Learning Management Systems (LMS) - ED 722

The reading this week in my ED 722 course was about Learning Management Systems.  At first it had my head spinning a bit when I started going through the literature.  The information from the authors, Watson and Watson in their article: What are Learning Management Systems, What are They Not, and What Should They Become? helped me understand the difference between LMSs, Course Management Systems, and Learning Content Management Systems.  It also helped me realize how difficult of a decision it is for school administrators and business executives when deciding the best LMS for their organization.

With this thought in mind, I decided to create a Storify about how to choose the best LMS for an organization.  I did not focus specifically on education, rather I wanted to look at all areas that would use an LMS.  The following is a link to my storify:  LMS - Storify

There were many resources I found through Storify about LMSs and how to select the best one for an organization.  The majority of the resources said the same thing about how to select the best LMS.  Those in the position to make decisions need to look at what is best for their organization.  They must consider funding, what type of education they want to provide to those being educated, and the level of access they want to give the individuals who will work with the program on a daily basis.

One of the best resources I found was a white paper by Advanced Distributed Learning.  I admit it was a very lengthy white paper, but it was worth the read/skim.  I will be honest that I did not read through the entire paper, but I did get a chance to look over a majority of it and was impressed with the information that it contained.

I am not sure if I one day want to be in a position where I would need to decide what type of LMS would be best for my organization.  After this week's readings and my Storify creation, I feel as if I now have a better understanding of what I would look for when making that decision.  It is not an easy decision to make and it makes me realize the process that school administrators go through when they have to select an LMS.  I do not envy them at all!