New Home Forums Course Creation Resources 43 LMS SYSTEMS REVIEWED (& what we learned)

61 replies, 14 voices Last updated by  Bradley Morris 5 years, 7 months ago
Viewing 15 posts - 16 through 30 (of 62 total)
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  • #73608

    Bradley Morris
    Mountain Guide
    @bradleytmorris

    Thanks for sharing all that wonderful feedback @Jennypim. It’s wonderful to receive an outside perspective on what REALLY keeps you here and makes you fall in love with the world we’ve created here for all of you. 

    It sounds really amazing @MoveThinkSmile. Clunky worries me though. 

    What I love about MN is that it is slick and from what I saw of the course builder, it’ll look great, it will be easy to make every course within your network look the same and run the same and for non-techies like myself, I’ll be able to create my learning worlds with ease.

    Have you two made a decision on WHAT you’re moving forward with?

    Also, curious how all of your FB ads and list building have been going since you came on the webinar. Haven’t seen a progress log update in a while on that front….. but given this review, I can see you’ve been busy!

    #73610

    Kenneth
    Adventurer
    @sojnab

    awesome advice!!! Thanks.

    Ken

    #73633

    MoveThinkSmile (Adam & Elea)
    Adventurer
    @MoveThinkSmile

    @bradleytmorris

    Since Mighty Networks has yet to announce an official launch date. And, the fact that version 1 is a “light” release with very limited functionality, we simply can’t wait. So, they are out.

    Matrix/Indie is well worth what you get.
    Clunky may be the wrong word. The admin is basic, not the super new slick click and drag visual editors we are seeing these days. But it’s easy to use. And the student experience is really good.

    The support here is crazy fast. Less than 2 hours for every help ticket I’ve submitted. And, they are VERY open to releasing new features every quarter, and are looking for suggestions.

    We’ve decided to build the wordpress site, and get it rolling with LearnDash…like today!  We’ll start here. And, if we can quickly get our course, theme, social and gamification set up, we’ll roll with it.

    But the minute it looks like it’s going to be major time suck, we’ll jump into Matrix LMS (that is unless Mighty Networks has a robust LMS working by then).

    #73658

    DavidJ Jurasek
    Adventurer
    @DavidJ

    @movethinksmile

    Thanks so much for sharing your vast research and decision process with us all. And your book rocks by the way! (just saying it far and wide so others can read my high recommendations!)

    @bradleytmorris

    About your question of what is most salient and makes me stay in GEA, I would echo basically what others already spoke to. Nowadays, as I focus on writing books and running live events (with intent to build my next ecourse in 6-12 months) I would say it is the community mostly and at heart that draws me here. At different stages it was different aspects. I see that with my Young Warriors program which I have been running for coming to 10 years also, layering something make it more rich and fulfilling. We seem to live in a fibricated world of hacks and isolated parts vying for attention but creating a complex and layered world that meets many needs through an ecourse, community, social movement, real change in the world, etc… is where my passion and commitment is going. Thanks for being a good role model for this!

     

     

    #73662

    Jennypim
    Adventurer
    @Jennypim

    @davidj

    you expressed this perfectly !

    At different stages it was different aspects…  layering something make it more rich and fulfilling. We seem to live in a fabricated world of hacks and isolated parts vying for attention but creating a complex and layered world that meets many needs through an ecourse, community, social movement, real change in the world, etc… is where my passion and commitment is going. Thanks for being a good role model for this!

    #73669

    xbobby
    Adventurer
    @xbobby

    @movethinksmile

    I wish you luck with your LMS choice.
    Will you use a clean Learn Dash and build from that or will you use Social Learner as here i GEA?

    #73689

    Sara McCann
    Adventurer
    @saramccann

    @movethinksmile Thank you so much for all that work and effort you have put in and for your generosity in being willing to share it with us all. It has given me some great insights in to which platform to choose for my own course and I am very grateful to you.

    @bradleytmorris as for GEA. I echo David’s thoughts also, it is the community that holds me here. I feel a great loyalty to it, and often wonder where I might be if it were not for the support and camaraderie offered here. Yourself and Andy are a huge part of that, and it was your expression of personal care for your community that drew me in to joining GEA in the first place. Your regular connection with us all makes a huge difference! The bajillion was motivating in the very beginning, but if I’m honest, it doesn’t matter to me now, and I have never checked my balance in a long time. The videos and the theme are awesome also, and make learning fun. It makes you look forward to logging in and seeing what is next. Learning on here is never a chore or too much like hard work with your theme and presentation of lessons! Though even that, as you progress, becomes less and less a part of your daily interaction, and I find myself turning back to the community again. Leaderboards, back pack supplies etc, again, all important to me in the beginning but then things change and your focus alters as you progress. Which I guess also echoes David’s thoughts on how different aspects are important at different stages.

