A Learning Management System or LMS is a term used to describe the administration system behind online learning content. It refers to all of the administrative functions that exist behind the actual learning experience. There are essentially two categories of administrative functions that an LMS manages - the student function and the educator or teacher function:

Typical Student Functions

• Student registrations
• Course enrollments
• Course assessment

Typical Educator Functions

• Student contact details report
• Total students enrolled report
• Students enrolled by course report
• Students percentage completed report

You may have noticed in the list above that content delivery is not mentioned. That's because an LMS is fundamentally an administration system. An LMS does not normally provide any content development support except for student assessments, which are usually incorporated within the LMS. So unless the LMS is specifically referred to as an LCMS, it will not help you with content development. While you might see this as a shortcoming, the advantage is that it allows you more freedom and flexibility in how you develop your content.

Almost all LMS applications are SCORM compliant these days which means you can migrate your content from one LMS to another LMS if you need to.

An LCMS refers to a Learning Content Management System which provides both the LMS functionality discussed above plus the added functionality of content development support.

If you are interested in finding-out more about Learning Management Systems and online learning, you will find this ebook from Athabasca University very helpful.

The Theory and Practice of Online Learning