After all, traditional academic education, whether K-12 or higher ed, has been mostly about person-to-person in-classroom teaching. In fact, when I was studying for my Masters of Education, when I told the teachers’ college that I taught only online, they found it hard to believe. Of course, that was a few years back, but prior to COVID-19, most teachers expected to look their students in the eye. Now, however, schools are picking their way carefully through an ever-changing world. Schools, districts, and parents are all making their own decisions – and that decision for many is to take education online and do so at a previously unheard of rapid pace. Other schools are opening back up. And many schools are trying to embrace a more flexible hybrid approach that lets them change up their programs at the drop of a CDC directive. The same is true for many businesses. While many workers have worked remotely, the need for enterprise-wide remote work has not only moved face-to-face training online, it has increased the need for training because it’s less practical now to visit the next cubicle to get some help and instruction. In the context of our new normal, we present our guide of 12 of the best learning management systems, each of which provides a different take on managing learning. We’ll show you LMS solutions tailored to K-12 and higher education, LMS solutions aimed at the enterprise and SMBs, and even one that helps you sell your own courses (AbsorbLMS) and another that optimizes the ability to provide custom certifications (TalentLMS). So, without further ado, let’s dive into our top learning management system providers. And good luck navigating our post-normal world! You can follow my day-to-day project updates on social media. Be sure to follow me on Twitter at @DavidGewirtz, on Facebook at Facebook.com/DavidGewirtz, on Instagram at Instagram.com/DavidGewirtz, and on YouTube at YouTube.com/DavidGewirtzTV. Blackboard is incredibly feature-rich, so if you have a specific way you want to operate your learning environment, the odds are you can do so in Blackboard. It’s also got specific business-oriented implementations, allowing corporate training to be managed using roughly the same interface as university training. Blackboard’s UI has historically been cumbersome and frustrating, but the company has put a new effort into streamlining the user interface, making it more accessible in year’s past. Pros
Already familiar to many students and educatorsRegularly updatedSolid quiz and gradebook system
Cons
Can be cumbersome to set up new coursesChallenging learning curve for newbies
In my experience, Canvas is really good at giving educators tools for creating educational content for students. I spent a lot less time fighting with Canvas than I did with Blackboard when creating resources for my university students. In-app communication between students and teachers is solid as well, along with a well-thought-out grade book and overall grading management system. While Canvas is open source, most institutions license it from Instructure to avail themselves of all of Instructure’s support resources. Pros
Open source version availableNicely thought-out gradebook interfaceClass templates make new classes easy to setup
Cons
Interface can get very clutteredSome reliability challenges, especially with self-hosted versions
Moodle (an acronym for modular object-oriented dynamic learning environment) is very powerful and flexible, as you might expect from a community-maintained product with very broad market penetration. It’s also a bit fussy, and its mobile features aren’t really keeping up with what modern students expect. It works on phones, but meh. There is a cloud-based solution, MoodleCloud, launched in 2015. If you’re interested in Moodle and don’t mind paying a monthly fee so someone else maintains the installation, MoodleCloud might be for you. Pros
Open sourceCustomize as much as you wantLarge user support community
Cons
Setup can be frustratingNot all features evolve evenly
Google Classroom is relatively easy for educators to set up, and it provides a solid organization capability for curriculum and material. Unfortunately, some students have complained that the customization features aren’t available to them. Of course, the big win is that Google Classroom is so tightly integrated with other Google apps, ranging from Google Calendar to Gmail, as well as Google Docs and Google Drive. If you’re embedded in the Google ecosystem, Google Classroom is an ideal extension. Pros
It’s GoogleAlmost silly how easy it is to get startedVery tightly integrated into Google Docs and Drive
Cons
It’s GoogleIt’s a Google product, so it could be killed at any timeVery, very tied to the Google ecosystem
What makes Litmos stand out is that it scales. We’re not talking just one classroom to 20 We’re talking scaling to millions of students. It deploys quickly, can be tuned for both abilities and roles, provides any-device access to personalized courses and content, and integrates with all of SAP’s vaunted business management technology. If you’re looking for the Cadillac of corporate learning, SAP Litmos LMS is your new best friend. Pros
Ginormous scaleabilitySAP integration and supportExcellent for corporate teaching
Cons
Not all that well suited for K-12You better like SAP
One of the more interesting aspects of Captivate Prime is AI-based social learning, which transforms a traditional online activity into one that provides more value to students. The AI-based social learning starts with what is essentially a discussion forum for a particular class but optimizes it by using AI to do content curation and prioritization. Pros
Excellent course organization toolsSmart enroller for fast participant setupAI-optimized discussion boards
Cons
Often confused with Adobe CaptivateLicensing terms can be onerous
Of particular note is the partnership between Schoology and Capti, a platform designed to help struggling readers improve comprehension and fluency. Schoology also nicely integrates with Office 365 that allows teachers to create templates that students can interact with using traditional Office tools, encouraging not only knowledge creation on a specific educational domain but also skills development in apps students are likely to need later in life. Pros
