LMS and LCMS: What's the Difference? http://www.learningcircuits.org/NR/exeres/72E3F68C-4047-4379-8454...1 of 5 8/15/2007 8:25 AMThe attached diagram published in the IDC report, The Learning Content Management System: A New E-Learning Market Segment Emergesillustrates how an LMS can launch courses developed by an LCMS and incorporate LCMS performance measurements into reports. LMS and LCMS: What's the Difference?By Leonard GreenbergIf you’re confused about the differences between a learning managementsystem (LMS) and a learning content management system (LCMS), you’renot alone. Not only are the names similar, some suppliers are positioningLCMSs 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, andmanaging all learning events within an organization, including online, virtualclassroom, and instructor-led courses. The primary solution is replacing isolated andfragmented learning programs with a systematic means of assessing and raisingcompetency and performance levels throughout the organization. For example, anLMS simplifies global certification efforts, enables companies to align learninginitiatives with strategic goals, and provides a viable means of enterprise-level skillsmanagement. The focus of an LMS is to manage learners, keeping track of theirprogress and performance across all types of training activities. It performsheavy-duty administrative tasks, such as reporting to HR and other ERP systems butisn’t generally used to create course content.In contrast, the focus of an LCMS is on learning content. It gives authors, instructional designers, and subject matter experts the means to create e-learning content more efficiently. The primary business problem an LCMS solves is to create just enough content just in time to meet the needs of individual learners or groups of learners. Rather than developing entire courses and adapting them to multiple audiences, instructional designers create reusable content chunks and make them available to course developers throughout the organization. This eliminates duplicate development efforts and allows for the rapid assembly of customized content. How does an LCMS fit within an LMS infrastructure?Because an LMS can have a direct impact on the work of thousands of learners and manages all aspects of organizational learning, experts recommend starting with an LMS that can be easily integrated with an LCMS.IDC's report The Learning Content Management System: A New E-Learning Market Segment Emergesexplains: “LCMSs and LMSs are not only distinct from one another, they also complement each other well.When tightly integrated, information from the twosystems can be exchanged, ultimately resulting in aricher learning experience for the user and a morecomprehensive tool for the learning administrator. AnLMS can manage communities of users, allowing eachof them to launch the appropriate objects stored andmanaged by the LCMS. In delivering the content, theLCMS also bookmarks the individual learner’s progress,records test scores, and passes them back to the LMSfor reporting purposes.”Differences and overlapThe Evolution of the Learning Content Management SystemMission: Buy an LMSThe Must-Have Features of an LMSLeonard Greenberg is the CTO for Pathlore; www.pathlore.com.LMS and LCMS: What's the Difference? http://www.learningcircuits.org/NR/exeres/72E3F68C-4047-4379-8454...2 of 5 8/15/2007 8:25 AMBoth an LMS and an LCMS manage course content and track learner performance. Both tools can manage and track content at a learning object level, too. An LMS, however, can manage and track blended courses and curriculum assembledfrom online content, classroom events, virtual classroom meetings and a variety ofother sources. Although an LCMS doesn’t manage blended learning, it does manage content at a lower level of granularity than a learning object, which allows organizations to more easily restructure and repurpose online content. In addition, advanced LCMSs can dynamically build learning objects based on user profiles and learning styles. When both systems adhere to XML standards, information is passed easily from the object level to the LMS level. The following chart, based primarily on research conducted by Brandon Hall, summarizes the capabilities and differences between the two systems. LMS LCMSWho benefits? All learners; organization Ccontent developers; learners who need personalized contentProvides primary management of Learner performance; learning requirements; learning programs and planningLearning contentManages e-learning Yes YesManages traditional forms of training, such as instructor-ledYes NoTracks results Yes YesSupports learner collaboration Yes YesIncludes learner profile managementYes NoAllows HR and ERP systems to share learner data Yes NoSchedules events Yes NoOffers competency mapping/skill gap analysisYes NoIncludes registration, prerequisite screening, and cancellation notificationYes NoCreates test questions and test administrationYes YesSupports dynamic pretesting and adaptive learningNo YesSupports content creation No YesOrganizes reusable content Yes YesIncludes workflow tools to manage content creation process No YesDevelops content navigation controls and user interfaceNo YesLCMS close-upIDC defines an LCMS as a system that creates, stores, assembles and delivers personalized e-learning content in the form of learning objects. Though an LMS manages and administers all forms of learning within an organization, an LCMS concentrates on online learning content, usually in the form of learning objects. A learning object is a self-contained chunk of instructional material. It typically includes three components: a performance goal (what the learner will understand or be able to accomplish upon completion of the learning), the necessary learning content to reach that goal (such as text, video, illustration, bulleted slide, demo, taskLMS and LCMS: What's the Difference? http://www.learningcircuits.org/NR/exeres/72E3F68C-4047-4379-8454...3 of 5 8/15/2007 8:25 AMsimulation), and some form of evaluation to measure whether or not the goal was achieved.A learning object also includes metadata, or tags that describe its content and purpose to the LCMS. Metadata may include information such as author, language, version level,