The integration between content management systems (CMS) and learning management systems (LMS) and use of popular open source CMS as an alternative to complex LMS is a hot topic.
The benefit to a CMS-centered solution is full integration. It’s more convenient to have your eLearning system as an integral part of your business portal regardless of your sphere of activity. No need to hire specialists to administer your LMS, no need to redirect your users from site to site, no need to develop costly integrations. Everything is centralized and integrated, forming a multifunctional portal with all necessary internal connections between components.
Moreover, CMS-centered solutions enable eLearning to become more social and collaborative. Corporate training programs turn into social communities. Plenty of free and low-priced components for open source CMS are available to facilitate social interaction around learning content. There are also components that facilitate mobile use. Again, it’s all about full integration and the possibility to use your LMS on one site together with any other open source CMS components you might find useful.
In the course of our development, we have noticed that though JoomlaLMS doesn’t have any specific functionality for corporate training use, this is one of the most frequent things JoomlaLMS is used for. We believe that we are part of a wider trend towards building integrated systems with open source applications.
That’s where JoomlaLMS got into seeking a reliable courseware partner. Our corporate clients need to complete JoomlaLMS with the best training courses. Many potential partners provide inadequate material for testing, and the quality isn’t high enough to recommend it to our clients. This is something we run into fairly often.
However, this wasn’t an issue with OpenSesame who provided us with access to high quality SCORM material. The content runs without issues through the LMS with all functionality. We are happy to welcome OpenSesame as a recommended courseware provider. It will be nice to welcome the challenging future of open source CMSs in eLearning together.
Elena Butramenko is Marketing and Partnership Development Manager at JoomlaLMS, a Learning Management System based on open source CMS. She is an eLearning geek with a history of collaboration with leading manufacturing companies.. Elena is inspired to create a shift in the approach to how trainers can deliver knowledge over the web. She can be reached on LinkedIn or Twitter.