What is a Learning Management System? Definition, Meaning and Everything You Need to Know!

The definition and meaning of LMS

A Learning Management System is software designed to help you create, manage, organize, and deliver online training materials to your audience. The key features of an LMS can be summarized by its three components:

• Learning. The primary purpose of an LMS is to facilitate and enhance learning within your organization. With an LMS, you can keep your employees’ knowledge up-to-date.

• Management.This software allows you to organize and manage your online courses, participants, and results. You can also analyze the effectiveness of your training materials.

• System. In this context, "system" refers to a set of components working together as part of a mechanism or network. It essentially serves as a more professional term for the software.

A Learning Management System always consists of two parts:

• An admin interface. The admin interface is where a training manager or performance coach can create, manage, and organize all the training materials. It also allows for the extraction of insightful reports, whether related to individuals or groups. The admin interface includes settings and features that enable full customization of the training materials.

• An user interface. This is where participants interact with the training materials created by the admin. They can access and engage with the content from their personal computers or web browsers.

Types of learning management systems

You have two options:

• A cloud-based LMS/SaaS LMS. This type of LMS is hosted on an Internet server rather than on a local server (i.e., a physical computer's hard drive). Your LMS vendor is responsible for uptime, data storage, and overall management of the LMS, including introducing new features and fixing bugs.

• A hosted LMS. In contrast, a hosted LMS is stored on your organization's local server. Your organization is responsible for everything concerning the LMS, including data storage, privacy, and system development. While this option allows for full customization to meet your organization’s specific needs, it often comes with a higher cost.

Read more about the differences between a cloud-based LMS and a hosted LMS.

What can I do with an online learning management system?

Now that you understand the meaning of a Learning Management System and the different types available, let’s explore what you can do with it from two perspectives.

• Build training materials. Easily create courses and exams based on existing content or from scratch, often with extensive creation and editing options.

• Manage training materials. Store all training materials in one accessible online location. You can update materials with a single click, and participants will see the changes immediately.

• Deliver content to your audience. Assign participants to your content, which they can access through their private portal or via a link in an invitation email.

• Keep track of progress. Utilize efficient reporting features to monitor your audience's progress and gain insights into their performance.

• Scale your training. Go from one to a hundred courses without a hassle.

  An LMS benefits participants' learning experiences and results

If you are a participant, an LMS helps you to:

• Retain information better. Training materials are available online, allowing participants to access them anytime and anywhere. . They can set their own learning pace, which benefits their learning experiences and results.

• Schedule ongoing education to your schedule. An LMS accommodates participants' busy work schedules by offering the flexibility to engage in ongoing education at their convenience. Additionally, online training often takes less time than traditional face-to-face training.

Who uses an online learning management system

Learning management systems (LMS) are utilized not only by educational institutions such as high schools, colleges, and universities, but also by various companies that prioritize employee development. Small and medium-sized businesses with limited budgets can greatly benefit from these systems as well. There are certain industries where an LMS is more advantageous than face-to-face training, including:

• Healthcare industry: Teaching doctors and nurses about medical exams and procedures often requires hands-on practice. However, soft skills, such as bedside manner, and theoretical knowledge about procedures can be effectively taught through an LMS.

• Real estate industry: Keeping real estate brokers’ knowledge up-to-date necessitates constant training. They also need certifications to provide advice and perform specific tasks.s.

• Law industry: Laws frequently change. An LMS helps keep participants informed of the latest laws, procedures, and updates.

• Manufacturing industry: Workers in the chemical industry need to renew their licenses, for example. An LMS is ideal for certification. Read how HAL Mex, an automotive manufacturer, uses Easy LMS.

• Hospitality industry: An LMS can efficiently train and onboard seasonal workers, as well as help large hotel chains and multinational food companies adapt to changes in policy and regulation.

Learning management system use cases

Online learning management systems serve multiple purposes. Here are some of the most common use cases:

• Employee training: Employees are the backbone of any organization. Supporting their education and development ultimately benefits the organization. An LMS helps employees systematically develop their skills throughout their careers.

  Read more about employee training.

• Onboarding: An LMS streamlines the onboarding process for new hires, helping them quickly learn about the organization's values, policies, and procedures, which allows them to become productive faster. Additionally, you can use an LMS to onboard new customers, providing them with the necessary resources to maximize their use of your product or service.

  Read more about onboarding.

• Customer training: Companies that supply online software products often utilize customer training through an LMS. This ensures clients stay informed about new features and get the most out of the product, leading to increased customer satisfaction.

