Quick Guide to the Key Elements of an LMS Platform

A digital LMS platform is essential to any corporate training and development strategy. With the right tools in hand, companies can provide employees, partners, and customers with the education they need to do their best work. But a digital LMS platform has multiple moving parts, and a successful digital learning strategy can mean something different for each company.

Today, we’re breaking down the key components of a digital LMS platform and the training elements (both technical and theoretical) that are essential for creating a successful learning strategy in the digital environment.

Knowing the components of an LMS platform and how each component can contribute to an overall corporate learning and development strategy can help company leaders determine where to invest their resources in training, how they may need to adapt their strategy, and which tools may fit their company’s needs.

What is an LMS platform?

An LMS platform is an all-encompassing software that houses every element of the digital learning experience, from the courses themselves to the metrics needed to measure compliance or the overall success of training initiatives.

In any LMS platform, you should have the capability to manage several digital courses and distribute them to multiple users. An organized course library is essential to the success of any training program, and it can help learners navigate training goals more easily.

LMS features should include course completion data, compliance information, skills assessments, and an observation checklist. This way, learning managers can account for company progress within the application instead of filing several paper documents or external digital files.

A learning management system should be multifunctional. The best LMS platforms can be used for compliance training, employee onboarding, sales enablement, partner training, and customer training because they are designed in a customizable, flexible way.

Who should use an LMS platform?

An LMS platform can be used across industries and by companies of all sizes. We’ve had customers in the nonprofit sector, the energy sector, and more with a range of company sizes.

As mentioned before, while the key LMS users are learners and training managers, an LMS platform can also be used for partner or customer training—extending the overall reach of a platform. In hybrid and remote work environments, an LMS system can make it easier to stay connected with employees, partners, and customers even when people are not interacting face-to-face.

For training managers, a comprehensive LMS is vital because it houses all of the necessary course materials and metrics that are used in a corporate learning and development strategy. Instead of searching for training information across multiple platforms, websites, or even physical locations (like filing cabinets in an office), training managers can monitor and update learning objectives from a single platform.

For learners (usually employees, partners, or customers), an LMS platform provides easily accessible digital learning tools that simplify the training process. With a digital LMS platform, courses are more interesting than online training of old. A digital LMS can offer features like content players within the platform so that learners don’t have to download additional applications or files to complete their training. With ExpertusONE’s LMS software, learners can interact with course content through quizzes and polls, and they can also video conference with fellow learners and training managers to follow up about course content.

5 Benefits of using a LMS platform

1. Flexibility

A Learning Management System (LMS) is a software platform designed to help instructors create, deliver, and track training materials for learners in both online and traditional educational environments. A good LMS will provide great flexibility when it comes to designing the course content and how it can be delivered. It will also provide the ability to easily modify or update the course on an ongoing basis without having to rerun through complicated programming processes.

2. Cost Savings

Using an LMS as part of a training program can help save costs on instructor resources and physical materials needed for a classroom-style environment. It also helps save time by increasing efficiency in managing educational programs and tracking data more quickly via an automated system.

3. Automation

Most modern learning management systems offer features such as automatic scheduling and assignment of exams, tests, and assignments so that trainers don’t have to take time out of their day for these activities manually – streamlining everything from course creation and delivery to student interaction with instructors or peers via messaging or forum boards within the system.

4. Data Insights & Reporting

Data insights help instructors better evaluate student performance (or lack thereof) over time, giving them important information that can be used to improve course efficacy or to identify struggling students who may need additional assistance with concepts being taught. With a good LMS in place, it’s easier for instructors to collect data related to learner progress, test scores, etc., allowing them access to continually updated data reports so they can plan rather than having to wait months or years between assessment periods with manual record-keeping methods.

5. Mobility

Learning management systems allow users to access courses no matter where they’re located geographically: at home, at work, or on the go using a mobile device — allowing learners true mobility when continuing their studies no matter what schedule they may have due life events such as travel or child care commitments without ever feeling like they are disconnected from their instructor or classmates in attendance with them virtually throughout their lesson session due real-time integration capabilities of an LMS setup.

LMS key features

We’ve gone over the basics of an LMS platform—what it is and how it should, ultimately, make life easier for the training manager and the learner—and now it’s time to go over the key features of an LMS platform and how they are beneficial.

