Learning Management System vs Learning Experience Platform

Learning and development is a field that thrives on technology implementations. LMS, LXP, IOL, LRS, SEP, and more learning systems are available.

The distinction between them can be perplexing for many people, but it doesn’t have to be. The distinction between a Learning Management System (LMS) and a Learning Experience Platform (LXP) is straightforward: who oversees the material and the learning journey?

So, let us examine the fundamental distinctions between Learning Management System vs Learning Experience Platform.

What exactly is a Learning Management System (LMS)?

A Learning Management System (LMS) is a software platform that is specifically built for enterprises that provide training and development. An LMS is a management technique that is used to distribute, track, and report on all educational content and events. The LMS is a more administrative-focused viewpoint.

An LMS’s keyword is ‘administration.’

The LMS is managed by the administrator. The administrator owns the content on the LMS and determines who has access to what, often known as ‘permissions.’

Do you need to add a new course to your curriculum? Hand it along to the administration. Do you require certain data for reports? The information is compiled by the administrator and presented via the LMS Dashboard/Report feature.

Role of Learning Managers and Administrators

Learning Managers and Administrators can manage various processes and information ranging from users, instructors, courses and curriculum, classroom events, job roles, competency assignments, notifications, generate reports and data analytics about learning progress, and much more.  

With the LMS, administrators can assign training content to learners. Learners get immediate notifications advising new course content is available and perhaps required. The LMS collects data such as the number of learners who have completed their assigned training, their assessment scores, and other parameters. 

Bonus Tip to Remember

Although the data collected by the LMS is important, it is up to the administrator or learning manager to decide which data to include in various reports. This auditing capability is one of the most essential benefits of a learning management system because the LMS has advanced database power.

Learning Management System Evolution (LMS)

The LMS has evolved as technology has advanced. It is a more intelligent platform that can transmit a variety of content material, including movies, audio, and PDF documents, and the list is growing with each new software update.

Regulatory, compliance and certification content is best suited for an LMS. These courses are mandatory. The student has little or no control over which classes they take; this is usually decided by the administrator or learning manager.

Employees seek to enhance their abilities to stay current in the fast-changing corporate world, in addition to regulatory and compliance. They may wish to take courses recommended in their performance evaluations. They may be interested in certain topics because they believe it will help them compete.

Organizations are also discovering that their employees are motivated to learn information that they believe is important, even if it is not necessarily relevant to their current job function. Companies are increasingly utilizing a variety of learning platforms to meet this on-demand learner requirement.

The Learning Management System’s Features

“Learning experiences are analogous to trips. The journey begins where the learner is currently studying and ends when the learner is successful. The goal of the voyage is not to know more, but to do more.” — Julie Dirksen, Consultant in Learning Strategy and Design

LMS features and functionality differ between products. However, some of the most important learning management systems are:

1. User Administration:

The LMS allows you to manage all users, internal or external user groups, assignments, and progress tracking. Administrators, learners, educators, and supervisors are all examples of users.

2. Course Delivery and Tracking via eLearning:

Self-paced eLearning allows for greater scheduling freedom. Learners can attend classes whenever it is convenient for them. The LMS is in charge of digital delivery and tracking. SCORM and Cmi5 eLearning standards ensure that courses built using these standards will work on any learning management system.

3. Management of Classroom Events: 

Powerful LMS systems manage both real and virtual classrooms. The LMS keeps track of enrolment, teacher allocation, and the location of training materials.

4. reports

Administrators and learning managers can customize and schedule specific information for all users, groups, courses, and classrooms.

5. Displays:

A dashboard is a visual representation of specific data that is used to generate insights regarding learning outcomes, skill gaps, performance enhancement, and other areas that may influence business.

What is a Learning Experience Platform?

A Learning Experience Platform (LXP) is a relatively recent concept in the learning world. The LXP revolves around the student, whereas the LMS revolves around the system and data. It offers contemporary user experiences.

The LXP is a sophisticated platform. It learns about the student by assessing their preferences and then proposes learning pathways. The LXP is user-centered, whereas the LMS is data-centered.

To support learners effortlessly, the intelligent LXP platform allows access across different devices. Information collects data and consolidates it into a single site while engaging learners through numerous techniques. Social learning, personalized learning, and individual learning paths are among the most popular characteristics of LXP.

Videos, podcasts, articles, blogs, micro-learning, and user-generated content or links are all examples of how learners want their user experience to be the same or comparable to how they receive content in their personal lives. Social networking has become the new normal.

Users anticipate that their day-to-day learning experience will reflect their social media preferences. Consider Netflix or Facebook. Consider group learning. Colleagues may include information discovered outside of the established course materials. Learners increasingly demand social cooperation in their learning system since the LXP provides a space for it.

Benefits of A Learning Experience Platform

• A system that is open to all internal and external resources.
• Allows individuals to share their stuff with their coworkers.
• Adaptive learning paths that personalize content experiences for each user
• It promotes collaborative learning and mentoring.
• Tracks learning outside of formal settings using emerging eLearning standards such as API.

Features of the Learning Experience Platform

The following are the most often requested features:

1. Self-Directed Education

Learners demand more control over their professional development and skills. They want the ability to set their own goals and choose their learning stuff. Learners want their learning to be similar to their social media experiences.

Users want to be able to obtain instruction or knowledge whenever they want or need it. This is the basic principle of the LXP, a learner-centric learning platform with a modern user experience, consumer-grade user interface, and ease of use.

