"Education is a process of continuous adaptation.” This statement by John Dewey, a renowned philosopher of education, resonates with the modern world, as there has been a significant shift from the traditional brick-and-mortar classrooms to online education.
The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed students and educators at all levels of education to quickly adapt to online learning. According to Forbes, about 10 million college students, take distance education courses in 2024. This rise of online learning and the growing need for adaptable skills have made online course certificates more valuable in the present-day workplace too.
To meet this demand, educators are turning to Learning Management Systems (LMS) and online course platforms. However, with a plethora of platforms available, educators and course creators face a critical decision: LMS or Online Course Platform?
This blog is your ultimate guide to choosing the right platform between LMS and online course platforms for your course creation journey. Before you make your decision, let us understand the importance of choosing the right platform.
Why Choosing the Right Platform Matters?
When it comes to creating online courses, your platform is your foundation. The platform you select will have a big impact on how your course is created, how engaged your students are, and eventually how successful your course is. This is why choosing the appropriate platform is crucial:
1. Streamline Course Creation:
Without a platform, managing course content, student access, and interactions becomes a tedious, manual process. The right platform empowers you with user-friendly interfaces, intuitive tools, and automated functionalities. This saves your valuable time and you can dedicate to crafting high-quality, engaging content.
2. Increase Engagement:
Students prefer interactive learning experiences rather than one-sided lectures. Using a platform equips you with features like quizzes, polls, discussions, and multimedia tools. This keeps your students actively participating, fostering a deeper understanding of the material and a more memorable learning experience.
3. Reach a Wider Audience:
Marketing and selling your course without a platform requires significant effort. The right platform offers built-in marketing tools like email marketing functionalities, and social media integrations with which you can easily reach your target audience, showcase your course's value, and maximize enrollments.
4. Overcome Scalability Difficulties:
As your course grows, adding new modules, accommodating a larger student base, and integrating with additional tools can become difficult without a platform. The right platform allows you to seamlessly expand your course offerings and cater to a growing student population.
5. Data-Driven Insights and Community Building:
With the help of a platform, you can monitor student progress, identify areas for improvement, and optimize your course for maximum impact and revenue generation. You can also develop a vibrant learning community through built-in forums and social integration features in the platform. This fosters peer-to-peer learning, enriches the learning experience, and keeps students motivated.
Considering the factors discussed above, we understand the importance of choosing an ideal platform. Before we move further, ask yourself the following questions:
With your course goals in mind, let's understand more about Learning Management Systems and Online Course Platforms to find your ideal fit.
Should you choose an LMS or an Online Course Platform?
What is an LMS?
An LMS or a Learning Management System is a software application that is used to design, deliver, and manage all types of content, including videos, courses, workshops, and documents. It is a platform that caters to both instructors and students. Instructors can upload course materials, create assignments, and track learner progress. Students can access learning materials, complete assignments, and communicate with instructors – all in one place.
Pros:
Pros:
- Efficient Content Management: LMS platforms specialize in organizing and managing large amounts of learning materials. You can easily create structured courses with modules, quizzes, and assessments.
- Data-driven Insights: LMS provides detailed analytics on student progress, completion rates, and performance data. This allows you to track learner engagement and identify areas for improvement.
- Security & User Management: LMS platforms offer robust security features to protect user data and learning materials from being replicated. You can also manage user access and permissions for different groups within your organization.
- Scalability & Integrations: Many LMS platforms have the ability to accommodate a large number of users and courses. They often integrate with other learning tools and enterprise systems.
Cons:
Cons:
- Time-consuming process: It might take you a little longer to get comfortable using all the features of an LMS. Be prepared for some initial training or a slightly more technical platform setup process.
- Unavailability of Marketing and Sales Tools: LMS platforms do not offer built-in tools specifically designed for marketing and selling courses to a broad audience. Their focus is primarily on managing and delivering training programs within an organization for its employees or members.
- Cost Considerations: Depending on the features and functionalities offered, LMS platforms can have higher costs, when compared to Online course platforms.
Ideal for:
Ideal for:
Learning Management System (LMS) is a powerful solution for organizations like universities, schools, and companies that deliver training programs. An LMS streamlines the learning experience for internal audiences, such as employees or students, by managing complex programs with a high volume of participants. This includes features for extensive learning materials, detailed progress tracking, and robust security measures. For organizations with a strong focus on data protection and compliance, an LMS offers advanced functionalities to safeguard sensitive information and manage user access effectively.
List of Top 4 LMS Platforms for Your Specific Needs.
- Canvas: A user-friendly and customizable platform ideal for educational institutions. It is well-known for its mobile-friendly design.
- TalentLMS: A cloud-based LMS known for its ease of use and drag-and-drop interface. It is ideal for small businesses and organizations looking for a user-friendly platform.
- Blackboard Learn: A comprehensive LMS offering beneficial features for complex learning journeys, often used by larger enterprises and universities.
- Cornerstone: A cloud-based LMS focused on employee onboarding, training, and development, well-suited for organizations with a large workforce.