    The ability to have a buddy and contact them directly through here – that has been crucial for me and you know who you are – I’d be a complete mess without my buddy! 😉

    I think they each have their importance and need to be there for that complete and enriching experience, they are all brilliant at motivating in their own way, and actually, that makes the beauty of what you have created even more special because there’s something for everyone at every stage! 😉

    But by heck, now I’m thinking about all you have on GEA, I see a mammoth journey ahead of me to try and live up to all of that with my own course! lol

    #73696

    MoveThinkSmile (Adam & Elea)
    Adventurer
    @MoveThinkSmile

    @xbobby

    Social Learner, as we are learning, is nothing more than a rather pricey theme. What you’re paying for is:

    1. The LMS style navigation.
    2. The upper right hand widget that includes the alerts and user profile icons & links.
    3. Some very basic styling of buddypress and bbpress, which incorporates some other stuff like points, badges, etc.

    Social Learner does not include all the plugins you need. While it does have a one-click install option, you still have to install and activate all the other plugins.

    The more I learn about Social Learner, the more we are thinking about using a different theme. From what I can tell, it is the Social Learner theme that styles the front end to feel clunky. With a little styling, you really can make Members, Forums and Course work look much more modern.

    For example,  check out the Live Preview of this KLEO theme, then be sure to look at the Buddy Press features. We like this feel much better than Social Leaner.

    If we use Social Learner, it will be for the basic layout. I will for sure go in and style out the middle pages to smooth out the “chunks of clunk” banging around.

    One thing I have learned, and this just hit me last night…is that almost EVERY LMS I have seen follows the same basic format. The real difference is in the styling. What I mean is they all have students, they have forums, they all have similar features (some more than others).

    They are all database driven just like word press.

    The biggest difference comes down to styling. What is where. How big how small the button is. How many things to click, and how modern it looks. This can all be done in WordPress with CSS styling (if you know how), and the right theme.

    Overall, I think this is where most get turned off…it does take knowledge and work to make it happen. I have that knowledge and skill, BUT, need to focus on creating a BadAss course…and not a website.

     

    The cool thing is, with Social Learner and Learndash, out of the box is works really well. And looks fine. building your course in wordpress is really not that much more difficult than some of the paid systems out there.

    Oh, and here’s a reality we just realized: It will cost you approximately $1,500 US per year to keep your plugins up to date ($125 / month).

    The benefit:  Unlimited users and students. Make it do whatever you want.

    The Con: The hidden cost is people time, yours or hired, to maintain the site. That’s at a very minimum, worth $1,500  per year. This means your “affordable” word press system actually costs you about $3,000 annually. That’s $250 month. For this price, you can get a super awesome hosted LMS and let them worry about all the stuff.

    I will let you all know in the next couple days if we actually stick with wordpress or not.

    The flexibility it offers in making it look and do whatever you want is awesome.

    Most fully functioning thing out there.

    But is it really worth the time…

    The answer lies in client results. If using wordpress creates the ultimate experience for our students, gives them the best results…then yes. It is worth it.

    But if we find  a system that costs more, even WAY more, but offers our clients better results, we would choose that instead.

    Ultimately, this discussion is not about technology and what “I” feel comfortable with.

    I’m smart and can learn how to use any system. So can you.

    This discussion is not about how much things cost.

    Money will always find a way if your focus is on integrity…giving your students the results they signed up to get…and paid you for.

    To us, this LMS adventure is about helping people transform, changing their lives, and making the world a better place. We want a system that does it the best. And, will do what we need to give our clients an epic experience with results.

    @davidj @saramccann

    Thank you!

    #73705

    xbobby
    Adventurer
    @xbobby

    Hi @movethinksmile
    Thanks for your amazing answer.

    If you a day will earn some more money; I am sure that you could work as a CMS corpulent that help people to choose the right CMS system for them. Or you could make an Ecorse like GEA where people learn about them.

    THANKS 🙂

    #73737

    Stavido
    Adventurer
    @Stavido

    From a eCourse Adventurer perspective, for all of you reading this, how many of you are motivated by the BAJILLION (honestly)?

    Curious what has motivated YOU ALL to stick with this journey? Which parts of this experience are what keep you going?

    Wow, there is a lot on this thread, hard to pick what to respond to first, but I thought I would start with the quote above. I think some of the brilliance of this site/community is how you utilize points & points for badges. Gives me a sense of my progress. I enjoyed watching my overall rank move up the chart with each challenge/badge, and points for completing lessons, posting in the community and commenting. (#16 by the way) Badges tied to doing real work not just completing lessons was an aha moment for me, and being able to redeem them in the Mountain Shop (particularly purchasing private coaching sessions with you) is a great way to reward member participation. Afterall, our success using your system/training builds the value and credibility of your platform.

    #73739

    Stavido
    Adventurer
    @Stavido

    NOTE: We stopped at 43…so this is NOT an exhaustive study. And if we missed something awesome, please reply!

