According to Global Market Insight, the Learning Management System (LMS) is a popular commodity that will reach 1 trillion by 2027 in its market. LMS enthusiasts are increasing both from educational institutions and companies in general. One of the supporting factors, reported by the Chief Learning Officer Magazine in 2020 58% of institutions prefer on-demand learning while another 25% prefer face-to-face learning. On-demand learning is a learning model that can be accessed anytime and anywhere. Besides, it can be adjusted according to the pace or speed and individual ability to complete learning. In line with e-learning, on-demand learning is more effective and efficient through the LMS platform.

Overview of LMS

LMS is a repository or warehouse that stores various learning resources in text materials, videos, presentation slides, digital books, etc. These learning resources can be accessed anywhere and anytime using digital devices or gadgets. In addition, LMS is also used to create and manage courses or distance learning. LMS aims to digitize and simplify the learning process in various educational and business institutions.

Usually, companies use LMS for employee training, the onboarding process, and support education or training in general. Employee skill training and development, both in the form of upskills and reskills, is needed to maintain employee professionalism. It will then have a positive impact on company achievements. By using LMS, companies can reduce training costs and don’t have to bother arranging training schedules for each department. With LMS, the onboarding process or training for new employees is also more effective. An LMS has analytics features that can accurately measure each employee’s progress in participating in the program.

With the various benefits provided, many companies then use LMS to support employee training and development. However, in choosing an LMS there are several things to consider. Here’s an explanation.

Important steps before choosing an LMS

Define the number of LMS users

The number of LMS users can consist of students/trainees, teachers/trainers, administrative

staff, and everyone involved in the learning process at an educational institution or corporate organization that uses LMS. The user profile can be a prominent factor in determining the cost and capability of an LMS in terms of scalability. The more users using the LMS, the greater the need for the LMS to scale to accommodate a higher number of users. It can affect the cost and ability of the LMS to accommodate a higher number of users.

For example, if your LMS is designed to handle 100 users, then when users exceed that capacity, the LMS’s scalability becomes critical. If the number of users continues to increase, the LMS will have to be scaled up to accommodate a larger number of users, and the cost of increasing that capacity may be substantial.

Therefore, it is necessary to choose an LMS that can easily scale. Hence it can accommodate more users when needed without incurring high costs. It can help organizations save costs and ensure that their LMS can accommodate higher user growth in the future.

Define the content type and test/assessment type

The type of content and assessment is a significant element in e-learning. The more varied types of content and assessment will make learning more attractive and fun.

The content types in an LMS can be divided into several categories such as:

• Text such as documents, articles, blogs, or emails.
• Images for example graphs, diagrams, photos, illustrations, or animations.
• Audio such as podcasts, music, or voice recordings.
• Videos for example presentations, animations, or tutorials.
• Interactive such as simulations, games, or quizzes.

Meanwhile, the types of exams/assessments in an LMS can be categorized into:

• Multiple choice: consists of a question with multiple answer choices.
• Short answers: consist of questions with short answers that can be filled in by participants.
• Essay: consists of long-answered questions that require a more detailed explanation.
• Matching: linking between two different types of information.
• True/false: consists of questions with true or false choice.

Even though it makes learning more interesting, the more complex the type of content and assessment required, the more limited the available LMS choices. This is because some LMSs may not be able to support complex content or assessment types. Therefore, in choosing an LMS, it is necessary to consider the type of content and assessment needed to ensure that the LMS chosen can support it properly.

Define budget

Budget is the allocation of financial resources for certain activities or projects. In the context of

developing and using a Learning Management System (LMS), the budget can include costs for purchasing LMS software, hardware costs for hosting the LMS, development, maintenance, costs for training users, and costs for the technical team that maintains the LMS.

If a company has a large budget, it is very possible to build its own LMS and have a technical team that can maintain and develop the LMS independently. However, organizations or institutions that are just starting to use an LMS, may not have sufficient financial resources to independently build and maintain an LMS. In this case, using a cloud-based LMS such as Katalis.App can be a more cost-effective solution.

Katalis.App is a cloud-based LMS so it doesn’t require purchasing hardware or software independently. Apart from that, Katalis.App also provides a technical team to maintain and develop the LMS so that organizations or institutions do not need to have their technical team. Thus, the use of Katalis.app can help organizations or institutions that are just starting to use LMS to start at a more affordable cost and without the need to buy hardware or software and have their technical team.

Make sure the LMS already supports standard features

In choosing an LMS, it is necessary to ensure that the LMS chosen supports standard features such as:

reporting

This feature allows administrators to view user activity and progress reports. With this feature, administrators can see how users use the LMS and monitor user learning progress.

Access with the mobile app

This feature allows users to access the LMS via a mobile application. By this feature, users can learn and access the LMS easily from mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets.

Analytics

This feature allows administrators to analyze user learning data and see learning trends and patterns. With this feature, administrators can make better decisions in managing the LMS and improve the quality of user learning.

Certificate

This feature allows administrators to issue certificates to users who have completed certain courses. With this feature, users can get recognition for their efforts and achievements in learning and developing themselves.

User management

This feature allows administrators to manage LMS users. For instance, adding new users, removing users, or managing user roles and permissions. With this feature, administrators can manage their LMS more effectively and efficiently.

By ensuring that the chosen LMS supports standard features such as reporting, access to mobile apps, analytics, certificates, and user management, users can ensure that the chosen LMS will be able to better and more effectively meet their learning needs and manage their LMS.

LMS recommendation

In choosing an LMS, it is necessary to consider 4 important things, namely the scalability of the LMS so that it remains stable with a large number of users, the ability of the LMS to facilitate various types of content and assessment, the institutional budget, and the availability of LMS features that support learning to be more efficient. Open edX is one of the most recommended LMS to accommodate all these needs. But with its high scalability, Open edX has high technological complexity as well. It will make the company incur additional costs to hire IT experts.

However, today your company can enjoy the facilities of Open edX without having to deal with high technological complexity. The trick is to use Katalis.App.

Katalis.App is a cloud-based LMS designed to help organizations and institutions manage and provide online courses and training. Katalis.App offers a wide range of features and tools that can be used to create, manage, and deliver online courses, including features for creating content, quiz, certificate, user management, and learning activity reports.

As a cloud-based LMS, Katalis.app requires no initial investment in hardware and software, as all LMS data and applications are stored in the cloud. Apart from that, Katalis.app also provides access to mobile applications so that users can study and access the LMS from mobile devices such as smartphones or tablets.

Katalis.app also offers various security features to protect user data and privacy, as well as technical support available 24/7 to assist users in overcoming technical problems or difficulties in using the LMS. Katalis.app can be used by many different types of organizations and institutions, including companies, universities, schools and other educational institutions.