A learning management system or LMS is an online space that allows you to manage, track and report educational courses in your organization. Using this software, you can create and store eLearning courses, provide content to learners and evaluate their results.

But the changing landscape of the eLearning industry requires experts to respond and implement updates operating in real-time. The open-source LMS model accomplishes these tasks, and you can build custom solutions based on your specifications and flexibility. This model makes it possible for any developer to contribute to the source code and adopt an online learning process to trending updates.

The Landscape of an Open-Source Learning

So, you are choosing Open-Source among other types of LMS, and now you need to understand what makes this solution a sound choice and the types of difficulties your company could encounter.

Benefits of an Open-Source LMS 

• Customization: Open-Source LMS offers flexible and customizable features, which you can add according to your needs. You’re able to integrate your branding, layouts, dashboards and personalize the learning process. You can achieve specific training goals by modifying every aspect of the platform. 

• Cost: Open-source is a low-cost solution, but full functionality and capabilities are available for premium offerings.

• Community: You can find tips and tricks inside the online user’s community. Practitioners build it, thus its troubles are usually resolved through online forums and discussion groups.

Risks of an Open-Source LMS

• Support: There is no dedicated technical team, and the support is forum-based. It's often hard to find a solution immediately. 

• Features: Many open-source platforms have a limit on provided features. You should clarify what’s included in the download package and what will cost extra. 

• User Interface: Open-Source platforms offer basic and complex UI that isn't user-friendly. Usage can be problematic in practice.

Does an open-source LMS fit you well?

There are thousands of LMS vendors and too many Learning Management System features to choose from. Even after deciding what type of deployment or license you are going to go with, there are many other things to consider. 

Market-feature matrix

Each customer has requirements, such as user progress tracking and bookmarking, that are common to all. But an LMS solution that works well for a university does not mean that it will be successful for a large organization. The following market-feature matrix outlines the requirements that are priorities for each sector of online education: 

4 Questions To Ask Yourself Before Choosing An Open-Source LMS

Answering the questions below, you will determine whether Open-Source LMS suits your online learning project needs.

Click Let’s start button to pass the quiz!

The Top Open-Source LMS Vendors

In our previous post, we reviewed the best Open-Source LMS vendors. So, let’s look at the Top 4 of them: Sakai, Moodle, Canvas, and Open edX. 

What's next?

When choosing open-source software, you should consider some development factors and remember the tips and tricks described in this article. You should also have the capability to review the services with a solutions demo. Usually, it takes about 30 minutes and contains a brief presentation of an online learning solution. 

Start investing in an Open-Source Learning Management System and bring your educational services to the next level!