The pandemic from COVID-19 has made Learning Management System platforms, also known by the acronym LMS, almost indispensable for any individual’s training. Using a web platform on one’s PC or mobile device is indeed the fastest and most effective way to organize any type of training course while ensuring maximum social distancing.
Because of the coronavirus, these platforms have exploded (this market is expected to grow to be worth more than 14 billion euros in 2021), and in this there is an important silver lining: the possibility of advanced training even from one’s own home or any other place of one’s preference where there is an Internet connection. These platforms could revolutionize the world of training forever.
But the choice of LMS platform is the most fundamental priority for the success of any training project. There are those who are frantically looking for free and open source services, and those who prefer to invest for quality. But what is it and how does this type of platform work?
What is the right compromise for organizing training courses on general and in-depth topics? By telling you everything you need to know about Learning Content Management Systems and offering the best LMS platforms currently available, we will try to best answer these important questions.
What is a Learning Management System
A Learning Management System (LMS, the translation is learning management system) is an application platform or set of programs that was created to give anyone the ability to manage and deliver training content.
A Learning Management System provides the platform with all the functionality to deliver training content and manage courses, however, it also requires a great deal of effort on the part of the user or company to place content within the platform and manage enrolled users. That is why having a system complete with all the important features that is at the same time simple and intuitive to manage is something very beneficial.
LMSs are used worldwide in many industries and by many types of organizations. The main users of Learning Management System platforms are users, administrators, large companies, small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and freelancers.
Users are those to whom the training is targeted, administrators are in charge of managing the platform, companies are those who deliver the training courses, and freelancers are self-employed people who use these platforms to easily work with multiple clients.
The platforms we will offer in the selection below are suitable for all of these individuals. Although it is the commonplace that immediately comes to mind for most, a Learning Management System is not only for training people completely outside a company, but can also be useful for training employees, customers, and partners.
Are there free Learning Management Systems?
Excluding the famous Google Classroom which is free for schools and included in the G Suite for Education membership, there are many free Learning Management System platforms that can be found around the web.
We do not believe that a company can rely on free tools alone to organize training for customers, trainees, or employees because of the limited functions and efforts required to offer a complete platform, however, it is worth knowing about their existence because they can be of great help in organizing non-complex courses or individual training events.
There are many functions offered by LMS systems, including data-driven statistics, tools for testing and goal establishment, mobile applications, many optimization options, and a complete system for content and user management. LMS systems can be cloud-based (no installation required) and open-source (cheaper but requiring installation on your own computer). But let’s find out together which are the best free and paid LMSs.
Top 5 LMS platforms
Docebo
One of the most popular platforms in the world, used by giants such as Sharp and Bloomberg, which presents virtually all useful training features in an interface that is always easy for everyone to understand. To incite users to train, this platform offers a “gamification” system consisting of rewards, leaderboards and many other features to motivate learning. It integrates many third-party tools and APIs, also offering support for conferences, certifications, and e-commerce.
Moodle (free and open source)
Since we do not consider free platforms to be at the level of paid ones, Moodle is the only free and open source alternative we will offer. It is a Learning Management System platform with detailed guides on how to manage any aspect of the system and offers the support of an extremely large community.
Talent LMS
Talent LMS is a cloud-based solution that is incredibly attractive in terms of management and statistics. In fact, it offers accessibility from mobile devices, analytical data and great customization possibilities. It supports widely used standards such as SCORM and Tin Can, and is very suitable for companies of any size because of its support for video conferencing, calendaring, messaging and discussion forums.
Google Classroom
Used primarily by schools and part of the G Suite for Education plan, Google Classroom is a system that makes it really easy to share materials and announcements as well as manage any type of classroom. It integrates the most popular made-in-Google productivity tools used by millions and makes it very efficient to collect and evaluate student work.
Tutoràmi
We at Oltrematica have also just launched a Learning Management System platform: its name is Tutoràmi. The platform is aimed at those who wish to have maximum support from a team of professionals to offer distance learning. If you would like to have more information about our Learning Management System platform, you can find everything on the Tutorami page of the same name on our website.
You can also access the platform’s official website. Alternatively, for both Tutoràmi and other training solutions, please see the Training section of our website. At the bottom of the page you will find a form through which you can contact us with any inquiries and receive a response from us by e-mail as soon as possible.