LMS and LCMS: What’s the Difference?

Posted on May 10, 2013 by admin

Below is an extract of the original article by Leonard Greenberg

If you’re confused about the differences between a learning management system (LMS) and a learning content management system (LCMS), you’re not alone. Not only are the names similar, some suppliers are positioning LCMSs as the new wave of LMSs. In fact, an LMS and an LCMS are complementary but very different systems that serve different masters and address unique business challenges.

In essence, an LMS is a high-level, strategic solution for planning, delivering, and managing all learning events within an organization, including online, virtual classroom, and instructor-led courses. The primary solution is replacing isolated and fragmented learning programs with a systematic means of assessing and raising competency and performance levels throughout the organization. For example, an LMS simplifies global certification efforts, enables companies to align learning initiatives with strategic goals, and provides a viable means of enterprise-level skills management. The focus of an LMS is to manage learners, keeping track of their progress and performance across all types of training activities. It performs heavy-duty administrative tasks, such as reporting to HR and other ERP systems but isn’t generally used to create course content. Continue reading →

Step-by-step guide to WordPress and eFront integration

Posted on April 16, 2013 by vprountzos

Installation

To install the eFront WordPress plugin go to: Administration Panels > Plugins > Add New and search for eFront. Find the plugin and click Install Now.

Installing eFront WP plugin

Alternatively, you can download the eFront WP plugin (v2.2.4) from here. After downloading the plugin, extract its contents into the WordPress plugins folder. You can find more information about managing and installing WordPress plugins here.

After you install the plugin you can find it in the list of installed plugins (Administration Panels > Plugins > Installed Plugin). There click on the link ‘Activate’.

Continue reading →

Why SCORM 2004 failed & what that means for Tin Can

Posted on April 15, 2013 by Athanasios Papagelis

“SCORM 2004 is dying (if not already dead!).” Now that might seem like a strong statement but it’s the sad truth. For the careful observer there are many signs to support this view, and here are a few of them:

Sign #1: 75% of packages are still on SCORM 1.2, 10 years after the initial release of SCORM 2004 [1] [2]

Sign #2: There is no certification process for tools and packages for the latest SCORM 2004 4^th edition. This is the case although several years have passed since 4^th release. Currently, someone can be a 4^th edition adopter but *not* certified. [3]

Sign #3: ADL itself heavily supports Tin Can as the successor of SCORM.[4]

In essence, SCORM 2004 always lived in the shadow of SCORM 1.2. Now, with the introduction of Tin Can API it seems certain that its adoption rate will decline even further.

Reasons SCORM 2004 Failed

There are a multitude of reasons why SCORM 2004 failed. Here are most prominent (and yes, we refer to SCORM 2004 in the past tense quite deliberately): Continue reading →

eLearning in Australia

Posted on March 26, 2013 by Roberta Gogos

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Lee Corbett, Chief Executive at simply elearning. She has years of experience in the elearning marketing in Australia and was the perfect person to gain some insight on what’s happening Down Under.

1. Please tell us a little about yourself and your organization

I have been in the elearning and VET sector training world since 2000 when I was engaged by Southbank Institute of TAFE in their Engineering faculty. I have held several committee positions nationally, mainly in the telecommunications and electronics industry skilling areas. I left TAFE in 2006 to set up an elearning department for one of the private mining RTO’s here in Queensland before starting my own business late 2007.

We are a specialised elearning content development company for the mining industry and all of the associated trade areas. We cover a lot of different facets of the sector from first aid, to plant maintenance and everything in between.

Having worked with TAFE I was familiar with a lots of LMS’s but none that wowed me. Then after a lot of research I came across the eFront LMS. I loved the system. For a relatively complex system as far as output goes, it was very functional and for me fairly easy to understand. We matched it against the likes Blackboard, Moodle and Janison it wins hands down.

Anyway, we loved the system so much we started to refer it to our clients and the relationship with eFront has grown from there. Now with the TalentLMS on the market we are so excited about being able to provide clients in Australia with a LMS solution regardless of their size or budget. I can’t wait to see where we are in 5 years time!

2. How would you describe the state of elearning in Australia today?

I should first clarify what I believe to be the difference between elearning and online learning. There has been a lot of resistance from trainers and educators. This is mainly due to job security rather than their dislike for elearning. Online learning (prevalent in TAFE & Universities) is merely taking paper based or video resources and putting them on the internet for students to access, download and view. Whereas true elearning is the development of training content from paper based to learner led resources. This is where you require instructional design and the ability to sit in the participants seat in front of a computer and have the content ‘talk’ to you whilst you ‘interact’ with it. This is the work that we do. We take paper based resources and we use graphical designers, instructional designers, and animators etc to build them into a ‘storybook’ of learning.

