The Learned Man! | eLearning Blog

Moodle!

Results of the eLearning Guild's LMS Survey:

(For this report, LMS market share ratings were based on data from more than 2,300 respondents and satisfaction ratings were based on data from more than 1,200 respondents. In addition, the guild surveyed over 930 e-Learning professionals who represented more than 840 different organizations to definitively show just what the state of the industry is when it comes to Learning Management Systems.)

• The cost per learner to acquire, configure, and customize an LMS for large corporations ranges from $15.11 to $57.02.
• Skillsoft enjoys greatest overall satisfaction in large corporations with a large number of learners impacted (greater than 5,000 employees and learners).
• 29.58% of survey respondents plan to upgrade their LMS and 10.69% plan to abandon their current LMS and move to a different vendor.
• Moodle (yes, Moodle) enjoys both the largest market share and satisfaction in smaller corporations with a smaller number of learners impacted (fewer than 5,000 employees and learners).
• 11% of survey respondents indicate that they have not received a return on investment from their investment in a Learning Management System.
• SumTotal is the market share leader in large corporations with a large number of learners impacted (greater than 5,000 employees and learners).
• 21% of survey respondents use more than one LMS.
• SAP and KnowledgeImpact enjoy the largest percent of users that report a good return on investment.

Also see:
Kineo's view
Open Source LMS Comparison

Open Source LMS Comparison

Starting a new post to capture resources providing comparison, information on Open Source LMS:

Course Management Systems Comparison - By Edutools
2006: The Year Of Moodle - From Epic
Open Source For Learning - Harold Jarche

Dear LMS.....Regards, Elliot

You may have spoken to your plant, but how intimate have you really gotten with your LMS? From an article in CLO, Elliot Masie would like you to have a heart to heart with your LMS. Here is his wish list to help you along:

1. LMS, I want you to be able to personalize and target invitations to learn for each of our employees based on current projects, performance goals and critical events in our business.
2. LMS, I want you to create a "dashboard" for each manager that highlights, in real time, how their teams are learning.
3. LMS, I want you to be our Compliance Tracking System. As rules and regulations change, inform our employees and customers and offer updated learning modules.
4. LMS, I want you to integrate into our Social Networking Systems. Sometimes, the source of knowledge is not a class but rather a conversation with a colleague down the hall with the exact right experience.
5. LMS, I want you to observe the learning styles of our workforce and offer learning options appropriate for each employee, content domain and situation.
6. LMS, I want you to get ready for more Extreme Learning. Let us use you to leverage the power of PodCasting, Wikis, Blogs and other emerging content models.
7. LMS, I want you to become part of our browser. As associates do their work, they should be able to click on a button and interact with the LMS for content, context, future learning needs and collaboration.
8. LMS, I want you to be more integrated with our business objectives. As we roll out new products, change our strategy, realign our workforce or add new customers, you need to be hooked into the process in real time.
9. LMS, I want you to work with a wider range of devices. Our workforce is moving towards less time in front of a desktop or laptop and more interaction with PDAs and mobile devices.
10. LMS, I want you to handle the growing use of content at the object level. Business is moving fast and often, the learning needs are small: just a chunk of the right content, now! Stop calling that a non-completion. It is a learning moment and a success.
11. LMS, I want to have access to more reusable content. Part of the promise of the LMS and SCORM was reusable and sharable content. I want our organization to be able to access more content internally and in external affiliations. Where does Open Source content fit into your future?
12. LMS, I want you to be able to create portable learning digital transcripts for our employees. When someone leaves our company, they should be able to take a digital record of their learning history and certifications.
13. LMS, I want you to work closer with your cousins, Document Management and Knowledge Management. The three of you are deeply connected in terms of our business strategy but I rarely see you hanging out together or even talking to each other.
14. LMS, I want you to keep track of how valuable other employees found each learning offering. Just like Amazon, some of your best value will be in sharing peer reviews of content.
15. LMS, I want you to facilitate multi-language learning. Some of our employees speak English quite well, but learn best in their native tongue.
16. LMS, I want you to be able to facilitate informal learning. When I send someone to a conference, hire a coach, buy a set of books or make a development assignment, you don’t seem that interested. Remember, most corporate learning is informal.
17. LMS, I want you to become part of our Emergency Management Plan. When a crisis hits, I’d like to be able to turn to you find competencies and to deliver extremely rapid content.
18. LMS, I want you to provide a macro-assessment of how the organization is approaching learning investments, bench marked with other similar organizations around the world.

LMS Comparison

Moodle...Blackboard...WebCT...IntraLearn...not too sure...check out this great comparison tool by Edutools. They not only provide complete product information but also let you easily compare products in a variety of ways. Recommended!

LMS Market Scenario in India

Here are some of my observations on the current scenario in India as it were to pertain to the market for LMS solutions:

1. India is experiencing high GDP growth.
2. The private and public sector is waking up to the reality of learning and performance management solutions.
3. Faculty demographics are changing; older faculty are retiring and are being replaced by younger faculty who have a higher comfort level with newer technology and associated solutions.
4. Being a cost sensitive market , India needs a different pricing mechanism for learning and performance management solutions and products.
5. India has a 20 million strong student crowd who can pay.
6. Indian private universities cater to 60% of 18-25 year old population and 90% of the education spend

Some India vendors with their own products: Kalzoom, Tata Interactive, 24x7 Learning

Plateau has partnered Edutech (middle east based vendor), Sumtotal has a Hyderabad based development center, WebCT has an eye on the Indian market.
 

Shopping For A Learning Management System

If you are in the market for an LMS the choice could be a tough one, as the market is getting crowded and confusing with newer vendors entering the fray every month and consolidation among established vendors taking place. To make some sense out of this chaos, you could read through "Brandon Hall's LMS 2003: Comparison of Enterprise Learning Management Systems" report. This report also includes access to a LMS Selection Tool which, after you input your requirements, will give you a short list of vendors that meet those requirements. Then there's another article by Pat Alvarado titled "Seven Steps to Selecting a Learning Management System" published in January on Chief Learning Officer Magazine's web site. Finally have a look at this pdf doc prepared for LGuide by Charlene Zelberg which will take you through 10 steps toward the successful selection of a Learning Management System. Download PDF