INVESTIGATING THE CRITERIA OF CHOOSING A LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR ONLINE COURSES

In the age of globalization, the concept of learning has been gaining great importance among individuals, communities, companies, non-profit organizations and educational institutions. Especially in the field of Higher Education worldwide, the evolution of information and communications technologies has significantly affected the way students learn, communicate and interact. This mode of learning, known as e-learning is considered as a methodological approach that uses different interactive and collaborative tools and technologies to achieve better learning outcomes. Due to these technologies, constraints of time and space have been eliminated and make it easier for educators and learners to facilitate the learning process and carry out the learning tasks and activities more easily and effectively. Among other e-learning technological tools, Learning Management Systems (LMS) are well-known available software systems that can be widely utilized for the management of e-learning processes in higher educational institutions. A plethora of systems, either open course LMS or proprietary LMS is chosen to meet the different needs of institutional organizations, faculty, and individual learners. The key to choosing the right e-learning platform is initially to understand the criteria of evaluating the online platforms and then deciding on the appropriate LMS according to the nature of the e-learning courses or programs that are provided. This conceptual paper primarily aims to study the relevant academic literature of the field regarding LMS in online contexts. Initially, an approach to the meaning of e-learning platforms and LMS will be presented, as regarded in related literature. In the next section, the capabilities and main functions of the e-learning systems will be examined. In the last section, the most significant criteria and benchmarking features of LMS are going to be presented and discussed on the basis upon which an educational organization or institution could be guided in choosing one or more of the existing systems available in the market. The findings of this article may have certain implications for those who decide to use an LMS to provide e-learning programs or for those who design and develop interactive online modules and courses. In addition, it could be useful for the professional development of faculty who teach e-learning courses and deliver online lessons with a view to exploiting the various potentials of LMS and better prepare their online learners.