1. App integrations

Don’t invest in an LMS platform without first looking to see if it can integrate with other commonly used workplace apps. Our digital LMS platform integrates with Slack, Salesforce, and Microsoft Teams to make learning more accessible for both training managers and employees. LMS integrations make it easier to manage courses, track progress, and complete training because the courses can be taken from within apps that learners are already using on a regular basis.

2. Artificial intelligence in eLearning

Perhaps one of the newer but more important features in the world of LMS is artificial intelligence. LMS platforms use AI to recommend courses to learners based on their interests, job descriptions, and the courses their peers are taking. This creates a more customized learning experience that helps employees, partners, and customers feel engaged with the courses they’re taking.

3. Courses and course catalogs

Training isn’t training without courses. An LMS platform should offer both learners and training managers easy access to courses and course catalogs. One key component in an enterprise LMS platform is a course library where instructors can create or add new courses—either creating the courses from scratch or purchasing new courses to add to the company’s library.

4. Customizable dashboard

Customization is key to the efficacy of an LMS platform because it helps companies make the learning experience more personalized for their employees. With a customizable dashboard, training managers can organize the LMS platform to demonstrate which components, courses, or metrics are most important for the learner. A customizable dashboard also helps companies create a cohesive brand across every aspect of employee, partner, and customer experience.

5. Interactive learning elements

Interactivity is the key to engagement in a digital learning environment. Training managers should look for ways to incorporate interactive features within each course, whether it’s a poll or quiz, a follow-up video conference, or visual or audio components.

6. LMS gamification

Gamification in an LMS platform can create a healthy sense of competition among learners. With integrated gamification tools, learners can receive badges for reaching goals, look at a leaderboard, and see awards that are distributed based on learning objective achievement.

7. Mobile eLearning capabilities

As many companies are embracing hybrid and remote work styles, it’s more important than ever to employ a flexible learning platform. An LMS platform should have the capability to function both offline and online and on a mobile LMS app or desktop device. This way, learners can take courses and keep up with compliance no matter where they are.

8. Progress reporting

No learning strategy will be effective without consistent progress reporting. With LMS reporting features, learning managers can determine the efficacy of their training strategies, where employees may have gaps in learning, and the courses needed to further learning goals.

9. Collaboration tools

Online collaboration tools are used in many Learning Management Systems (LMSs) to enhance the learning experience. Discussion forums allow students to actively partake in conversations with each other and also with their instructors, while group projects foster active teamwork amongst participants by providing a digital workspace for them to communicate and collaborate. Wikis provide information on course topics that students would normally need to look up online or in textbooks, making for more efficient communication among those involved. Lastly, presentation tools such as Slideshare provide an easy way for students to share their work online. All of these online collaboration tools make it easier for students to interact with each other and their instructors to enhance their understanding of course material or complete group projects.

10. Communication

An LMS (Learning Management System) is a software application that enables instructors and other educational professionals to manage educational courses and materials, organize student activities, provide online assessments, track educational progress, generate reports, and store course content. It typically includes tools for communication between instructors and students, as well as among students. Below are some of the common tools included in a Learning Management System:

Email – Allows educators to send emails to individual students or groups of students with messages or attachments such as assignments and images.

Messaging – Provides direct communication between teachers and students via internal messaging systems within the platform.

Notification Systems – Automates announcements from the instructor’s end to keep all students updated about upcoming classes and events related to the course material.

Discussion Boards/Forums – Enables discussion within different topics both synchronously (in real-time) or asynchronously (delayed).

Calendar – Provides a convenient way for instructors to add important dates such as class start dates or assignment deadlines which can be automatically shared with each student enrolled in the course if needed.

Screen Sharing Tools – Facilitates sharing of visual content during classes using screen-sharing technology like Skype or Webex at just a click away.

Document Storage & Collaboration Platforms – Enablement secure access of documents by multiple simultaneous users with varying roles to facilitate real-time collaboration on different projects or tasks simultaneously if necessary within an organized system inside the LMS platform itself

A digital LMS platform is an essential tool in today’s corporate environment because it helps employees, partners, and customers stay up to date on the latest innovations, trends, and changes in their industries. An LMS platform can serve both learners and training managers by providing a comprehensive learning experience from a single software. A successful corporate learning and development strategy relies on functional, flexible tools like a digital LMS platform.

Are you looking to upgrade the learning experience at your company? Contact us today for a demo, and we will walk you through the essential elements of an LMS platform and show you how ExpertusONE can encourage a better learning experience.