A Beginner’s Guide to the Utility of a Course Management System
See Dojo360If your organization engages in any sort of online education or training, you're probably familiar with the term LMS, or Learning Management System. You may have heard of a CMS, or Course Management System, as well since the two terms are often used interchangeably. However, a CMS is not an LMS. While an LMS is designed to deliver eLearning content to learners on the front end, a CMS is designed to make the lives of administrators easier on the back end. Typical online course management system features include an opportunity for instructors to share class materials with their learners, an opportunity for students to submit completed assignments, grade reports for students and admins, course enrollment functionality, and communication tools for both synchronous and asynchronous learners.
Many products combine the features of a CMS with those of an LMS, adding to the confusion between the two terms. Unfortunately, blending the two can result in a final product that doesn't excel in either role. Dojo360 is a powerful course management system tool designed by the experts at Turning to streamline remote learning and deliver measurable results to your organization's stakeholders. It is the perfect complement to any LMS solution.
What Features Does a Course Management System Need?
Enterprise-level organizations have hundreds if not thousands of learners, many of whom require different training. That means that you have a lot of courses to keep track of. Dojo360 is a single-source hybrid learning tool that stores all of your content in one convenient location, including in-person classes and eLearning offerings. Better yet, modifying your content couldn't be simpler. Every course is stored as a “deck” with one or more “slides,” or pages, that you can edit whenever compliance regulations are updated or your organization launches a new initiative.
You can also enroll students in courses with a few clicks, or you can place that responsibility on the learners. Our platform can recommend courses to learners based on their stated interests and courses they've taken in the past, allowing them to enroll without your direct involvement. This flexibility promotes learner engagement while also saving valuable admin time.
Dojo360 also makes it easy to track who is taking what and how they are faring with an intuitive asset manager. Sortable dashboards help instructors review assessment scores at a glance, providing the evidence they need to take corrective action where appropriate. Likewise, attendance is automatically recorded so that administrators can tell which learners are completing mandatory training.
Students get their own dashboards that highlight important upcoming events and class materials. They can also access their grades right away instead of waiting for their instructor to grade their work by hand.
A great web-based course management system also ensures equity between synchronous and asynchronous learners. For example, Dojo360 offers threaded message boards to help asynchronous learners discover what they missed during a live class. Lessons are also recorded, allowing all learners to go back and revisit them whenever and wherever they like. If all of your learners are studying together, our platform includes virtual meeting spaces so learners can effectively collaborate without talking over each other on a video chat call.
What if My Organization Is Already Using A Learning Management System?
Dojo360 seamlessly integrates with popular LMS options such as Moodle, Blackboard, and Absorb LMS, allowing existing courses to see continued use. Microsoft Powerpoint presentations can be imported to our platform too, and instructors can freely share course content.
If you need to create new courses, Dojo360 includes a built-in course creator with multimedia authoring tools to help instructors engage their learners. You'll also have access to the complete Dojo library of graphical assets to add some pizzazz to your training content.
Is There Anything Else I Should Know Before Choosing an Online Course Management System?
Dojo360 meets or exceeds all WCAG 2.0 guidelines for learners and administrators, giving your entire team equal access to all of the functionality it offers. We invite you to learn more about Dojo360's features and the e³ philosophy that we used to create it! When you do, you'll see its value as a course management system tool.