2. Knowledgeable Experience

Because user tastes are so diverse, the LXP must be intelligent enough to guide them through their experience and provide personalized learning routes. For example, if an employee wants to learn something that they can’t find on their company’s platform, they want the freedom to search and acquire it elsewhere. The most compelling reason why firms are hurrying to develop learning experience platforms is this critical learner demand. To engage the learner, LXP pushes/recommends content, notifications, and reminders. It is clever enough to engage with the learner through messaging and intelligent chatbots, alerting pupils when a topic of interest becomes available.

3. Continual Access to Multiple Devices:

Learners expect to be able to access the content at any time, from any location, and on any platform, including desktop, native mobile, and progressive web apps. Learners want the option to begin a desktop course and finish it later at home on a mobile device.

4. Content Aggregation from Internal and External Sources:

Users have recently begun to request shorter, bite-sized courses. They find it difficult to sit for longer amounts of time to complete the course.

The content in microlearning is arranged in such a way that each mini-course has a distinct beginning and end, yet only takes a manageable amount of time to complete. This is in contrast to traditional eLearning courses, where learners frequently pause the course in the middle, affecting information retention.

Another advantage is that the learner can complete a short class and supplement the curriculum with third-party content providers. The Learning Experience Platform collects content from internal and external sources, allowing learners to expand their learning outside the corporate training catalog.

5. Uses AI to make recommendations:

Keep in mind that the LXP is a smart platform. Different LXP platforms have varying levels of intelligence, and some employ artificial intelligence to recommend third-party blog posts, articles, PDFs, videos, and other documents to users looking for content tailored to their specific needs. The LXP also works well with the blended learning concept.

With the blended learning model, instructors can assign a curriculum while learners feel empowered to dive further into topics of interest. Learners also like the opportunity to collaborate with subject matter experts, colleagues, and peers.

6. Social Learning: 

Learners live in a social media world in their daily lives. They increasingly desire continuity in their educational experience. Students that want to contribute their thoughts, ideas, and even knowledge (user-generated content) will be able to do so provided the learning experience platform enables social learning.

Because of the communal character of the platform, several platforms integrate rating systems akin to popular social media networks. Users can also make their comments public. Students might submit websites that they find relevant to their research.

Finally, those students who are proud of their knowledge of the subject can share it with their peers. Because reputation scores matter, students become known as authorities.

Is it necessary to choose between Learning Management System vs Learning Experience Platform?

The simple answer is NO. Both LMS and LXP benefit educational institutions and corporate training departments. When used in tandem, these solutions enable firms to provide online training to external sales channels, franchisees, and even customers.

However, before beginning the software selection process, every firm should assess its major objectives. Various providers cater to various consumer groups.

Some may specialize in eCommerce, while others may concentrate on marketing, with features and functionality sprinkled among the various product offers. It is critical to thoroughly investigate all of the features and capabilities of any platform you are thinking about using.

The Key Point

Learning management systems have been an essential aspect of enterprises since the 1990s. The introduction of advanced learning platforms has resulted in substantial changes in the eLearning sector.

The adoption of digital learning, the introduction of artificial intelligence and machine learning in LMSs, and other factors have increased demand for LMSs.

Let’s look at some intriguing Learning Management System vs Learning Experience Platform stats.

1. It is anticipated that the global LMS and eLearning markets will reach roughly $15 billion in 2021 and that the global corporate LMS market will expand at a compound annual growth rate of 23% by 2024.

2. Massive investments are being made in educational technology around the world. According to recent industry research, the LMS market would be worth over $28 billion by the end of 2025.

3. In terms of LXPs, their market share has grown twice their size on an annual basis. The LXP market is anticipated to be worth roughly $200 million by 2020. This demonstrates that LXPs are rapidly gaining popularity.

LXPs are becoming a vital aspect of the learning environment as more firms adopt them.

4. Even while the learning experience platform was still in its early stages, Josh Bersin, the creator of Bersin by Deloitte, projected its rapid expansion. LXPs had a market value of roughly $350 million in 2018 and have been growing every year since.

LMS and LXP Can Exist Together!

Learning Management System vs Learning Experience Platform features can coexist. Stakeholders require comprehensive adaptability. They require admin-centric learning at times and learner-centric functions at others. Companies that provide the flexibility of both platforms have a competitive advantage.

Discerning learners will value the ability to do what they want when they want, and how they want in the learning environment. The hybrid Learning Management System and Learning Experience Platform platforms provide a learning experience that results in extremely satisfied and motivated users.

So it’s not either/or, but coexistence and the option to use more of this at one time and more of that at another.

The Learning Platform via Bytecasting

While some debate the importance of the LMS versus the LXP, Bytecasting believes they are both vital. Bytecasting also argues that all features and functionalities in both systems interact harmoniously.

Bytecasting optimally integrates both software solutions and provides the flexibility required to use the LXP and LMS. Most businesses require some of both. Bytecasting offers both!

The Bytecasting Learning Platform provides enterprises with a ‘no-code’ learning platform as well as design tools to customize the system to their business requirements. It gives all stakeholders in the learning process, including learners, managers, instructors, and administrators, more authority.

The Bytecasting Learning Experience is available through a variety of internet-based user interfaces, including a desktop web browser, mobile responsive, progressive web app (PWA), mobile native apps, and chat tools such as MS Teams. It combines elements to automate many administrative operations and gives administrators complete tools or apps to manage the necessary day-to-day activities.

Conclusion

For the optimal user experience, Bytecasting feels that combining the Learning Management System and Learning Experience Platform is the ideal method. There is no reason to pick between the two. Organizations that embrace both platforms will see their user experience ratings skyrocket, resulting in a slew of good results. Bytecasting is enthusiastic about this intelligent platform and is always looking for new methods to combine technology for great effects.

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