The notions of continued education and permanent education are gaining momentum, not only in academia but also in the work market. As developed countries move more and more from production and product-based economies to service-based economies, the need for constantly improving your knowledge and that of your employees seems to be crucial for survival in the market. As the days of ‘intuition’ in the marketplace are gone, companies have to understand the accumulative effect of micro-optimization steps and keep turning to continue education to ensure all their employees are on the same page.
Photo by Emmanuel Ikwuegbu on Unsplash
What is LMS?
LMS, or a Learning Management System, is an (online) platform that is used to store, retrieve and present learning materials. It is also used to monitor each participant’s progress, score, and educational journey. LMS can save hundreds of hours of man work and enables everyone to learn at their own pace, revise and take tests.
If you are considering using LMS, you should know that you would still need to come up with the materials on your own. Luckily, you can buy papers and have them redone to better suit the needs of your training course. Many LMS platforms allow documents and different files to be uploaded, which is particularly useful with reading tasks, and additional reading materials.
Where is LMS Used?
As such, LMS is a service that can save a lot of money and speed up the training process, especially in larger companies. LMS is not only used in the corporate world. Engoo and TutorAVC, some of the world giants in online education, use LMS solutions to deliver a classroom-like experience to their English language students.
What Problem Does LMS solve?
Considering just how complex that type of setting is, LMS solves significant problems. Besides allowing trainees and trainers to use a whiteboard and preload materials, LMS can also speed up and automate a large portion of the evaluation and progress tracking. Combining LMS with Is Accurate translation services will also allow you to reach out to people with different language backgrounds. This way, all your employees can be covered, and you can save money and time by, basically, investing in a solution like this.
How to Use LMS?
LMS platforms are very easy to use. A part of the explanation as to why is that there are simply a lot of them on the market and that the competition is fierce. Your basic needs to use an LMS are:
- Having a good outline of the course, you would like to serve to your students,
- Having a good idea of where you want your trainees to be at the end of the course,
- Getting detailed materials and uploading them to the platform,
- Conducting training (you can combine materials and live training),
- Tracking the progress of each trainee or a group of them.
Pros and Cons of LMS
So, LMS solutions are super-useful and easy to use. Besides this, they offer a number of benefits and allow you to take a step-back and gain a better overview of your employees. Let’s say you notice someone is very good at writing. Maybe they took up writing as a hobby but work in the marketing department. You could, theoretically, give them tasks that are suited to both their LMS progress and their personal preferences. By relying on their talents and aptitudes, you ensure a higher return on every dollar you invest in training.
On the other hand, many people find it difficult to attend LMS training sessions. They may not have enough time during the day, or they may just need additional support, comments or time. If this is the case, setting up a small forum-type of section should resolve some of these issues. Setting up prizes and incentives will also go a long way.
Top 10 LMS for Small Businesses in 2023
Having said all this, it is time to check out some of the best LMS services that the market has to offer. All of these are available online and are very likely to make your job much easier. Here are the top 10 LMS solutions:
- Absorb LMS,
- Thinkific,
- ProProfs LMS.
- Mindflash,
- LearnWorlds,
- TalentLMS,
- SkyPrep,
- Docebo,
- Edmodo, and
- Canvas
Absorb LMS
Absorb LMS is cloud-based and focuses on learner and trainer experience. This platform uses an Intelligent assistant, transcribes your lessons automatically, and offers a number of collaborative tools. Unfortunately, it has no scheduler onboard, so every report has to be sent manually.
Thinkific
A much more affordable option than Absorb LMS, Thinkific is better tailored to the needs of small to medium-sized companies. It is easy to use and enables course monetization, which is a great option for companies thriving to build an ecosystem. It also offers live training.
ProProfs LMS
ProProfs LMS is a lightweight LMS platform that streamlines the user experience. It comes with hundreds of ready-to-use courses, and it even allows branding. The courses offered mostly pertain to HR practices, sexual harassment, etc., so they can be useful for additional training.
Mindflash
Mindflash is another LMS service. It starts off at around $300 per month, so you should be OK with the pricing even if you own a small company. Indflash allows the use of a virtual classroom, compliance training, and more. It is a versatile solution that can be used in any industry.
LearnWorlds
LearnWorlds is another training portal. It is based in the cloud, and it enables you to come up with your own courses. It is easy to customize and even enables ZOOM video conferencing straight from the app.
TalentLMS
TalentLMS allows flexible management of training in almost every niche there is. The platform allows content creation, branding, and placing on the marketplace. The content offered is varied, and you can even purchase courses that your employees can take.
SkyPrep
SkyPrep takes a different approach to learning. It offers content creation that is streamlined, easy-to-use, and can be finished in a few clicks. The trainees, on the other hand, get a game-like experience, perfect for a fun learning experience.
Docebo
Docebo offers a very easy-to-use interface that also looks very good. It enables opting for multiple courses at the same time, filtering based on your needs, gamification, localization, and much more. There are some negative comments about customer service, but nothing radical.
Edmodo
Edmodo is an all-in-one solution that focuses on the student experience. As students or trainees pass each test, they earn badges. The platform also has a forum-like page where trainees can engage in more meaningful conversations.
Canvas
Canvas offers a collaborative space for online learning. The trainees and trainers can both upload video messages and share the content with one another. It offers integration to Facebook and Google and has integrated Google Docs abilities.
Final Considerations
LMS solutions are very numerous online. However, knowing which solutions to use and which functionality they offer is crucial, as it will give you an opportunity to seek what solution works for you. All LMS software outlined above offers 14-30 days of free trials.
Mark Wooten
Mark Wooten loves literature and teaching. He can often be found buried in books, reliving some of his favorite novels of classic American literature. Mark would love to teach at a renowned University one day and hopes to up his degree up to a Ph.D.
