• Latest
  • Trending
  • All
  • News
  • BUSINESS
  • SCIENCE
  • LIFESTYLE
  • TECH
Free LMS Implementation: Hidden Costs

Free LMS Implementation: Hidden Costs

August 18, 2022
Market Rally Picks Up Steam, Here’s What To Do; 10 Stocks Flashing Buy Signals

Market Rally Picks Up Steam, Here’s What To Do; 10 Stocks Flashing Buy Signals

March 29, 2023
Daily Crunch: After raising $3M seed, global fintech platform Payday plans to secure licensing in Canada, UK

Daily Crunch: After raising $3M seed, global fintech platform Payday plans to secure licensing in Canada, UK

March 29, 2023
Jennifer Aniston Says ‘Friends’ Is Now Deemed ‘Offensive’: Interview – Hollywood Life

Jennifer Aniston Says ‘Friends’ Is Now Deemed ‘Offensive’: Interview – Hollywood Life

March 29, 2023
Salmon Tempura Crunch Bowls | Cup of Jo

Salmon Tempura Crunch Bowls | Cup of Jo

March 29, 2023
A Spike In Supply Could Tank Multifamily Prices This Year

A Spike In Supply Could Tank Multifamily Prices This Year

March 29, 2023
Benson Hill Announces Preliminary Unaudited 2022 Results and … – Business Wire

MULTIMEDIA RELEASE: Coast Guard crew offloads $166 million … – U.S. Coast Guard

March 29, 2023
How to End Bias and Taboos in Women’s Health Care

How to End Bias and Taboos in Women’s Health Care

March 29, 2023
Apple’s iOS 17 gets official on June 5

Apple’s iOS 17 gets official on June 5

March 29, 2023
PS5 launch title ‘Sackboy’ is free on PlayStation Plus in April

PS5 launch title ‘Sackboy’ is free on PlayStation Plus in April

March 29, 2023
Putin in Mariupol

Putin in Mariupol

March 29, 2023
EA laying off 6% of staff in cost-cutting push for videogame publisher

EA laying off 6% of staff in cost-cutting push for videogame publisher

March 29, 2023
Is the US Preparing for the “NATOization” of Bosnia?

Why the Repeal of Anti-Union Laws in Michigan Boosts Workers Nationwide

March 29, 2023
  • Home
  • News
    • PRESS RELEASE
  • Shop
  • BUSINESS
    • CRYPTO
    • ECONOMY
    • FINANCE
    • MARKET
    • MONEY
  • TECH
    • APPS
    • GADGET
    • MOBILE
    • SCIENCE
  • SOCIAL MEDIA
  • ENTERTAINMENT
    • ARTS & THEATER
    • GAMING
    • GAMBLING
    • MOVIE
    • MUSIC
    • SHOWS
    • SPORTS
  • LIFESTYLE
    • CELEBRITY
    • CULTURE
    • Education
    • FASHION
    • FOOD
    • HEALTH
    • HISTORY
    • Nature
    • Religion
    • Shopping
    • TRAVEL
  • REAL ESTATE
  • Blog
  • Classifieds
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
Home Education

Free LMS Implementation: Hidden Costs

by Minnesota Digital News
August 18, 2022
in Education
0
Free LMS Implementation: Hidden Costs
491
SHARES
1.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter



Is It Really Worth It?

Introducing eLearning to an organization requires considerable resources. One needs IT support to take care of technical questions, at least one administrator to manage content, and either an Instructional Design team creating training materials, or a coordinator managing material preparation outside the organization. eLearning needs to be properly marketed among the employees to encourage them to have a positive attitude, and among the managers to encourage its use whenever possible. Manuals need to be written, people need to be trained and the help desk needs to be on its toes. All this requires “resources”, which eventually translates as “money”. No wonder, then, that many organizations use the opportunity to cut back on expenses and opt for a free, often open-source, Learning Management System (LMS). But does the fact that it’s free mean that you don’t have to pay for it? Let’s take a closer look.

