Choosing The Right LMS For Your Blended Learning Program

Blended Learning strategies are great for holding trainee interest and and keeping them engaged in the process. These strategies also provide trainers with unprecedented resources and support.

There are a number of ways and strategies for implementing Blended Learning programs depending on the specific training needs of the organization, and each of these can be ably supported by a Learning Management System (LMS). Here are some tips on what to consider if you’re organization is debating which LMS solution to choose:

• Customization Although most systems work with the same basic collection of the functional elements, they are optimized for different learning goals, trainees and organizations. Can the LMS you are considering be customized to support  your organization’s learning goals?
• Durability: Will the system have longevity in the marketplace in order for it to continue to be available? Will it be supported with periodic maintenance and upgrades? This is necessary to account for the evolutionary changes in the IT environment.
• Extensibility, scalability and adaptability: Your learning program should be able to handle a number of people at any point in time. Along with this, you would also need to consider the number of courses needed to be supported.
• Cloud-based system: This has minimal hardware and software cost implications, and ensures that your LMS is always up to date with the latest changes in technology.
• Long term cost- effectiveness: This is as important as the purchase and implementation, because you need to account for the cost of maintenance, ownership, licensing and support along with other issues that might arise over the course of your ownership of the product.
• SCORM compliancy: Your courses need to be able to communicate with your learning management system, so your LMS needs to be compliant with Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) guidelines.

The table below provides the basic steps to be followed in choosing the perfect LMS solution for your organization’s Blended Learning objectives:

Interested in learning more about managing effective Blended Learning with an LMS solution? Click here to read our blog post titled “5 Tips For Managing Effective Blended Learning Through An LMS”