This report describes the current status and future direction of Learning Management System (LMS) use in e-Learning. It highlights key trends likely to affect learning management system adoptions and implementations in the next two years. The goal of the report is to provide decision-makers with information to evaluate the efficacy of LMS platforms for adoption and implementation.
Learning management systems have been a central part of the e-Learning ecosystem for more than 13 years. Seen by many as the foundation for building today’s enterprise e-Learning practice, today’s LMS sits squarely in the evolutionary cross-fire as Web 1.0 (“the publishing Web”) morphs into Web 2.0 (“the participatory Web). The centrality of the traditional LMS is challenged by numerous technologies, such as rich internet applications, social media, online business process management systems, user-generated content, the growth of commercially published apps and e-books, ECM (enterprise content management), semantic tools like Twine, and socially bookmarked resource sites like Delicious — as well as the rapid acceptance of open source software. This report looks at ten key trends, including the decline of "home-grown" LMSs, the triumph of Moodle, the challenge of open source and open education resources, and the growing influence of Blackboard in the corporate sphere. It also looks at why campuses and businesses have been slow to adapt to "Enterprise 2.0"— as well as the impact of the current economic downturn on the adoption of LMSs.
This report identifies trends that will influence what user communities and stakeholders need to consider when selecting a new LMS. It looks at key variables affecting the LMS industry and reviews some of the challenges LMS systems vendors face in this increasingly competitive sphere.