Learning management systems: Trends and alternatives

One of the main difficulties in Learning Management Systems (LMS) is how to maintain the balance between learning and management. The primary aim of LMSs was to assist educators to manage learning. As a result of this way of thinking, features such as managing content, roster students, and similar, mostly were promoted. As time goes by, the accent of research is more in student experiences and efficacy of the tools. On the other hand some educators argue that as a result of evolving Web 2.0 applications, students can be better served by an LMS alternative, a toolbox of web resources that could contain social bookmarking tools, document sharing applications, social networking applications, timeline tools, and media options offered in the cloud. Primary to this approach is the idea that students should become more experienced with today´s technology tools since these skills will be practical in the workplace. As a result, some institutions have begun to offer LMS alternatives, and some teachers are using these options to support their students´ learning. The paper analyses both sides of the latest approach toward LMSs and presents their implications for teaching and learning.