In my opinion, the elearning market in Australia is still in its infancy. Online learning is very popular with TAFE’s and Universities, but true elearning is something that the nation is still coming to terms with. Continue reading →

FERGHSC on adopting eFront LMS & creating a new revenue stream

Posted on March 1, 2013 by Roberta Gogos

FERGHSC is an online tutoring business based in Sydney, Australia that focuses on supporting students in their final year of schooling (the Australian Higher School Certificate aka HSC) their focus is on developing systems for HSC success through video lessons, interactive feedback such as their essay marking service and website course material, developed by a team of experts.

We had the pleasure of speaking with the FERGHSC team recently and gained some insight into why they chose eFront over other LMS’ and how it helped them create a new revenue stream. Here are a few snippets from the full customer story:

On choosing eFront: “A strong consideration was the ability to monetize our online business model, offering various courses at different price points, however it was the suite of built in modules [in eFront] which we felt allowed us to get started quickly and hit the ground running.”

On what they’ve achieved: “Thanks to the eFront system we are able to continuously built upon our existing courses, adding value through additional lesson material and extra quiz questions. For example, with the math type built in we are able for the first time to offer mathematics courses online and continue to add new material to these courses.”

“The best thing is that students just love the software and find it very easy to use.”

For more check out the full customer story on Slideshare:

FERGHSC Customer Story from eFrontLearning

Share the elearning love!

Posted on February 14, 2013 by Roberta Gogos

This Valentine’s day we thought we’d ask our dear friends and supporters to share their love for us online. Our attention has been brought to several ratings sites and we’d like to hear what your real thoughts are about us! If you have a few moments to spare, and love us (or not!) please check out the links below and let us know what you think of eFront and TalentLMS!

If you love eFront try these

And if you especially love TalentLMS here are some links for you!

http://www.serchen.com/company/talentlms/
http://www.getapp.com/reviews/write/talentlms-application
(here’s a review on TalentLMS on the FeedMyApp site) http://feedmyapp.com/review/train-your-small-business-big-boys/

This means a lot to us so thank you <3 and have a wonderful Valentine’s Day all!

Tin Can in action

Posted on February 7, 2013 by Roberta Gogos

Introduction to the Tin Can API:

The Tin Can API is a brand new learning technology specification that offers a simpler and more flexible way of capturing learning activities and sharing them with a variety of other systems – opening up an entire world of experiences (online and offline). A wide range of systems can now securely communicate with a simple vocabulary that captures this stream of activities.

The Tin Can API is a product of SCORM evolution – i.e. it’s practically the next generation of SCORM – and it eliminates many of the old limitations and restrictions. It is suitable for use in any kind of learning including: mobile learning, simulations, virtual worlds, serious games, real-world activities, experiential learning, social learning, offline learning, and collaborative learning. For a full introduction to Tin Can and how it differs to SCORM please see this post, or read “Tin Can Demystified” by Epignosis’ CTO, A. Papagelis.

How it works:

Statements are the ‘substance’ of the Tin Can API. Each statement corresponds to an experience that has occurred or is taking place right now. The Tin Can API uses (JSON formatted) statements containing any activity that needs to be recorded and sends them to a Learning Record Store (LRS). Each statement uses this simple form: “someone did something” or [actor]+[verb]+[object]. Continue reading →

LEARNTEC 2013 – Partner wins award for eFront!

Posted on February 5, 2013 by Roberta Gogos

Once again eFront and partner CLICK&LEARN were at LEARNTEC 29-31 Jan, one of Europe’s leading International Trade Fairs for Vocational Education, Learning and IT.

What’s more Checkpoint eLearning together with the Goethe University Frankfurt asked again 47 companies of the German-speaking market about their satisfaction with eLearning products and suppliers and as a result eFront partner CLICK&LEARN was awarded with the trophy “Supplier of the Year” in the category “Learning Management Systems” for eFront!

Check out the eLearningCHECK report (in German) for more! Continue reading →

Customer story: An International Maritime University & eFront for education

Posted on January 31, 2013 by Roberta Gogos

When the John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime University -DEOL Office conducted a study on different open-source LMS solutions to deliver education to a wide range of students around the globe – eFront came out on top. They decided that in terms of cost savings and ease of use and control, eFront was the best tool to use in engaging online distance learning.

Here’s what they had to say about implementing eFront:

“Among LMS solutions, eFront takes the lead in terms of integration with the corporate and educational environment. The overall implementation of the JBLFMU – ODL was successful and delivered on time and with beneficial results. The primary benefit is that all online courses provided by the school can now be delivered and accessed by all concerned. Instructors are now more adept at developing digital course content and have learned how to set, mark and record student progress online.” They added, “eFront is professionally supported and designed to last. It is always reliable because someone is regularly available on hand if something does go wrong.”

For more on this customer story, and the successful implementation of eFront for education, check this out!

John B. Lacson Foundation Maritime Uni. Case Study from eFrontLearning

eLearning Resources from eFront Blog

Tag Archives: LMS