4 Hidden Costs Of A Free LMS

1. Unintuitive User Experience

Everyone needs training on new tools, this goes without saying. However, depending on how user-friendly the tool in question is, a different amount of time needs to be spent on onboarding. While some LMS platforms are so intuitive they hardly need a manual, others may require in-class workshops to get your head around them. Also, the worse the User Experience, the higher the necessity to follow up and regularly refresh the training, not to mention the strain on the help desk.

2. Limited Integration Possibilities

Many actions connected to user management, content creation, and report generation can be done either the hard way (manually) or the easy way (via integration). As many free LMSs have limited integration possibilities, we are left with the hard way. An LMS may enable you to import a list of a thousand users via a .csv list or a template, but these often need to be created or adjusted manually—and that costs time. It may present performance statistics on individual users and allow .xls report generation but the results won’t magically appear in your talent management system—that requires handiwork.

While the import/export feature saves trouble with the bulk of users, there are always “special cases” that need to be taken care of separately. Optimistically, let’s assume 1 special case per 100 employees in an organization. How many would that be in an 180,000-employee workplace? Take these 1800 employees, spend 5 minutes on each and you have 750 hours. With a 40-hour week (and no lunch or bathroom breaks) this gives us over 18 weeks, or 4 months, of work. And we all know that there are usually more special cases, especially in the face of an upcoming deadline.

3. System Updates

System updates are an important part of LMS maintenance. They fix bugs, improve safety, add extra features, or improve User Experience. On occasion, they don’t work, cause more problems than they solve, generate the need for additional training and/or help desk hours, and require maintenance breaks, which might affect missing deadlines by some (see above: special cases). What might cost an organization even more is a lack of updates.

4. Curating Content

Managers, administrators, and Instructional Designers all remember to upload the latest version of the occupational safety and health course on an LMS. But does anyone remember to take it off when it becomes outdated? Curating content, or at least occasional spring-cleaning, might take an administrator a couple of hours/days/weeks of work but this is a necessary cost as the growing amount of moth-eaten materials may cause problems on a wider scale. Time may be lost and motivation lowered when navigating through old content while searching for crucial information. Acquiring outdated information will affect employees’ results and generate additional hours for completing up-to-date training. Disorganized content discourages employees from learning on their own initiative.

Are Free LMSs Worth It?

While free Learning Management Systems may come with unexpected costs, they are still worth consideration. Cost-generating issues like complex training, help desk, semi-manual data migration, maintenance breaks and content clean-out are mostly true for the bigger organizations; smaller organizations should be able to find a way around them.

A free LMS is a solution I’d recommend to small and medium-sized companies who are considering introducing eLearning but are not yet convinced of its effectiveness, those wanting to minimize investment, or spread eLearning implementation costs among a couple of budget periods, as well as those who want to try a demo/basic version of a system before investing in its development. What is your experience with free LMS systems? Were you surprised by unforeseen expenses?



Source link

Share196Tweet123Share49
Minnesota Digital News

Minnesota Digital News

Saint Paul
◉
28°
Sunny
6:58 am7:35 pm CDT
Feels like: 19°F
Wind: 10mph W
Humidity: 34%
Pressure: 30.37"Hg
UV index: 2
ThuFriSatSun
41/36°F
41/23°F
36/23°F
50/32°F
Weather forecast Saint Paul, Minnesota ▸
Market Rally Picks Up Steam, Here’s What To Do; 10 Stocks Flashing Buy Signals
BUSINESS

Market Rally Picks Up Steam, Here’s What To Do; 10 Stocks Flashing Buy Signals

by Minnesota Digital News
March 29, 2023
Daily Crunch: After raising $3M seed, global fintech platform Payday plans to secure licensing in Canada, UK
TECH

Daily Crunch: After raising $3M seed, global fintech platform Payday plans to secure licensing in Canada, UK

by Minnesota Digital News
March 29, 2023
Jennifer Aniston Says ‘Friends’ Is Now Deemed ‘Offensive’: Interview – Hollywood Life
ENTERTAINMENT

Jennifer Aniston Says ‘Friends’ Is Now Deemed ‘Offensive’: Interview – Hollywood Life

by Minnesota Digital News
March 29, 2023
Salmon Tempura Crunch Bowls | Cup of Jo
LIFESTYLE

