Top 10 Learning Management System Features You Should Consider
A Learning Management System or LMS is software used to track, report, and deliver training programs to learners. Companies use LMS to train their staff to help reduce administrative work and the costs of manual training.
When it comes to choosing a learning management system (LMS), there are a lot of different features to consider. Some LMSs offer more features than others, so it's important to know which ones are important to you.
This guide will also take you through Oreed’s learning management system features and how it works in a complete virtual event management ecosystem.
Here are the top 10 learning management system features that companies look for in an LMS:
#1 Scalability of an LMS for SMBs and Enterprise
If you are a small-to-medium business, your needs for acquiring an LMS differ from an enterprise LMS.
An SMB usually requires less than 500 users on its LMS. While both types need to be user-friendly, an LMS designed for an enterprise can usually handle more load and is designed to take more pressure.
LMS for enterprise use can deliver multiple tasks, such as inside-office training, client onboarding, and authored courses for B2Bs.
#2 Local installation and cloud based configuration
Some companies need to follow certain office regulations and have the LMS locally installed on devices or local networks. If you do not have a defined need to stay local, it is recommended to choose software that is available on the cloud.
Cloud-based configuration increases the accessibility and speed of operations. As remote work evolves, cloud-based LMS has become the choice of most of the clients.
#3 Open source or licensed LMS
An open-source LMS may prove to be a great beta option for any organization that’s new to deploying an LMS for training purposes; however, an open source software implies that the company has to use its own financial and professional resources to update, debug, install, and manage the LMS.
On the other hand, a paid licensed LMS may prove to be a great choice for those who want to keep things streamlined from the start. Professional LMS comes with a price tag and usually comes with several options to choose from, for a perfect fit for your organization.
#4 Integration with other software
An ideal LMS is built with integration options with several other software such as calendars, notes, MS office etc. It is important to consider the company’s specific needs to integrate with other software.
Integration options provide flexibility across different parts of the learning process and makes learners comfortable with familiar software names. However, while choosing an LMS, one needs to not book unnecessary integration options that are not likely to be used later on.
#5 Course creation within an LMS
An LMS that’s created for corporate needs is likely to have options to author courses for trainees within the LMS. So, a course author can combine presentations, pull out images, upload video content and much more, using the LMS course authoring tool.
A course creation tool may also include a feedback or submission folder option to receive active participation from the learners. It is important to define the needs of the course and align with learning objectives to design a course everyone will value.
#6 Course management
Course management tools make up the center of an LMS. If an LMS lacks in functionality related to course management, it probably has lost the mark.
Course management tools are: editing course content, adding and removing trainees, forming groups of trainees, breakout rooms, sending bulk or individual messages and updates, integration with calendars, discussion boards, drag-and-drop features, support for multiple file extensions and types including text and media.
#7 SCORM & xAPI compliance
SCORM and xAPI are widely used content standardizing tools. A company needs an LMS that has the ability to upload SCORM and xAPIcourse files in an instant.
#8 Learning portals
A great LMS will help you organize content and learners in mini-portals that fit the needs of new audiences and trainees.
A main portal is visible and common to everyone, while a mini-portal addresses the required content to selective trainees only. This is actually a scalability feature and if you plan to include new trainees as you go along, you may want to consider this as an important feature of an LMS.
#9 Branding
An LMS is the point of contact between your business and the learners. Businesses are encouraged to keep a simple yet thoughtful strategy behind branding the LMS.
Different LMSs may offer different types of customization options and you might find the open source software to be more customizable; however, the stakeholders have to decide the needs and specifications of customization.
#10 Automation within an LMS
LMS automation options allow repetitive admin tasks to be removed, thus allowing you to spend less time micromanaging tasks and responses. If your company can integrate the LMS with the HR department, you can automatically add or remove learners on the LMS.
Learners value reminders and emails or messages about their course progress. So, automation is a great way to keep your learners engaged.
Set SMART strategic goals behind LMS features
SMART is the acronym for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Timely.
SMART goals can be applied to any training, webinar, workshop etc. that you plan to offer to your participants. Here is a checklist of things to consider when choosing an LMS that fits with your goals:
Specific goals: A Learning Management System that provides integration with your specific targets, such as, how many participants do you want to enroll and does the LMS have the capacity to enroll more if you want to?
Measurable goals: Does the LMS provide you with a metrics integration so you can measure the success of a class, webinar, training, or program in numbers and ratios?
Achievable goals: Does the LMS offer you features that help you identify whether your goals are achievable or not? These features can be scheduling, mailing, and messaging that facilitate your interaction with your audience, so you can constantly check the achievability criteria.
Realistic goals: How to choose an LMS? A good LMS will help you set realistic goals using analytics tools.
Timely goals: Almost every LMS comes with a calendar to assist you with determining the timeline of an event or a program. Timely goals are important because they can efficiently reduce the training cost and make the training bite-sized for the attendees.
Understand your learners to best design course design features in an LMS
Before you decide how to choose an LMS, consider what good businesses do: They ask simple text-based questions and some quick check-box-type questions in the registration questionnaire, such as:
- What is your current profession?
- What expectations do you have from this program?
- How do you plan to apply what you expect to learn from the program?
- How do you think you can make a change around you with the program?
- What motivated you to apply?
- Have you taken any of the programs before with us or any other organization?
Less is more: An easy-to-use LMS is more likely to be used
The difficulty of using an LMS due to too many enabled features can be overwhelming and may be the first cause of an absence in the live sessions and community boards.
The registration process can be a place to figure out whether your attendees are comfortable using an LMS and assess their needs.
Create a community of learners because that’s what a good LMS does
Companies that work on the ground to create small communities or offer hybrid learning experiences are trying to fill the same gap of human contact. Still, many organizations are able to generate close-knit communities while staying completely virtual. How do they do that?
Once you have a group of like-minded people on your LMS for training, you can move on to details within the program that will generate a community, such as:
- Geospatial markings and personal locations
- Sharing feedback with others
- Creating an engaging thought board
- Offering mentorships
- Community-like feel
After you have evaluated an LMS based on its features, choosing an LMS can become an easy process. You can now survey the vendors, do a cost analysis of the LMS, check the scalability of the LMS at every stage, and do a beta run before you get to purchase it.
With Oreed, you get a complete virtual event management solution that integrates with a fully featured LMS for the training needs of your company.
Oreed is a virtual event management solution offering services in KSA, MENA, US, UK, and Canada. Its CRM streamlines the entire process of a virtual event starting from planning till execution and streaming of the event. Oreed offers a Learning Management Solution to integrate with the needs of a virtual or hybrid event.