How to select a Learning Management System (LMS)
For many organisations, the process of selecting a Learning Management System is one of the most crucial and difficult tasks in developing eCapability. In our view, many organisations rush to make this decision before being clear about what they really want the system to do, what the best learning experience would be for their staff, and so on. There's a temptation to 'get things going' by buying the technology infrastructure.
The risk is obvious: buy something that doesn't work at your peril. Especially when it may involve a significant capital investment that needs to function for a long time to pay dividends.
How to avoid the risk? Be clear about what you want. Areas to consider include:
-Integration with existing systems
-Ease of installation and support
-Fit between functionality and organisational need
and most importantly...
Be clear about the experience your learners need to succeed, including interface/functionality, activity and resource types, feedback and assessment systems, and linkages to blended learning solutions.
For a background paper than describes an evaluaiton of Open Source LMS solutions, see this link
For support in making your decision, give us a call.
Posted by Phil Garing at May 19, 2005 03:52 PM
