can help his colleagues.
Gamification
Gamification’s main objective is to make training more dynamic and fun, catching employees’ attention and increasing their engagement. This is because, many times, students lose interest in distance training, or they still do not find the time and willingness to do them due to routine fatigue, or even forget about it.
Therefore, small elements such as leaderboards, healthy competitions and even prizes make the entire training process lighter, facilitating the learning process.
Performance indicators
An LMS system indicates in real time how much time a course is left to complete, how much time each student spent on each content and what grades were taken in each test, how many employees are taking a particular course, among other indicators.
With this information, monitoring the performance and effectiveness of the applied course becomes much easier. Thus, those responsible for training can solve problems in the direction of the course and solve doubts and difficulties of employees as soon as possible.
Tests
After applying a content, employees undergo knowledge tests to confirm that they understand the subject. These tests are used as performance indicators in a variety of ways, measuring student learning and course effectiveness. In addition, these tests certify managers that employees are actually carrying out the training, as there is no way to be sure when the course is distance learning.
In addition, the automation of comprehension assessments allows the user to have access to the questions that they got wrong and correct right after the assessment, and the instructor can monitor the performance of the class, identify the questions with the highest error rate, etc.
Issuing automatic certificates
Another interesting feature that the LMS offers is the quick issuance of certificates of completion. As soon as the user completes the learning path, the LMS system provides a personalize certificate with the name of the person, the course that was complete and the institution that promoted it.
Difference between face-to-face courses and LMS courses
Many of the resources available in an LMS are viable thanks to the integration between the manager and the student, mediate by the internet. In face-to-face education, these functionalities are not as practical and dynamic as in an LMS.
For example, the assessment of comprehension in face-to-face education is manually correct by the teacher, and he/she does not have a mechanism to measure the rate of success and error of the questions. Students have to wait at least a day to know if they are right or wrong, and when they receive the results, they are no longer willing to work on their mistakes as they should
“When students feel they have autonomy in their learning process, they feel more motivated to continue learning”
This was more or less the idea of Harvard University psychologist BF Skinner. In the 1950s, he created a device called a “teaching machine”. The idea of this machine was for the student to answer objective questions and instantly know if he was right or wrong. That way, the right answers would make the student more satisfied and motivated, and the wrong answers would allow him to study more and try again, until he got it right.
The learning logic in an LMS system is very similar to Skinner’s, mainly because in online comprehension assessments the student has more than one response attempt. As we mentioned, students get quick feedback so they can move on to the next activity.
In conclusion: the difference between an LMS course and a face-to-face course is that the LMS drives the execution of some functions that face-to-face courses cannot do, or do in a reduced way, facilitating the process of learning management and acquiring knowledge.
Why is the LMS a good idea for corporate environments?
The first of these is the integration with HR systems. The LMS allows a complete management of the professional profile of the collaborators, allowing to assign learning paths so that the professionals reach the desired competences.
In addition, the LMS is an alternative that reduces travel costs, infrastructure and hiring specialized personnel. Thus, if the user can access the courses anywhere that has internet, he can access them in his work environment. As the contents are pass through ready-made materials, the need for a tutor or teacher is minimal.
Another benefit of using an LMS system is mobility: in addition to not interrupting the work schedule of employees, teams from different parts of the world can be train simultaneously, which is very useful for companies with headquarters in several states or with many departments. Due to mobility and availability of schedules, courses carry out in LMS systems tend to be complete faster and show more effective results, as they respect the process and learning time of employees, who thus learn better and faster than in face-to-face classes.
LMS types
To help fully understand what an LMS system is, we need to understand some technical specifications that these systems may have. Mainly because more and more LMS systems appear on the market and, over time, variations of the original model appear, each with new features and configurations.
These changes can bring benefits or problems, depending on the way the company works and its needs. So far there are 6 types of LMS platform, namely:
Web LMS vs Installed LMS
Older LMS systems need to be install on computers before they can be use and are host on their own servers. This requires more time for installation and adaptation, in addition to bringing with it more costs with maintenance and configuration. This also reduces the mobility of employees to access content, as it is necessary to install the platform on each new device. Although the contracting party has full control of the system’s settings, it also takes care of the security of the platform and its updates.
A web LMS, on the other hand, has none of these difficulties. In addition to storing content off the computer, in the cloud, it is accessible anywhere with internet access, apart from cases where it is necessary to install it on devices such as cell phones or tablets. Unlike the installed LMS, updates and configurations for this type of system are automatic and pre-set, so the IT team can focus on other tasks