What is an LMS?

For those in the workforce, there is a constant drive to get more out of each day. Every waking moment can be consumed by emails and meetings, even if we are not at our desks. When it comes to workplace education, there is a need for an equally accessible solution that can be accessed on demand.

Enter the LMS (Learning Management System), a powerful piece of tech that is trying to change the way we access education.

Created in the early 90s, the LMS is unusually old when it comes to technological solutions. The software was initially designed to deliver online university content to students across Europe. In recent years it is still very much a go-to for universities having outlived many of its younger counterparts. So how has LMS stayed up to date? And what draws businesses into using it?

Behind the scenes of the LMS is the well oiled pit crew it relies upon. The online community is very much dedicated to creating more tools and plugins as learners need them, thus ensuring a durable and future proof solution. Any tool or documentation that an LMS cannot provide from its initial state is often already provided by the community.

At its very core however, an LMS serves a very simple concept – to deliver learning content (video, documents, quizzes) from mentors to learners. What sets an LMS apart over other solutions is its ability to customize that concept to a huge range of situations. Need a fast way to mark 200 quizzes? An LMS can automate that. Need a way of tracking achievement? An LMS can report that. These advantages on their own however would undermine it’s main advantage—accessibility.

Whether you are a student/tutor/teacher an LMS is a great way of educating without being confined to a single location. Whether you are a full time student or a full time employee the ability to gain education at your leisure is immensely important for growing new skills. Nurturing these skills is the best way for business to keep ahead.