QUESTION: What LMS System Would You Recommend?

That’s a tricky question. However, since I have received this question more than once, I will provide my answer in article form. Remember that this is an opinion, and your conclusions may differ for different reasons.

Estimates have suggested that more than 800 LMS vendors are competing in the LMS marketplace today (Leh, 2020). That makes any comparison a daunting task. I can give you a few suggestions, but unfortunately, some great LMS systems will be overlooked in this analysis. Furthermore, I have seen evidence to suggest that some platforms have issues that may require getting a new system altogether if something fails (Pappas & Zaharias, 2018). Therefore, I will omit novel or unique systems from this analysis.

Keep in mind that I have not personally tried or explored all platforms. Therefore, in this analysis and comparison, I will use customer reviews and ratings and select from some of the more popular LMSs used in the real world. An article on eLearning Industry suggests that an LMS decision should include budget (Pappas, 2020). However, since budgets vary, I will exclude price from my consideration and recommendation. Furthermore, an article by Lamba Solutions also suggests security (Pappas, 2017). While necessary, it will be assumed that the more popular LMSs will have robust security features. Therefore, such features will also be ignored in this assessment.

I have reviewed 25 comparison websites that mentioned my hot buttons, refined by reviews with 1000+ reviews as the base criteria. To avoid bias, I have also attempted to omit sites that sell a product or service related to LMS systems. Ultimately, I would recommend G2.com because it seems to have an unbiased comparison tool (G2, 2020).

Understanding that your hot buttons might be different, my top five hot buttons are Ease of Use, Ease of Setup, Quality Support, Dashboard Functionality, and Analytics. Based on this, my top four LMS systems were Blackboard Learn, Canvas, Google Classroom, and Moodle. I chose 22 categories and weighed ratings for each. Any system with a rating under seven was disqualified in that category, and all hot buttons received priority.

Per my review, my top choice would be Google Classroom, which excelled in most categories, including my hot buttons. My second choice would be Canvas. Again, there is no doubt that some other systems might be just as good – if not better in certain situations. Each system has its pros and cons. However, as far as the more popular LMS systems go, these two would be my recommendations. I hope this helps with your decision!

You might also enjoy my article titled Are Discussion Forums In Online Classes Effective?

References

G2. (2020). Best Learning Management System. Retrieved 2020, from https://www.g2.com/categories/learning-management-system-lms

Leh, J. (2020, August 31). Why So Many LMS Vendors? Retrieved September 15, 2020, from https://talentedlearning.com/why-so-many-lms-vendors/

Pappas, C. (2017, July 6). 11 Must-Have LMS Features Checklist for New LMS Buyers. Retrieved September 15, 2020, from https://www.lambdasolutions.net/blog/must-lms-features-checklist-new-lms-buyers

Pappas, C. (2020, June 16). The Best Learning Management Systems (2019 Update). Retrieved September 15, 2020, from https://elearningindustry.com/the-20-best-learning-management-systems

Pappas, C., & Zaharias, P. (2018, June 08). 8 LMS Usability Related Issues A New System Can Help You Overcome. Retrieved September 15, 2020, from https://elearningindustry.com/learning-management-system-lms-usability-related-issues-new-system-help-overcome