Are you looking for an e-learning solution? Confused about all the jargon surrounding learning management systems? Interested in ways a good learning management systems can improve your training initiative? Check out our presentation and give us a shout if you have any further questions. Would you like a copy of this presentation? Visit MicroAssist.com to download a PDF or give us a call at 512-794-8440. http://www.microassist.com/resource-center/e-learning-resources/learning-management-systems-101

1. What is a Learning
Management System?
What you need to know to begin
evaluating E-Learning solutions.

2. The Basics
A learning management system is
like the bones and brains of your
training.
body of training
It provides a structure for your
training modules to live in and
feeds you information about your
learners and lessons.

3. Basic LMS Features
• User authentication
• Course enrollment & tracking
• Security
• Content management
• Assessment

4. Advanced LMS Features
• Training resource management
• Instructional design tools
• Assignments
• Social learning tools
• Forum • Podcasts
• Wikis • Journals
• Chat • Surveys
• Blogs • Resources

5. Advanced features give you
the opportunity to tie in
• Mentoring
• Knowledge management
• Social platform
• Performance reviews
• Peer reviews
• Manager reviews
• Customer feedback

6. What should your
learning management
system do for you?

7. Ideal LMS Benefits
• Competency management
• Classifying competencies
• Defining levels of capability within the
competency
• Role management
• Defining roles & responsibilities
• Career paths
• Maturity model

8. Ideal LMS Benefits
Consider these benefits on
your roadmap as you progress
through your Organization
Maturity Model.

9. Other Considerations
• Languages
• Accessibility
• Ease of integration with existing systems
• Licensing

10. Will your training be
private- or public-
facing?

11. Considerations for Public Training
Open source LMS implementations are ideal
No license cost
• Per user
• Per course/class/module
• Per instance/site
More complex requirements
• Browser support
• Multiple languages
• Security
• Accessibility

12. Evaluating an Open Source Package
No licensing costs does not mean free!
Your currency will be the time
investment in configuration,
ongoing management of
patches and upgrades,
curriculum support, user
management, etc…

13. Evaluating an Open Source Package
• Match your requirements to the feature list
• Server technology
• Client technology
• Read the support forums
• How old is the last post?
• What issues are common?
• Take it for a test drive
• Check for a live demo
• Test install
• Who else is using it?

14. Private/Internal Training
Internal training generally
allows for greater flexibility
• Makes deployment of
advanced LMS features more
feasible
• Enables competency models

15. Let’s talk nuts and bolts.

16. Learning Management System
Training
Authentication Resource Assessment Reporting
Management
Content Management
Training Course
Collaboration
Methods Workflow Calendar
Registration
Blogs
Wikis Training Modules
Forums
Podcasts Internal Content
Etc.
Application Program Interface (API)
External Content

17. Roles & Users
How can an LMS identify learners?
• Manually (administrator-created)
• E-mail based self-registration
• External database
• IMAP server
• LDAP server
• Network-specific authentication
• POP3

18. Role Based Security
How can security be controlled based on the
needs of the users as a group?
• Via pre-created roles such as
• Administrator • Non-editing teacher
• Course creator • Student
• Teacher • Guest
• Custom roles

19. Course Enrollment & Tracking
How do users get enrolled in a course?
• Self-enrollment
• Controlled via course
• Manual
• External Database
• LDAP
• File upload

20. This is important!
The LMS does not produce training materials.
An LMS facilitates the authentication,
enrollment, and distribution of training
materials.
It’s the wrapping,
not the present.

21. LMS vs Content
SCORM
API
Learning Web-based
Management training module
System

22. What the heck is a SCORM?
SCORM is an XML-based framework
Sharable used by the LMS to define and access
Content information about learning objects.
Object
SCORM was developed by the United
Reference States Department of Defense to
Model promote standardization in E-Learning
and facilitate moving course content and
student records from one platform to
another.

23. Proprietary LMSs & SCORM
If you select a
proprietary LMS that is
not SCORM compliant,
it will be very difficult
to use off-the-shelf
training or training that
others have developed.

24. One More Word on Porting Training
Will you be developing your training in-house?
The tool used to develop the training modules
will also affect which learning management
systems the modules can work with.

25. Technology Considerations
• How will you keep everything backed up?
• What systems will the LMS
need to interface with?
• HR systems?
• CRM?
• What’s with your servers?
• Will you need additional storage?
• Additional hardware?
• More bandwidth?
• Who will maintain your system?

26. Engaging Your IT Department
Research your current situation and what you
may need to execute your learning initiative
• Web servers
• Server operating system
• Database server
• Available hardware
• Programming language (if applicable)
• Capacity: hardware, bandwidth

27. Making it Easy on Yourself
• Keep tech options open
• Mandatory: Limit interfaces
• Suggested: Align with current technology
• Strategies for new technology
• Look at outsourcing pilot/first phase hosting
• Negotiate with vendor for gap help

28. Take-Aways
1. Define your audience to elucidate your
requirements
2. Engage your IT department
• Create a technology guideline
• Stay flexible
3. Determine how proprietary the LMS is
4. Determine your minimum feature set

29. Awesome! You’re ready to begin
evaluating solutions!
For more information on
E-Learning, contact Heather
Poggi-Mannis at
heatherpm@microassist.com
or 512-794-8440