• Extended enterprise training: With an LMS, organizations can strengthen their brand and achieve consistency among partners, resellers, and customers.

• Compliance, accreditation, and certification training: Implementing compliance training can be challenging, but an LMS facilitates the process. It reduces administrative burdens and makes mandatory courses more engaging. Moreover, LMS platforms often provide extensive certification options.

• Franchise training: An LMS is ideal for maintaining consistency in processes and products across multiple franchise locations, allowing businesses to reach all units with just one click.

What are the advantages of a learning management system?

You can read about other advantages for your specific use case here.

What are the typical features of a learning management system?

A Learning Management System primarily serves to facilitate content creation and monitor learners' progress. However, its functionalities extend far beyond these basics. Here are some advanced features that enhance the overall user experience:

• Built-in editor: This tool allows you to create courses and exams using text, images, and audio. You can also attach Prezi presentations or PDFs to enrich the learning material.

• Progress tracking: Want to know which questions were challenging for learners or how many participants successfully completed a course? This feature provides insights into learners' performance, allowing you to view both overall and individual results at a glance.

• Mobile friendly: Participants can access the LMS from any device, as long as there is a working internet connection.

• Integrations: An API allows you to connect the LMS with your favorite software, such as your CRM. This feature enables you to automate workflows and sync data, making it easier to manage participants in one central location.

• Admin management: Training and education isn't a one-person job. An LMS offers multiple admin management. Multiple admins allow you to divide tasks and restrict access levels.

• Custom branding and styling: With an LMS, you can make your training material reflect your brand. Often, an LMS includes a white label option that allows you to present the LMS entirely as your own.

• Certification: Some LMS software provides the option to issue certificates to participants upon completing a course or exam. These certificates can often be customized to match your corporate style.

• Notifications: To prevent learners from missing important courses or exams, notifications keep them informed and engaged.

Pricing of learning management systems

LMS vendors offer various pricing models. It's essential to evaluate these options carefully when selecting a learning management system. Here are the different pricing structures:

Perpetual license (purchase) and maintenance fee

You’ll pay a set-up fee (once), an annual license fee, and a maintenance fee.
It is most popular with hosted LMSs.

Advantages

• Once purchased, you can normally use the software forever.

• The company owns the software and can decide whether maintenance and support are required.

Disadvantages

• Commitment to big yearly contracts, while you are not sure how long you want to use the LMS.

• High acquisition costs.

• You'll have to install new software after maintenance.

Cloud-based subscription and pay per number of users

You’ll pay a subscription cost - yearly, monthly, or quarterly. This structure includes different subscription types with various features. You can pay per registered or active user.

Advantages

• It offers flexibility. You can easily up or downgrade your subscription.

• You can cancel your subscription in the short term, so, long-term contracts do not exist.

• The acquisition costs are low.

• You will always have access to the latest version of the software.

Disadvantages

• If the subscription fee is not paid (e.g., the payment fails for some reason), you will be downgraded and cannot use the software. 

• If you use the software for many years, you may pay more than if you had purchased it. 

• You have to keep track of your users. 

• If you have more users than expected, the bill at the end of a month can be an unpleasant surprise.

If you have cloud-based subscription + pay per number of user, you have to keep track of your users

Cloud-based subscription and unlimited users

You’ll pay a subscription cost - yearly, monthly, or quarterly. This structure includes different subscription types with various features. You don’t have to worry about the number of users. 

Advantages

• You don’t have to worry about adding, removing, or keeping track of your active users.

• It offers flexibility. You can easily up or downgrade your subscription.

• You can cancel your subscription in the short term. So, long-term contracts do not exist.

• The acquisition costs are low.

• You will always have access to the latest version of the software.

Disadvantages

• If the subscription fee is not paid (e.g., the payment fails for some reason), you will be downgraded and cannot use the software.

• If you use the software for many years, you may pay more than if you had purchased it.

Read more about the different online learning management system pricing models.

What about Easy LMS?

Easy LMS is reasonably priced compared to competitors

Now that you know more about online learning management systems, let’s focus on Easy LMS. Our goal is to create the most user-friendly LMS at the fairest price on the market, and many clients believe we have achieved that.

You can create engaging learning materials, including courses and exams, manage them, and send them to your participants. As a result, your participants can have a pleasant and distraction-free learning experience. Then, you can check their results or send them a PDF certificate. All completely automated. How great is that?

Despite having a robust system, our learning management system remains competitively priced. We don’t charge per participant, and our paid plans start as low as €70 per month. If you want to learn more, ask us for a demo.

Useful resources

• Ball State University