Learning Management System

A learning management system (LMS) is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting and delivery of educational courses or training programs. They help the instructor deliver material to the students, administer tests and other assignments, track student progress, and manage record-keeping. LMSs support a range of uses, from supporting classes that meet in physical classrooms to acting as a platform for fully online courses, as well as several hybrid forms, such as blended learning and flipped classrooms.

The history of the application of computers to education is filled with broadly descriptive terms such as computer-based instruction (CBI), computer-assisted instruction (CAI), and computer-assisted learning (CAL), generally describing drill-and-practice programs, more sophisticated tutorials, and more individualized instruction, respectively. LMS has its history in other terms, computer-managed instruction (CMI), and integrated learning systems (ILS) which offers additional functionality beyond instructional content such as management and tracking, more personalized instruction, and integration across the system. The term ILS was originally coined by Jostens Learning, and CMI was originally used to describe the PLATO Learning Management system (PLM) developed in the 1970s by Control Data Corporation for the PLATO system of computer-based instruction, content-free and separate from the courseware. FirstClass by SoftArc, which the United Kingdom's Open University used in the 1990s and 2000s to deliver online learning across Europe, is often identified as the first modern learning management system, though it was released decades after PLATO's PLM CMI/LMS system. The term is currently used to describe a number of different educational computer applications.

An LMS delivers and manages instructional content, and typically handles student registration, course administration, and tracking, and reporting of student work. Some LMSs help identify progress towards learning or training goals. Most LMSs are web-based, to facilitate access. LMSs are often used by regulated industries (e.g. financial services and biopharma) for compliance training. Some LMS providers include "performance management systems", which encompass employee appraisals, competency management, skills-gap analysis, succession planning, and multi-rater assessments (i.e., 360 degree reviews). Some systems support competency-based learning.

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