LCMS, LMS—They're not just acronyms but powerful systems for learning - E-Learning - learning content management system

T+D, March, 2002 by Kevin Oakes

When I first heard the term LCMS used widely, I cringed. Great. Another confusing e-learning acronym we have to explain--just like LMS, RLO, AICC, LRN, IMS, and SCORM, among others. When will we learn?

Despite the silly acronym, LCMS is the freshest concept to hit e-learning since LMS burst onto the scene a few years ago. Let me explain why.

It's the content

LCMS is all about the content and providing that content to the user more efficiently and more dynamically. LCMS stands for learning content management system, which is defined by IDC as a system that's "used to create, store, assemble, and deliver personalized e-learning content in the form of learning objects." Also go to www.learningcircuits.org/glossary.html Clear as mud, right? Before analyzing LCMSs in more detail, let me first clarify some of the terms used in IDC's definition--such as personalized, e-learning content, and learning object.

Personalized. You'd call a piece of content personalized if it offers exactly what a specific user needs. Catering to the individual learning needs of a user is important to making the learning useful. A user's precise needs are often determined from his or her background, current level of knowledge in the subject matter, job functions or role, and personal preferences.

E-learning content. This term refers to content delivered electronically, almost always through the Web but sometimes via other means such as CD-ROMs.

Learning object. Basically, it's a self-contained, small chunk of learning that accomplishes a specific learning objective. A learning object is also self-describing. In other words, in addition to the content, it contains a description of itself that includes such information as the nature of the content, learning objectives, author, language, and version. Information that describes the object is typically referred to as metadata.

Look at Properties in any Word document, and you'll get a feel for what metadata represents. In practical terms, a learning object can be viewed as a well-defined module inside a course, with a couple of added niceties. A learning object can be created, stored, managed, delivered, tracked, reported on, and improved independent of any specific course. And it can be reused and shared by multiple courses.

The subject of learning objects causes violent arguments among even the most mild-mannered instructional designers, so we'll talk about them in a future column.

LCMS ingredients

A good LCMS needs the right mix of

* authoring and content-creation capabilities

* support for a wide variety of content formats

* robust model for creating and managing learning objects

* scalable object repository (the database where everything gets stored)

* good search-and-browse capabilities

* ability to personalize delivery of content

* detailed tracking and reporting capabilities.

That's a lot of features, but the majority of well-known LCMSs currently on the market have most of those qualities and usually differ only in the amount of richness offered in specific aspects of the mix.

Typically, the authoring component enables creation of content from scratch, as well as the assembly and re-purposing of existing content--created through such external tools as PowerPoint, Word, PDF files, or custom e-learning courses. In some cases, the authoring component can enable collaborative team authoring with sophisticated version control and project management capabilities.

The object repository is nothing more than a database of learning objects. The metadata of the learning objects is used to categorize and locate them. The delivery component often assembles learning objects in the database dynamically to deliver a personalized learning experience based on the specific learning needs or style of the individual user. As each learning object is delivered, the system tracks the details of what is delivered to whom, usually producing simple usage reports. In some cases, the system uses detailed tracking and even offers insight on where the content needs improvement.

LCMS or LMS?

Contrary to some assertions, the arrival of LCMSs hasn't eliminated the need for or the value of LMSs, which stands for learning management system. An LCMS is content focused: It tackles the challenges of creating, reusing, managing, and delivering content.

An LMS is learner and organization focused: It's concerned with the logistics of managing learners, learning activities, and the competency mapping of an organization. The learning activities managed through an LMS can be any form, including instructor-led training and learning courseware. An LMS usually lets learners keep track of individual skills and competencies, and helps locate and register learners for relevant learning activities that enable them to acquire new skills or improve existing skills. An LMS also helps administrators manage and track the relationship between the users and learning activities, including progress on different activities, and the competencies and skill levels acquired.