LMS breakdown - Media Reviews - learning management system

T+D, Oct, 2002 by Michael Feldman

The purchase of a learning management system is a big investment chock-full of considerations. But once you've decided that an LMS is the solution, you're left with one decision: Which LMS is the right one for my company?

This is the first in a series of LMS reviews conducted by Training Media Review It doesn't provide guidance on whether and how to use e-learning; plenty has been written on that already. Its goal is to help you discriminate among competing systems. No single product or solution is perfect for every business or activity. TMR hopes that by providing information and analysis on key areas, it can help you find a successful match between your organization and an LMS provider.

Here are the highlights of the TMR report on GeoLearning. The full report is available on the TMR Website

* www.tmreview.com.

The company

GeoLearning, an important player in this fast-developing field, offers a powerful and comprehensive suite of products and services based on an application service provider model of Web-delivered e-learning solutions. As an ASP, GeoLearning computers provide all of the storage, delivery, management, tracking, and transaction capacity required. Clients need only a Web browser. For more on this issue, see the accompanying article "ASP or OMDB?" in TMR's full report.

Founded in 1997, GeoLearning is headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa, with a data and hosting center in Ottawa, Ontario, and sales offices throughout the United States. In five years, the company has developed and deployed an extensive, yet easy-to-use, e-learning delivery, tracking, and management system. Its client list includes SITEL Corporaton, Berlitz, and National City Mortgage, as well as public-sector clients such as the U.S. federal court system and Department of Commerce.

GeoLearning is privately held. Frank Russell, a training veteran, is president and CEO. Those factors combined make GeoLearning an exception in the tech-dominated e-learning industry. They also help to explain why a small company has carved out a good business for itself and, as far as TMR has been able to determine, established a reputation for good service.

Product basics

Clients, both administrators and learners, need only a standard Web browser to access all of the administrative, display, and interactive capacities of the system. All flavors of Netscape and Internet Explorer are supported, as well as alternative browsers such as Opera. Depending on course content, some standard browser plug-ins, such as Shock-wave and RealPlayer, may be required but are easily available for download and installation.

GeoExpress is a streamlined LMS and e-learning delivery platform for organizations with fewer than 2500 employees. The company says GeoExpress can usually be implemented in 30 days or less. The cost of the system is US$49 per user.

The principal product, the GeoLearning Center, is a well-designed, 3-D representation of a physical four-story educational institution. It can be visually and functionally modified to fit the design style and administrative needs of the client company. The center includes easily accessible built-in tools for learning management on the part of learners and administrators: virtual classrooms, course catalogues, student records, class schedules, academic calendars, server- and Internet-based reference materials, and tests. Interactive communication options include chat, threaded discussion lists, live voice-duplexed sound, instant messaging, instant polls, and internal email. Those options enable content creators to build multiple paths of interaction between instructors and learners, as well as between learners.

If all of that sounds busy and hard to sort out, don't worry. One of the strongest features of the GeoLearning Center is the clean, intuitive 3-D interface. In the lobby, for example, learners can one-click on the information desk to get basic information about the center or see a map of the entire complex, from which they can jump to any destination instantly.

In the main lobby is the learning management office, where instructors and administrators can access GeoLearning's tracking, records, and course administration controls as well as the basic, functional courseware authoring tool. The administrative capabilities of the system are powerful and easy to use and cover various forms of training, including asynchronous online courses, streaming Webcasts, and instructor-led interactions.

Navigation is straightforward, intuitive, and multi-tracked. In this function, as in several other key areas of content delivery, the product provides alternative routes to the same information--designed to appeal to learners with differing learning styles and orientations.

The second floor houses the registration desk and several virtual classrooms for the delivery of asynchronous Web-based courses. The customer determines, through the registration desk, which courses are available for enrollment. Courses can be arranged by area, level, or skill. Some courses are self-paced and available anytime, anywhere; others incorporate live Webcasts or instructor-led sessions.