Learning Management Systems - Alternatives to Moodle?

Moodle's used by a lot of training providers, FE colleges and other organisations to deliver online course material to remote learners. It’s open source so it’s free to download and use - anyone can install it on a server, set up a course and enrol some learners.

There are some good reasons to use Moodle:

• It’s widely used - there’s good user community support and lots of helpful documentation;
• You can get commercial Moodle hosting;
• You can find niche Moodle software developers when you think customisation is required.

There are also reasons why you might want to move on from Moodle and look for alternatives:

• Open source software isn’t really free - ongoing hosting and support costs are often more than you think;
• Moodle’s user interface is dated and isn’t always popular with learners;
• Moodle works better for organisations that want to add an online component to classroom based learning - many organisations, particularly training organisations, want a more commercially focused, streamlined solution.

So what are the alternatives? What do you do if you’re a training provider and you want to deliver courses to several clients? Here’s a selection of some of the current leading learning management systems:

1. Litmos - a fully hosted solution that can branded with your own colours and logo. Includes course builder tools and also integrates with Salesforce.
   www.litmos.com


2. Digital Chalk - another fully hosted solution that allows you to sell courses online. Powerpoint slide conversion means you can build content in Powerpoint and then use Digital Chalk to track learner activity.
   www.digitalchalk.com


3. Kallidus - more of a corporate learning management system. Features include more personalised and collaborative learning.
   www.kallidus.com


4. In2itive - another LMS with e-commerce features that mean training providers can sell and then deliver their courses online. UK based.
   www.in2itive.co.uk

There’s another option that you should consider, particularly if you’re training provider looking for a way to sell and deliver courses online to multiple customers - build bespoke system that’s better suited to your business. Building a more focused solution can cost less than you think and our experience is that the implementation costs (roll-out and training) and be significantly less than more complex off-the-shelf system. We think there are also clear licensing/IP advantages with a bespoke solution if you want to sell e-learning courses online to large numbers of clients.

SkillsLogic’s custom learning management systems are a cost effective alternative for organisations that want to move on from Moodle but don’t want an off the shelf corporate learning management system. We develop systems quickly (from pre-built components), can build in elements of e-commerce and integrate with back office systems. Our solutions add real value - highly focused learning management systems that bridge the gap between internal systems and external learners.