How is an Online Course Platform different from LMS?
An online course platform is a web-based software application specifically designed for creating, hosting, delivering, and most importantly, ‘selling’ online courses. It offers user-friendly tools to build engaging course content, often with drag-and-drop interfaces for convenience. This platform not only equips course creators to reach a wider audience providing built-in marketing features and sales tools, but also helps them to manage student enrollment and transactions.
Pros:
- Ease of Use: Online course platforms are designed with creators in mind, offering user-friendly interfaces and drag-and-drop functionalities. This platform is ideal for individuals who want to save their time and effort on setting up the platform.
- All-in-one Solution: Many online course platforms offer a suite of tools for the entire course lifecycle, including content creation, marketing, sales, course delivery, and management. It does the job of an LMS while also providing sales and marketing features. This eliminates the need for creators to use multiple platforms.
- Low Costs: Online course platforms often have budget-friendly prices, allowing creators to start with a basic plan and scale up as their needs grow. It can be a great option for creators who want to achieve their course creation goals on a budget.
- Reach a Wider Audience: Unlike LMS platforms primarily used for internal training within organizations. Online course platforms are designed for the open market. They offer built-in marketing tools, acting as a launchpad for independent creators to reach a wider audience of potential students.
- Flexibility: In contrast to LMS platforms, which may have restrictions due to internal training purposes within organizations, Online course platforms offer independent creators full control over the content, pricing, and marketing of their courses.
Cons:
- Platform Fees: Most Online course platforms charge transaction fees for each course sale. These fees can eat into a creator's profits, especially for lower-priced courses.
- Limited Scalability: Online course platforms are often designed for individual creators or small businesses. They may struggle to handle the needs of a large organization with a significant number of learners. Features like enrollment management and progress tracking might not be efficient enough for a large learner base.
- Ideal for:
Online course platforms are a launchpad for aspiring creators and also a powerful tool for established creators. With user-friendly interfaces, these platforms empower creators to sell their expertise by creating courses and many other digital products. For emerging creators, online course platforms offer a cost-effective way to build their first course, allowing them to focus on content creation without worrying about complex infrastructure. Creators can also leverage the platform's marketing and sales tools to reach a global audience of passionate learners, establishing a dynamic online learning community.
List of Top 4 Online Course Platforms to Help you Achieve your Course Creation Goals.
- Graphy: Graphy offers everything you need under one roof: a user-friendly course builder, engaging live webinars, a dedicated membership site, and powerful marketing tools—all readily available for you to create, sell, and manage your online courses with ease.
- Kajabi: Kajabi is a well-established platform with a strong reputation in the online course creation market. It offers a broad set of tools. Compared to other competitors, Kajabi may be more expensive.
- Thinkific: Thinkific offers a cost-effective solution for getting your courses up and running. However, it is not as feature-rich as any other online course platform.
- Teachable: Teachable is another easy-to-use platform for producing and selling online courses. It caters to creators looking for a simple way to get started. Teachable's built-in marketing tools may be less effective as it offer less customization and scalability options compared to platforms that prioritize extensive marketing features.
Here's a detailed table comparing the functionalities of an LMS and an Online Course Platform to help you determine the best fit for your needs.
Still, feeling unsure of which way to go? Our decision-making quiz can help!
Read more about: Top 5 Platforms to Sell Online Courses in 2024.
Decision-Making Quiz
The Most Effective Alternative to an LMS
An Online Course Platform is a strong alternative to traditional Learning Management Systems for independent creators. It prioritizes user-friendliness and goes beyond basic course delivery, providing features specifically designed to help you build, market, and sell your courses effectively.
If you're looking for an Online course platform that empowers you to create and sell courses without straining your wallet, Graphy is an excellent choice. Here's what sets Graphy apart:
- Budget-Friendly: Create and sell courses on a budget, without hefty upfront costs. Graphy customizes its pricing structure to your needs.
- User-friendly Course Builder: Build engaging courses with ease using Graphy's drag-and-drop builder, without the need for coding.
- All-in-One Platform: Graphy provides everything you need under one roof – website and mobile app creation, intuitive course-building tools, marketing automation features, and student management.
- Unlimited Access: Benefit from unlimited access to features like digital product hosting, student enrollment, and secure payment gateways.
- Community & Engagement: Create a vibrant community around your course with built-in features like discussion forums and an affiliate marketing program that motivates others to promote your course.
Graphy is a complete game-changer for course makers. It provides a complete range of features at a reasonably low price, making it a true all-in-one package deal for you.
Make an Informed Decision.
After reading the entire blog, you have a clear understanding of what an Online Course Platform and a Learning Management System is, as well as their benefits, limitations, and whom it is suitable for. We believe that you understand the difference between an Online Course Creation Platform and a Learning Management System by now. You may have also completed the brief quiz offered, in order to make a better selection.
However, the final say in the matter rests with you. Read through the blog, think about your course creation goals, and come to a decision that works best for you!
Happy Course Creation!