Solid K-12 solutionGreat resource sharing toolsIntegration with Microsoft and Google ecosystems
Cons
Can be challenging for students to navigateLimited customizationGroup discussion could be better
As a learning management system, Docebo is well-liked in the corporate world. It incorporates badges, awards, and rankings as involvement devices that give the learning experience a bit of gamification flair. Docebo does have a clear and powerful API, and I did find a number of Docebo-related projects on Github. Some of Docebo’s most popular features are the ability to design custom dashboards on an instructor-by-instructor level, the use of widgets to help managers see their teams’ progress and skill gaps, as well as a tool that allows learners to share their experiences and learnings with other students. Pros
Some nice gamification featuresClean user interfaceRelatively deep feature set
Cons
What happened to open source?Not designed for K-12 useSome users report reliability issues
Edmodo excels at group messaging and information exchange. Users and instructors can set up their own groups and exchange messages within a secure environment. Edmodo provides easy-to-use tools for organizing group work and managing homework. The product’s online exam capability is also solid and provides real-time scoring. Edmodo does fall down a bit on the mobile client. It’s clearly a work in progress. That said, it does work everywhere and can be used everywhere. A strong planner feature is provided for students, so they can keep track of their work. While the free tier is quite capable, the paid Enterprise tier adds video and whiteboarding, organization-wide groups, school and district pages, admin tools, analytics, bulk onboarding, and prioritized support. Pros
Attention to CARES Act eligibilitySolid group messaging featuresReal-time exam scoring
Cons
Mobile app needs work (but is getting better)Some users complain about the equation editorFree programs may go away as the pandemic evolves
The company offers an Accessibility Interest Group as a forum on their Brightspace Community boards along with a mailing list for sharing accessibility-related information. They are also a member of the National Federation of the Blind’s Strategic Nonvisual Access Partnership (SNAP) program. As a traditional learning management system, Brightspace is comprehensive, with a mobile-first focus. Lessons can be set to drip out module-by-module, or as a complete class. It also interfaces with education textbook publishers Pearson and Cengage. Pros
Easy tools to help teachers focus on accessibility in coursewareSolid mobile platform integrationSupported by Pearson and Cengage
Cons
Gradebook setup could be more intuitiveMultiple course interface is sometimes challenging for studentsCould use better documentation
Another standout aspect of Absorb LMS is that provides a course selling platform, allowing you to create your own courses, distribute them, and collect payment from them, all within the Absorb platform. Absorb LMS integrates with over 70 payment gateways, with many available in multiple currencies. Absorb LMS also has quick integration with Zoom. Once a course is created, all you need to do is select Zoom as the venue, and Absorb and Zoom work together to set up your virtual meeting space. If you’re at a business that requires social learning, compliance training, employee development, sales training, mobile learning, partner or customer training, Absorb LMS is a solid solution. That said, if you’re looking for a K-12 or college or university training system, there are better tools listed in this guide. Pros
Salesforce integrationAbility to sell your coursesQuick Zoom integration
Cons
Weak on K-12 and university learning managementMediocre system integrator supportManager/employee integration needs work
What we found interesting were the very capable assessments and survey systems. Assessments are critical for both knowledge retention and student engagement. A strong system that offers different types of questions, a variety of test types, and extensive reporting can be quite valuable in making sure that the “learnings” actually stick. Two other aspects make TalentLMS fit interestingly in the SMB training world. You can set up your own certifications and manage them (including validity periods). The ability to quickly create a certification that an employee or partner can display can help drive learning in areas where special attention is needed. Additionally, gamification capability is another way to make the learning process pleasant, increase retention, and encourage engagement. TalentLMS allows you to enhance your courses with badges, points, Levels, rewards, and leaderboards. Pros
Very capable free tierDeep assessment systemCertification management features
Cons
Rocky admin interfaceStudent progress tracking could be improvedLimited/challenging customization
Then, of course, I gathered opinions and looked into each offering to find the key aspects that make them stand out. The most important thing you should look for is free trials. Look, you may not have time to find the perfect solution and introduce it in stages. Some of you will have to put an entire school district online in a matter of weeks. I’m recommending you look for free trials because your best chance of succeeding once your review features and eventual pricing is to bring the system online and test and tinker with it. Try creating classes and resources. Get a few people to play teachers and students and watch how the system behaves. If it proves too annoying, jump to the next one and keep trying. When working with a rapid deployment situation, pay particular attention to how data is exported and imported from each solution. You’ll hopefully spin up your forever LMS, but if you’re trying to get the semester online right now, you may find that you have to move to another solution next year. Good luck. Stay safe out there.
