Often times when putting together Learning Management Systems RFIs or RFPs, certain items that should be considered are overlooked. This is pretty easy to do since you are typically trying to solve problems with your current LMS or are looking to implement one for the first time. Many times in reviewing your “pain point” checklist the big picture gets overlooked or you just assume certain functionality is there in the systems you are considering.
Learning Management Systems
At last count we believe there are over 600 Learning Management Systems offered by vendors worldwide and of those about 20 are Association LMS’s. That means there are some very good ones and some very bad ones out there. Of course we like to point out that we think ours is a very good one! Anyways, with such a broad range of learning management systems in the market you can be assured that each ones capabilities can be quite different. With this in mind you want to be sure that whatever you are looking at can fulfill even the most basic functional requirements. The easiest way to determine this is to look at the standards these vendor offerings adhere to when it comes to usability.
eLearning Standards
Usability goes much deeper than a pretty user interface. You want to make sure that you can deliver and manage the training for your users. Since most of today’s course content building tools such as Lectora, Articulate, Camtasia, etc. adhere to standards you want to make sure the LMS you are considering works with those same standards. What I am talking about are SCORM 1.2, AICC and the Experience API. We wouldn’t bother with SCORM 2004 since almost no one uses it.
Making sure the LMS supports these standards assures you that all content developed within this framework will operate properly on your shiny new Learning Management System. It also protects your investment in content down the road when looking at software upgrades and portability to other systems.
How can you be assured that the LMS you are considering meets these standards? It’s easy, don’t just take the vendors word for it, and ask them to demo it to you in real time. What I mean by this is that you are shown how to import the content into the Learning Management System and then launch it in a course. If it works great, if not move on to another system.
Making sure that the LMS adheres to standards is one of your keys to a success launch.
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