Salmon Tempura Crunch Bowls | Cup of Jo

by Minnesota Digital News
March 29, 2023
A Spike In Supply Could Tank Multifamily Prices This Year
REAL ESTATE

A Spike In Supply Could Tank Multifamily Prices This Year

by Minnesota Digital News
March 29, 2023
Benson Hill Announces Preliminary Unaudited 2022 Results and … – Business Wire
PRESS RELEASE

MULTIMEDIA RELEASE: Coast Guard crew offloads $166 million … – U.S. Coast Guard

by Minnesota Digital News
March 29, 2023
How to End Bias and Taboos in Women’s Health Care
SCIENCE

How to End Bias and Taboos in Women’s Health Care

by Minnesota Digital News
March 29, 2023
Apple’s iOS 17 gets official on June 5
MOBILE

Apple’s iOS 17 gets official on June 5

by Minnesota Digital News
March 29, 2023
PS5 launch title ‘Sackboy’ is free on PlayStation Plus in April
GADGET

PS5 launch title ‘Sackboy’ is free on PlayStation Plus in April

by Minnesota Digital News
March 29, 2023
Putin in Mariupol
APPS

Putin in Mariupol

by Minnesota Digital News
March 29, 2023
EA laying off 6% of staff in cost-cutting push for videogame publisher
MARKET

EA laying off 6% of staff in cost-cutting push for videogame publisher

by Minnesota Digital News
March 29, 2023
Is the US Preparing for the “NATOization” of Bosnia?
ECONOMY

Why the Repeal of Anti-Union Laws in Michigan Boosts Workers Nationwide

by Minnesota Digital News
March 29, 2023
FDIC plans to return $4B in Signature crypto deposits ‘by early next week’ — Martin Gruenberg
CRYPTO

FDIC plans to return $4B in Signature crypto deposits ‘by early next week’ — Martin Gruenberg

by Minnesota Digital News
March 29, 2023
Eleone Dance Theatre 2016 Promotional Reel
ARTS & THEATER

Eleone Dance Theatre 2016 Promotional Reel

by Minnesota Digital News
March 29, 2023
Benson Hill Announces Preliminary Unaudited 2022 Results and … – Business Wire
PRESS RELEASE

Press Release | Press Releases | Newsroom | U.S – Senator Dick Durbin

by Minnesota Digital News
March 29, 2023
Congress Finds Time To Yell At Sony On Microsoft’s Behalf
GAMING

Congress Finds Time To Yell At Sony On Microsoft’s Behalf

by Minnesota Digital News
March 29, 2023
Las Vegas Strip Rated One Of Most Photographed Roads In US
Gambling

Consumer Habits Changing With Las Vegas Implications

by Minnesota Digital News
March 29, 2023
Keanu Reeves Made An Absurd Amount Per Word for John Wick 4
MOVIE

Keanu Reeves Made An Absurd Amount Per Word for John Wick 4

by Minnesota Digital News
March 29, 2023
Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova Placed on Russia’s Wanted List
MUSIC

Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova Placed on Russia’s Wanted List

by Minnesota Digital News
March 29, 2023
Minnesota Digital News

Copyright © 2023 Minnesota Digital News

Navigate Site

  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • Copyright Notice
  • Anti Spam Policy
  • Medical Disclaimer
  • DMCA Compliance
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Social Media Disclaimer
  • Amazon Affiliate disclaimer

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • PRESS RELEASE
  • Shop
  • BUSINESS
    • CRYPTO
    • ECONOMY
    • FINANCE
    • MARKET
    • MONEY
  • TECH
    • APPS
    • GADGET
    • MOBILE
    • SCIENCE
  • SOCIAL MEDIA
  • ENTERTAINMENT
    • ARTS & THEATER
    • GAMING
    • GAMBLING
    • MOVIE
    • MUSIC
    • SHOWS
    • SPORTS
  • LIFESTYLE
    • CELEBRITY
    • CULTURE
    • Education
    • FASHION
    • FOOD
    • HEALTH
    • HISTORY
    • Nature
    • Religion
    • Shopping
    • TRAVEL
  • REAL ESTATE
  • Blog
  • Classifieds

Copyright © 2023 Minnesota Digital News