Learning Managements Systems
In today’s fast paced world, it can often be difficult to find the time to upgrade your skills. Signing up for a class and heading off to the classroom is often impossible for many workers and most companies can’t find the time to offer their own skill workshops for their employees. However, with the introduction of learning management systems, upgrading your skills or those of your employees is becoming much more easy and enjoyable. So if you are considering getting that certificate or degree, or if you want to offer your employees a way to climb the corporate ladder, find out more about how learning management systems can help you.
What are Learning Management Systems?
Learning management systems (LMS) provide employees, teachers, and students with an easier way of learning. A learning management system is basically an automated system that offers students and teachers the opportunity to participate actively in learning and assessment. These systems are generally software programs or web-based technologies that allow learning and assessment to take place in one easy forum. So you no longer need to leave your home or office to attend class or give lectures. All you have to do is log on to your computer, access your personalized homepage, and start learning!
What Features do Learning Management Systems Include?
Learning management systems include all that is necessary for students, instructors, and organizations to participate in an integrated and interactive learning environment. They contain features specially directed toward individual learners, tutors and teachers, and company administrators. When you participate in a learning management system, you don’t even have to leave your home to make the most of active learning.
For The Student
If you are a student, a learning management system can provide you with all of the tools that you will need to upgrade your skills or just engage in general learning. Typically, when you sign up for a course at school, you have to go buy the textbooks, find the classroom, and then sit in the class absorbing the information. A learning management system allows you to do all of your learning from the comfort of your own computer station. On your learning management system you will find:
- your syllabus or course outline
- a notice board, where you can contact your instructor and other class members
- all of your lecture notes or class activities
- online classrooms and web-based tutorials
- links to textbooks and other reference materials
- live chats and blogs related to your learning materials
- all of your tests and assessments
- your grades and student profile
For the Instructor
As an instructor, a learning management system can make your life much easier. It will allow you to:
- post online tutorials and assignments
- create web-based lectures and activities
- assess student assignments and tests
- track grades and student achievement
For the Employer
As an employer, you are probably highly interested in offering your employees a chance to upgrade their skills, gain new certification, and participate in an active learning environment. A learning management system will allow you to:
- keep track of your employees qualifications
- monitor employee progress
- offer standardized testing for specific certifications
- integrate education policies across all sectors of your company
What Are the Benefits of Using a Learning Management System?
Learning management systems have been in use for more than five years in companies and institutions worldwide. They have proven to be very beneficial for both students and organizations.
Benefits for the Employer
- Streamlining the learning process can save you time and money.
- Learning management systems can enable all of your workers to easily upgrade their skills.
- You can easily track the qualifications and improvements of all your employees.
Benefits for the Student
- Easy access to all of your learning materials from your computer workstation.
- The chance to assess your own learning levels.
- The chance to choose your own learning path (you can select how you will learn and when you will learn).
- The chance to make use of familiar technology (such as the internet).
- The chance to monitor your own learning.
Where do You Find a Learning Management System?
There is a variety of learning management systems available for private use. You can join a web-based learning management system that is run by an online school or an existing institution simply by doing an easy web search. You will not have to pay for the software itself – all you have to do is pay a registration fee for your course of study.
If your company wants to implement a learning management system, you can buy software online, which can then be setup for you. The most popular learning management software programs are WebCT and Blackboard, however, there are dozens of different companies offering software packages. The price for software does vary, but generally costs around $50,000 per year.
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