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Published Date: 10/15/2009

The Evolution of the LMS: From Management to Learning

The Evolution of the LMS:
From Management to Learning

Deep Analysis of Trends Shaping the Future of e-Learning

by Beth Davis, Colleen Carmean, and Ellen D. Wagner
Sage Road Solutions, LLC

This report describes the current status and future direction of Learning
Management System (LMS) use in e-Learning. It highlights key trends likely to
affect learning management system adoptions and implementations in the next two
years. The goal of the report is to provide decision-makers with information to
evaluate the efficacy of LMS platforms for adoption and implementation.

Learning management systems have been a central part of the e-Learning ecosystem
for more than 13 years. Seen by many as the foundation for building today’s
enterprise e-Learning practice, today’s LMS sits squarely in the evolutionary
cross-fire as Web 1.0 (“the publishing Web”) morphs into Web 2.0 (“the
participatory Web). The centrality of the traditional LMS is challenged by
numerous technologies, such as rich internet applications, social media, online
business process management systems, user-generated content, the growth of
commercially published apps and e-books, ECM (enterprise content management),
semantic tools like Twine, and socially bookmarked resource sites like Delicious
— as well as the rapid acceptance of open source software. This report looks at
ten key trends, including the decline of "home-grown" LMSs, the triumph of
Moodle, the challenge of open source and open education resources, and the
growing influence of Blackboard in the corporate sphere. It also looks at why
campuses and businesses have been slow to adapt to "Enterprise 2.0"— as well as
the impact of the current economic downturn on the adoption of LMSs.

This report identifies trends that will influence what user communities and
stakeholders need to consider when selecting a new LMS. It looks at key
variables affecting the LMS industry and reviews some of the challenges LMS
systems vendors face in this increasingly competitive sphere.