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Both the software elearning products, LCMSs and LMSs are highly distinct from each other, but still they complement each other well. When these
two platforms come together, information between them can be exchanged, which eventually results in an enriched learning experience for
the learners. In reality, LMS and LCMS both are concerned with content. However, if there is a pressing need for you to create content,
then it would be beneficial for you to opt for an LCMS. An LMS is more focused on managing how learners participate in the
e-learning programs, rather than being concerned with the way content for e-learning is created.
A learning content management system is an integrated elearning platform that gives the administrators the option of hosting, scheduling, assessing and managing registrations in a multi-user platform. It also helps him track the online training activities of the users. Essentially, an LCMS comes into picture when generic elearning doesn’t fit the bill. It weaves together small chunks or ‘granules’ of eLearning content, in a way that produces a comprehensive yet easy to use e-learning content. The primary business problem an LCMS solves is to create just enough content, in time, to meet the needs of individual learner’s or a group of learners.
LMS or LCMS? What should you choose and why? An LMS’s main focus remains on the way individuals participate in e-learning programs, whereas an LCMS remains concerned with the way e-learning content is created. To give you an example, if you are an organization that has its own trainers and coaches already employed, then you should consider opting for an LCMS. This will allow you to tap into their existing knowledge and convert it into training material that’ll make sense for them, you and the learners as well. On the other hand, organizations that intend to purchase “off the shelf” elearning courses should opt for an LMS.
The primary focus of an LCMS is on developing elearning content. It gives the course authors, instructional designers, and subject matter experts a way to create e-learning content more efficiently. So, rather than developing entire courses and then eventually adapting them to multiple audiences, instructional designers create reusable content chunks which would be available to the course developers to be used later. This serves dual benefit by eliminating duplicate development efforts, while allowing for rapid assembly of customized content. This helps the organization restructure and repurpose online content in a better way.
There is a thin line between what an LMS and LCMS can do. They have their own unique overlaps and differences. Besides the usual LMS stuff like providing primary management of elearning, LCMS supports dynamic pretesting of elearning content. It includes workflow tools to manage content creation process. A few advanced LCMSs also showcase the feature of building adaptive elearning, where the software platform can dynamically build learning objects based on user profiles and learning styles.
We recommend starting with an LMS that can be easily integrated with an LCMS. LMSs manage learners as well as communities of users, which eventually allows each of them to launch the appropriate learning objects stored and managed by the LCMS. When it comes to delivering the content, the LCMS takes into an individual learner’s progress, test scores, and passes them back to the LMS for reporting purposes. So you see, an LCMS can fit within an existing LMS infrastructure and can do quite a fantastic feat while at it.
| Features | PLMS | LCMS |
|---|---|---|
| Who Benefits? | All Learners: Organizations |
Content Developers; Learners who need personalized content |
| Provides Primary Management of | Learner performance; Learning requirements; learning programs and planning |
Learner Content |
| Manages e-learning | Yes | Yes |
| Manages traditional forms of training, such as instructor-led |
Yes | No |
| Tracks Results | Yes | No |
| Supports Learner Collaboration | Yes | Yes |
| Includes Learner Profile Management | Yes | No |
| Allows HR and ERP Systems to share learner data |
Yes | No |
| Schedules Events | Yes | No |
| Offers Competency Mapping/Skill Gap Analysis |
Yes | No |
| Includes registration, prerequisite screening and cancellation notifications |
Yes | No |
| Creates Test Questions and Test Administration |
Yes | Yes |
| Supports Dynamic Pretesting and Adaptive Learning |
No | Yes |
| Supports Content Creations | No | Yes |
| Organizes Reusable Content | Yes | Yes |
| Includes Workflow Tools to Manage Content Creation Process |
No | Yes |
Bottomline, organizations that have their existing training material on commonly used software formats – like Microsoft Office, PDF
or videos etc, will notice that only a few LMS platforms allow for them to simply be imported and modified. Such material would
need to be created from scratch, and to do that you will need an LCMS.
Want to know more about our learning content management system? Just drop in your details to
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