Many states have already started reopening schools, colleges, and universities in phases in the post after the COVID-19 pandemic. But most educational institutions allow only students of senior classes to learn in a conventional way. They encourage students of junior classes to learn remotely and digitally. That is why; educational institutions have to set up a blended learning environment by integrating traditional face-to-face teaching and digital learning seamlessly.
The new-age learning management systems enable educational institutions to switch from classroom-based learning models to blended learning models. An educational institution can choose the right learning management system (LMS) to bridge the gap between self-learning and instructor-led teaching. The importance of LMS for educational institutions can be assessed based on the steady growth of the global LMS market.
According to a market forecast report released by Markets and Markets,
“The global LMS market size is expected to grow from USD 13.4 billion in 2020 to USD 25.7 billion by 2025, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 14.0% during the forecast period during.”
Educational institutions have been investing in LMS to deliver online education by overcoming constraints related to resources. Likewise, many educational institutions are switching to sophisticated LMS to boost learning experience by leveraging disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML). Each educational institution can leverage a slew of benefits in the short and long runs by investing in the right LMS.
11 Short-Term and Long-Term Benefits of LMS for Educational Institutions
Implement and Upgrade Quickly
An educational institution can opt for a cloud-based LMS to eliminate the need to build and manage onsite IT infrastructure. It can make the LMS accessible to both teachers and students over the internet by availing of the required computing resources on demand. Also, a cloud-based LMS can be configured, customized, and implemented in a few minutes. The educational institution can further make the new and updated features accessible to users without upgrading the LMS solution regularly.
No Need to Train Students and Teachers
The new-age LMS systems are designed as easy-to-use web applications. The teachers and students can start using the LMS without using extra time and effort. But some LMS is designed with innovative and out-of-box features. The teachers can use the LMS after being familiar with the new features. The leading LMS solution providers help educational institutions to train teachers to leverage the innovative features.
Centralize and Consolidate Content
The LMS system allows teachers to create and share customized content with students. At the same time, an educational institution can integrate the LMS with a digital library to enable students to access study materials in varying formats – ebooks, PDF, video lectures, audiobooks, infographics, and podcasts. An educational institution can store all types of content in a centralized location. Hence, both teachers and students can access the relevant content organized and stored in a centralized location.
Provide Anytime Access to Study Materials
In addition to supporting blending learning, the new-age LMS systems are designed with features to promote self-learning. They enable students to learn at their own pace by accessing the eLearning materials and content anytime and anywhere. The sophisticated LMS further optimizes the study materials for mobile devices to ensure that a student can access the content using both computers and smartphones. A student can access the online learning material repeatedly without any restrictions.
Facilitate Seamless Interactions
While switching to online learning, many educational institutions invest in expensive software solutions to facilitate seamless interaction between teachers and students. But the new-age LMS platforms are designed with built-in communication features. Along with facilitating instructor-led learning, they allow students to interact with teachers through chatting, discussion forums, leader boards, and query corners. Teachers also have the option to improve the performance of students by sharing feedback on progress and performance.
Create and Expand Courses on Demand
The LMS helps educational institutions to automate common administrative tasks like the creation of courses, formation of groups, and management of student enrollment. Also, an administrator can use the features provided by the LMS to simplify the creation and management of content. The administrator can make the learners access relevant content and study materials by integrating the LMS with a digital library. Also, he can allow students to share content with students and enable students to upload content. Thus; an administrator can use the LMS to create and expand various courses in a few minutes.
Keep Students Engaged
Most LMS these days come with built-in features to help teachers boost student experience and engagement. They allow students to connect and interact with teachers using a variety of options – chats, discussion forums, query corners, leader boards, query corners, and nuggets. Likewise, teachers can keep students engaged in a virtual environment using gamification features like coins and badges. An educational institution can gamify the learning experience by implementing innovative ideas while customizing the LMS.
Track Progress of Learners
The sophisticated LMS allows teachers to track the progress of learners using a variety of features and options. Teachers can use the features to check if students are completing the courses, participating in discussions, and remaining engaged during online classes. Also, the features help the teacher to measure the time taken by a learner to complete assignments and identify the knowledge gap. At the same time, a teacher can generate reports using real-time data to monitor and assess the progress of learners from time to time.
Improve Efficiency and Productivity of Teachers
The conventional learning models require educational institutions to deploy additional teachers to teach more students. But a single teacher can teach a larger number of students in a virtual learning environment. The LMS comes with features that enable teachers to record video lectures. Also, they allow students to access video lectures anytime and anywhere over the internet. The teachers can focus only on improving the learning experience of students as the LMS automates online class management.
Strengthen Data Security and Privacy
Many educational institutions these days deliver online education using popular video conferencing apps or video calling apps. But they have to focus on strengthening data security and resolving privacy issues while using widely used tools. The cloud-hosted LMS systems help educational institutions to store data securely and eliminate chances of data loss. Also, the LMS is designed with features to address privacy problems by keeping the discussions and interactions private.
Make Online Education Accessible to More Students
According to a survey conducted by the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT), “Approximately 27 percent of the students mentioned the non-availability of smartphones and laptops. The maximum number of stakeholders has opted for mobile phones as a medium for teaching-learning during the COVID-19 period.“
LMS systems make digital learning accessible to millions of students by eliminating the need to use video conferencing tools and invest in study materials. The built-in features provided by the LMS enable students to attend online classes and access study materials using either computers or mobile devices. Also, an educational institution can integrate the LMS with digital libraries to help students access study materials without incurring extra expenses.
The sophisticated LMS developed by Mintbook helps educational institutions to blend instructor-led teaching and self-learning seamlessly. At Mintbook, we have developed specific LMS for schools, LMS for colleges, and LMS systems for universities. The easy-to-use and customizable software solution allow students to acquire knowledge by accessing a variety of digital content – ebooks, PDFs, journals, videos, audiobooks, and quiz forums. At the same time, it boosts student experience and engagement by providing exciting features like chats, discussion forums, query corners, leader boards, and nuggets.