    @movethinksmile, LMS systems have been around for 20+ in corporate education. Not to discourage you, but there are 600 different LMS systems out in the marketplace according to Elliott Masie (the person who is credited for coining the phrase “E-Learning” masie.com)

    Great work in sorting through the 43 you looked at, and big kudos for sharing what you discovered. If I could award you some Bajillions, I would.

    #73766

    Dr.Wayne Buckhanan
    Adventurer
    @waynebuckhanan

    One thing I have learned, and this just hit me last night…is that almost EVERY LMS I have seen follows the same basic format. The real difference is in the styling. What I mean is they all have students, they have forums, they all have similar features (some more than others).

    Paralleling @stavido‘s comment, the differences you aren’t mentioning are often in the assessment and integration with other systems. Having taught at several Uni level institutions, the primary differences I have seen are in the grading of assignments, how quizzes work (or don’t), and how the LMS integrates with the rest of the Uni’s computing systems. For a GEA style course, those may be moot. For post-secondary education, they make or break the experience for faculty and student alike.

    Which raises a question of it’s own (that may be completely off-topic for this thread), what are the course creators here doing about assessing student learning? How do students know they are doing the right things in the right way? Are you interacting to give private feedback, group feedback, or no feedback? Using the forum/text, giving audio feedback, a video platform? Live or recorded? Or are you just giving students a rubric and letting them self-assess with whatever skill they have in that arena? (Because I’m assuming no one is just sharing information and leaving their students to work out how to apply it all on their own…)

    Back on topic, I’m still lurking in the background because of the daily bajillion for logging in (nominally) and because of the great people here. With the end of the school year nigh, we shall see what happens ecourse and GEA-wise over the summer. I know where I’m going, I just need to have the time and energy to put into getting there!

    #73785

    MoveThinkSmile (Adam & Elea)
    Adventurer
    @MoveThinkSmile

    @stavido

    Yes, quite aware of the 600 LMS systemes out there. I went through those, and weeded out 550 quickly based on a number of criteria. These we did dive into live demo’s with. Maybe we should rename this thread to “600 LMS systems to choose from, and the 43 we chose to look at based on the Greate e-Course Adventure.”

     

    @waynebuckhan

    I completely agree! Most LMS systems share common features. And, it really does come down to the User Interface (UI): styling, layout and ease of getting around.

    My mother was the head of a nursing college, and in charge of the online curriculum. So yes, when it comes to actual assessments and evaluations, this is where many LMS have big differences. When I reviewed our top choices with her, she went right to the instructors point of view. (BTW – She thought MatrixLMS was the bomb…especially at the price).

    Though, you would be surprised how many LMS don’t have forums, or community discussions. Or, those that do, many have such a weird UI that they probably would never get used.

    For us, we want a system that enhances our client’s experience. It’s all about the front-end UI first…because if it doesn’t get used, or create the results our clients want, then the best admin & assessments system in the world is worthless.

    #73817

    Bradley Morris
    Mountain Guide
    @bradleytmorris

    So much goodness in this entire thread. Thank you for sparking it @MoveThinkSmile

    Curious if you guys checked out http://www.Podia.com ?

    I met with their founder today, who was a super cool guy. They were actually referred to me by @andyfreist for any folks who wanna build a super simple, good looking course, membership site, downloadable eBook, etc…

    I really liked him and I’m going to interview him and do a deep-dive of his platform.

    I intend to reach out to the team at MatrixLMS to do the same and see if we can bridge some form of mutually beneficial relationship. Their product seems awesome. Look forward to seeing what you guys go forward with.

    @waynebuckhanan, great to see you in this thread. Every time you show up to a conversation I smile and think back to you sneaking under the gates before we launched the GEA   LOL   I know whatever you create will be awesome!!! I hope you get lots of creative time this summer. How’s the new homestead and homeland? 

    @DavidJ, i love hearing that you’re building the in person stuff right now. That’s beautiful. Have you ever tried to drive traffic to your Powerful and Loving platform? Even without a course, you could still likely have something for them at the end. That was such a cool journey. Definitely keep us in the loop as you continue forward. 

    @stavido, 600!? I had no idea. That’s crazy! Definitely exciting, considering our marketing strategy, which I’ll be sharing at next Monday’s GEA coaching call. I had a big breakthrough in our business model this last week and think I may have figured out the “growth solution.” Very exciting!

    Thank you @jennypim@saramccann and ALL for the feedback on what draws you in and keeps you in with the Great eCourse Adventure. As I map the future platform, this is all such amazing, invaluable feedback for me. 

    My intention is to actually SOON host a webinar to discuss the new platform (aka eCourse Adventures world) and bounce some ideas around with you all. Anyone interested in shaping the future with us?

     

     

    #73829

    Sara McCann
    Adventurer
    @saramccann

    Always interested in shaping a future with you guys! That sounds very exciting and I can’t wait to hear more!

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