Learning Management Systems (LMS) and Learning Experience Platforms (LXP) differ primarily in their approach to learning. LMS focus on the administrative management of training courses, by distributing standardized educational content and by monitoring learners. On the other hand, LXPs put the learner at the heart of the system, by offering a more engaging, simplified and interactive learning experience, often compared to modern and intuitive interfaces similar to Netflix.
LMS platforms have already been on the market for several years. The world of corporate training is constantly being reshaped, in particular thanks to technological innovations.
To stay up to date, you have to adapt constantly. LMS and LXP are two learning platforms allowing access to training for employees. But what are the differences between an LXP and an LMS?
What is an LMS?
An LMS or Learning Management System is a platform that allows facilitate the management of training. This tool was first designed as a management tool. An LMS is primarily at the service of the administrator. Thanks to the LMS, the trainer to a better organization of training, it saves time and money.
An LMS for a business is a long-term organizational advantage because it allows you to:
- Disseminate educational content;
- Manage the course of training activities (from registration to assessment);
- Offer training courses: on-site training, distance learning or Blended Learning.
Key features of an LMS
LMS offer numerous functionalities to manage your teaching materials and all training actors (administrators, trainers, and learners).
For administrators (and sometimes trainers), the LMS gives the possibility to:
- Create training materials. Using the LMS authoring tool, you can create modules, import videos, or create materials for your blended learning courses.
- Manage courses or modules on your LMS dashboard. You can then choose which modules you want to put online, or deactivate those that are no longer current.
- Assign content to each employee if certain courses concern specific jobs or concepts.
- Track your learners' results thanks to Learning Analytics and adapt your training content according to their progress.
Learners can use the LMS to:
- Access their training path and to the various modules created by administrators and/or trainers.
- Monitor their progress over the medium to long term, and to realize the development of their skills.
- Sharing feedback on the teaching materials with the trainers or express specific training needs.
To summarize, an LMS is a solution to the problems of human resources professionals. It allows you to manage training courses, manage learners and their courses and at the same time set up company rules. But other platforms are now competing with LMS: this is the case with LXPs.
The benefits of an LMS for your business
The benefits of an LMS for your business are numerous. In addition to saving considerable time and money compared to more traditional training tools, the LMS also offers the possibility of:
- To simplify administrative management of your training programs
- To apprehend the rise in skills of your teams
- To check the performance of your courses and the impact of your actions
But for trained employees too, the LMS offers a real advantage. For example, we have found that using a learning platform facilitates The memorization of concepts. And it is in particular thanks to the varied educational formats that they highlight: Mobile learning, e-learning, microlearning, gamified courses...
What is an LXP?
Innovations brought by the LXP
An LXP or Learning Experience Platform is a new generation of training platform, like the LMS. On the other hand, technology is more innovative and here, it is the learner who is at the heart of the system. The Digital learning It is there more engaging for learners, in addition to being simplified and interactive. The interface is modern and intuitive, it could look like Netflix!
All learners can exchange with each other, external and varied resources can be inserted into the LXP. The most visible benefit is that the learner has a fully personalized experience and based on her preferences.
How an LXP can transform your education
Adopting an LXP for your business can change the way your learners think about your courses. Corporate training is often seen as a waste of time. By opting for an LXP, you are offering teams an immersive, fun experience that offers real results.
It is also a good solution to diversify your content formats: flipped learning, Collaborative learning, micro-learning or blended learning. LXP has no limits as it places the learner at the center of the learning experience!
What are the differences between an LMS and an LXP?
The user experience vs administrator
The LMS and the LXP are not meant for the same person. An LMS has been created to deliver content by administering training activities internal to the company. It is therefore above all a tool that serves human resources professionals and the administrator of the platform.
LXPs were created in response to a poor user experience on an LMS.. The LXP was therefore designed to develop and strengthen the learner experience. Thanks to new functionalities such as fully personalized training and informal training (video, podcast, etc.), engagement is strengthened and results improved.
An LXP allows learners to communicate with each other and create a real community (Social learning), which further encourages them to train and develop their skills in an interactive environment.
A different interface
The second difference between an LMS and an LXP is thatAn LXP contains a very modern and intuitive interface for the user. Indeed, it is presented as a Netflix of training. It contains a bar to search for a particular course and the user can scroll through the courses and choose them according to their preferences thanks to the algorithm. Access to the catalog is much faster and simplified as well as engaging and attractive for the learner.
It is an interconnected online ecosystem Since users can train each other, but also communicate with each other and document each other via numerous resources. All this can be done on any device (laptop, tablet, computer...).
An LMS, on the other hand, is a less intuitive platform since it is older and some of the modalities contained in the LXP are not available there.
Combining LMS and LXP: The Hybrid Solution
Now that you know the difference between an LMS and an LXP, we have good news for you: The Two Are Not Incompatible!
On the contrary, the ideal solution lies in the combination of these two platforms.
With the LMS part, you can manage your content of training courses, monitor the data of your learners and manage the access of the actors in your training courses.
And with the LXP part, you gamify your content, You create engaging modules and you even offer the possibility for learners to be actors in their training.
This winning combination will have an extremely positive impact on the engagement rate of your courses!
What to remember
- Both an LXP and an LMS are functionalities to enable online learning;
- An LMS is mainly based on the experience of the administrator, because it is a platform that allows you to manage all training courses;
- An LXP is based on the learner's experience to boost engagement and make the training more attractive;
- These two tools have a different interface and design;
- Between an LMS and an LXP there are differences in terms of functionalities, but which can be complementary within a company to combine their advantages.
