Unit 4 - Types of Online Teaching Platform

A traditional Learning Management System is a type of platform that provides the basic functionality necessary for developing and hosting an online course.

It gives course designers the means to author courses, store them, manage learning profiles, report grades and progress, and provides other simple functionalities necessary for online courses.

There are two types of LMS:

• LMS based on open source that are typically free of charge and can be fully customised. Common open source learning platforms are Moodle, Sakai, and Open edX. USM's own LMS is based on Moodle. Have a look here.
• Commercial LMS—LMS in this category focus on learner experience and sometimes on specific pedagogies that aren’t well supported in traditional LMS solutions. Some examples of LMS in this category are Docebo, Totara, Litmos, Motivis, and NovoEd.

Take some time to EXPLORE the LMS mentioned above.

Actually there are over 700 Learning Management System providers in the market, and most target corporate Learning & Development.

The LMS mentioned in the previous section are widely used and popular. However, most of the LMS mentioned require hosting by the institution and a technical team to maintain the system.

There are a few more simple LMS suitable for education and individual educators. These learning platforms have less features compared to the traditional LMS but the design is more 'social friendly' with more FB-like features. Some examples are:

• Schoology
• Edmodo
• CourseNetworking (cn)

If you are new to MOOCs, read this comprehensive article to learn everything you need to know—The Best MOOC Platforms of 2018.

Let's explore a few popular MOOC platforms:

• Coursera
• Edx
• Udacity
• Openlearning
• iversity
• Canvas Network
• Futurelearn

Don't forget to visit our own Malaysia MOOC (MOOC from 20 public universities) and Malaysian Polytechnics MOOC.

For the latest and up-to-date information/report on MOOC, head to Class Central.