What Are the LMS Alternatives?

Originally published on geekfence.com

eLearning is often associated with eLearning technology that hosts your online course or training. But not many people know that LMS or a learning management system is actually only one of your options. In this article, we will talk about the properties of an LMS and also offer you LMS alternatives. 

The Four Key Components of an LMS

Below are the features you normally would expect to have in an LMS: 

#1. The ability to host your content (whether it is videos, PDFs, or anything else)

#2. The ability to sequence that content, creating a learner journey with milestones or objectives along the way

#3. The ability to deliver the content to your learners 

#4. The ability to gather data about your learners, especially how they interact with the content

When looking for LMS alternatives, you will want all of these components to be accounted for. 

Here are 5 LMS Alternatives you can take advantage of: 

#1. Loom

Loom is a screen capture platform. It is free for your first 25 videos and then just $10, making it highly affordable. You not only create screen-recorded videos on Loom, but the platform hosts them for you. You can sequence your content using folders. The platform makes them easy to share or “deliver to” your audience via the ability to share links. Loom also gathers data on how the videos, including how much of each, are being watched. It even lets learners interact with videos, giving you more data. 

The caveat is that Loom is best for anything that works with a screen capture. Some good examples are showing a process on the computer or PowerPoint. 

#2. YouTube or Vimeo

YouTube or Vimeo are also great choices. Both are known as video hosting platforms. Both let you sequence your content by creating playlists. You can deliver the content to your learners by sharing the link. Just remember to set your videos to private if you plan on charging for your course. Both YouTube and Vimeo also gather data, including how much your learners watch. 

#3. Google Sheets, Excel LMS

Using a program like Excel, Google Sheets, or Apple’s Numbers makes it easy to organize and sequence your course. You can take advantage of the limitless number of columns to organize modules, milestones, and topics. As a bonus, this works for a variety of content types, as you link to your content, whether it is a PDF, video, audio file, or something else. The caveat is that Google Sheets or Excel won’t host your content. You will host it on Dropbox, Google Drive, YouTube, or elsewhere. 

#4. Social Media

To use social media as an LMS alternative, you simply create a private group. You can require payment before joining for paid courses. Use the files and other social media tools to sequence the course. Social media platforms also include data. Some let you create quizzes and polls for even more data from learners. 

#5. Kajabi

Your final option is a business management system, i.e., a system that lets you manage your digital products. We suggest Kajabi for this. Kajabi has all of the traits of an LMS outlined above, but it also has built-in sales and marketing. It lets you create a website and email funnels, among other things. It also lets you create other types of content, such as podcasts or membership sites. 

Conclusion

An LMS can be helpful, but there are plenty of alternatives available. We strongly suggest Kajabi for anyone selling their program and also highly recommend Loom for screen recording needs. There are also other great options, like YouTube, Vimeo, social media, and Google Sheets.