A Learning Management System is an essential tool for eLearning professionals. It can also be a major expense, especially if you are looking for a robust, versatile LMS that can accommodate your eLearning development needs. Who says that top notch Learning Management Systems have to come with a high price tag? In this article, we’ll highlight 5 of the Popular Free LMSs options available in LMS market, all of which are absolutely free of charge.
There are hundreds of organizations that offer free LMSs. Today, let us evaluate 5 free LMSs, used extensively, on the basis of the following parameters:
- Degree of openness of code
- Ease of setting up and customization
- Support provided to learning on mobile devices
- SCORM-Compliance :
1. MOODLE
MOODLE is the acronym for Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment. This learning management powerhouse is the leader of the free LMS world. Without a doubt, it is one of the most popular open source LMS options available today. It features dashboards, learner tracking, and multimedia support. This open source Learning Management System also gives you the ability to create mobile-friendly online courses and integrate third party add-ons. Though MOODLE was initiated as a platform to manage learning programs delivered by educational institutions, it is used by many corporate organizations. The LMS provides excellent support to 200+ languages and has a very large user community.
Evaluation of MOODLE
Degree of openness of code: MOODLE’s code is absolutely open. Anyone can access the code and modify it to meet their needs.
Ease of setting up and customization: The LMS is quite complex and people with no technical background often face problems in setting up and customizing this application.
Support provided to learning on mobile devices: MOODLE provides high-quality support to mobile learning. The developers of the LMS have come up with a mobile version of the application called Mobile MOODLE, which runs seamlessly on Android, iOS, and Windows operating systems.
SCORM-Compliance : SCORM stands for “Sharable Content Object Reference Model” and it is a set of technical standards developed for eLearning software products. The standards determine how online learning content and learning management systems (LMS) communicate with each other. Moodle along with the property of open source is Scorm-Compliant.
2. ATutor
This open source Learning Management System boasts a variety of useful features, ranging from email notifications to file storage. One of the most notable highlights of ATutor is that it is user-friendly and easily accessible, which makes it an ideal match for those who may be new to the world of eLearning design and development. It also offers a wide selection of themes to speed up the eLearning course development process, as well as eLearning assessment tools, file backups, analytics, and poll integration.
Degree of openness of code: The code of this LMS tool is open and limited to modify according to needs.
Ease of setting up and customization: As the code of ATutor is not completely open source, companies have to rely on ATutor developers to customize it functionality according to the needs.
Support provided to learning on mobile devices: ATutor is a tool that allows learners and their trainers to access technology-enabled learning content on any mobile device using Android and iOS operating systems etc.
SCORM-Compliance : SCORM Run-Time Environment & SCO Manager in ATutor LMS makes it a Scorm–compliance LMS system.
3. CourseSites by Blackboard
Blackboard is one of the bigwigs in the LMS market, and CourseSites is the free version of their commercial product, Blackboard Learn. CourseSites is a cloud-based learning management application and was created mainly for catering to the requirements of individual corporate trainers. Users and learners of this LMS can login using their Facebook or Gmail accounts. CourseSites can support an unlimited number of learners and integrates seamlessly with other Blackboard products.
Evaluation of CourseSites
Degree of openness of code: The code of this powerful learning management tool is NOT open.
Ease of setting up and customization: As the code of CourseSites is not open, companies must rely on Blackboard to set up the LMS. Moreover, some facilities such as white-labeling and branding features, custom scripts, and single sign-on are available only on payment.
Support provided to learning on mobile devices: CourseSites is fully integrated with Blackboard Mobile Learn, a tool that allows learners and their trainers to access technology-enabled learning content on any device running on Android, iOS, Palm, webOS, and Blackberry platforms.
SCORM-Compliance: CourseSites is also a Scorm-Complaint open source LMS.
4. Sakai
Sakai is one of the better known names in the world of LMSs. Like MOODLE, Sakai was developed mainly for meeting the needs of organizations in the educational sector, but is used extensively by companies. Sakai offers various useful features such as hassle-free integration with Google Docs, facilitation of social learning through wikis, and so on.
Evaluation of Sakai
Degree of openness of code: Sakai’s code is NOT FULLY open. The LMS’s code is available only to key stakeholders, identified by the developers, from time-to-time.
Ease of setting up and customization: As Sakai’s code is not available to all users, many companies have to rely on the developers and organizations with access to the code of the LMS to set it up. The foundation, in-charge of developing the application, is well-funded and provides good support to problems in customizing the learning management platform. There is also a reasonably large user-community that you can look to, if you face any issues.
Support provided to learning on mobile devices: Sakai can be accessed seamlessly on any mobile device. The user interface of the LMS is fully responsive and is designed for optimal viewing experiences on all devices, including smartphones and tablets.
SCORM-Compliance: Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM), a set of standards and specifications used to define information about learning objects and content so that they can be packaged and transferred between learning management systems and modules is also featured in this LMS tool.
5. Dokeos
If you’re looking for pre-built eLearning course elements, then Dokeos may be the best open source LMS option that is offered for free up to 5 users. This learning management tool is used by many organizations in Europe, where it originates. Dokeos comes with an inbuilt course authoring tool and a library of pre-designed quiz templates. It also boasts of a chat tool to facilitate learner collaboration and has a relatively low learning curve compared to other open-source LMSs.
Evaluation of Dokeos
Degree of openness of code: The code of the LMS is open and is released under a GPL license, which allows everyone to use, share, and alter the code of a software application without any restrictions.
Ease of setting up and customization: The developers of Dokeos provide good documentation on the LMS. However, the learning management platform doesn’t have a great reputation for facilitating hassle-free customization. There have been complaints in the past that response for queries and issues is slow.
Support provided to learning on mobile devices: Dokeos provides good support to content developed in HTML5, a mobile-friendly format. The LMS is designed to offer seamless learning experiences on devices using Android and iOS operating systems.
SCORM-Compliance: Dokeos is also a Scorm-Complaint open source LMS.
The choice of the right free LMS goes a long way in meeting your training management needs effectively, without burning a hole in your pocket. Would you like to expand this list? Please do so.
