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LMS Goes Mainstream

By: Diane Rapley

10/1/2008

New opportunities are opening up in learning management systems

We've been hearing about learning management systems (LMSs) for a long time, but how well established are they in American schools?

According to the America's Digital Schools (ADS) 2008 survey, two-thirds of US school districts are now using or planning to use an LMS-- a single common platform to manage learning and content delivery across the organization. This high percentage suggests that LMS has established its place in the educational mainstream. However, ADS 2008 also revealed that the LMS world is changing, as closed and open systems begin to converge.

In the past, districts were faced with two LMS alternatives-- closed systems with solid content but no ability to add applications, or open systems from the university world with no K-12 content. Now the closed systems are starting to open up, using interoperability standards as the vehicle, and the open systems are maturing, offering K-12 features such as the ability to search for content using state-standards tags.

Although this convergence is still in the early stages, ADS 2008 respondents clearly signaled their LMS wish list: flexibility, content from multiple sources, full integration of state standards, high-quality assessment and remediation, individualized instruction, SIS compliance, ease of use, and support for streaming video and Web 2.0. Vendors who can address one or more of these components will be well positioned for the next phase of LMS adoption.

In the past, many vendors focused on closed systems because open systems lacked some functionality. And the open system specification approval process and support for different LMS standards were timeconsuming and expensive. However, as the market coalesces-- with interoperability standards all having a positive impact-- new opportunities are opening up for vendors to address the needs of customers for a broad array of learning solutions.

Districts are also looking at new ways to use their LMS, according to ADS 2008. In the past, many districts used their LMS for just one group or one project-- particularly credit recovery-- but ADS 2008 revealed that they are now moving into broader application areas, including curriculum management, digital materials to supplement traditional texts, school portals, teacher authoring, AP courses, content management, and professional development.