A Learning Management System (LMS) is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting and delivery of e-learning education courses or training programs . Learning management systems range from systems for managing training and educational records to software for distributing online or blended/hybrid college courses over the internet with features for online collaboration. Colleges and universities, for example, use learning management systems to deliver online courses and augment on-campus courses.
The key to understanding the difference between a learning management system and other computer education terms is to understand the systemic nature of the LMS. An LMS provides the infrastructure to deliver and manage instructional content, identify and assess individual and organizational learning or training goals, track the progress towards meeting those goals, and collect and present data for supervising the learning process of organization as a whole. An LMS delivers content but also handles registering for courses, course administration, skills gap analysis, tracking, and reporting. Most learning management systems are web-based to facilitate access to learning content and administration. They are used by educational institutions to enhance and support classroom teaching and offering courses to a larger population of learners. Ideally, learning management systems employ competency-based learning to discover learning gaps.
Other important dimensions of learning management systems in education include:
- Student self-service (i.e. self-registration on instructor-led training)
- On-line assessment
- Collaborative learning (fostered through application sharing and/or discussion threads)