1 The Learning Management Systems Market

While many industries have seen a decrease in sales over the past few years, the Learning Management Systems (LMS) market is experiencing great growths. The LMS industry is now a \$1 billion industry with hundreds of companies offering a variety of programs designed to meet specific needs.1 When it comes to determining the best or most popular LMS on the market there is a great deal of debate. Users and clients have varying opinions, but a recent study by Capterra looked to combine several factors in order to determine the most popular LMS on the market. The study looked at the number of customers, number of users, and online market share, as well as the social media presence of each LMS. The top 3 most popular LMS according to the study are: Moodle, Edmodo, and Blackboard.1

1.1 Moodle

Two attributes that set Moodle apart from other LMS are the facts that it can be downloaded for free and registration is voluntary. This makes Moodle a very popular option for teachers around the world. Moodle has 65,450,191 users, with 1,292,921 of these users being teachers. There are a total of 14,992 registered Moodle sites in 227 different countries around the world, including: the United States, Mexico, Portugal, and Italy. [2]

The goal or mission of Moodle is to give educators the tools needed to manage and promote learning at any grade level and any size school or organization. The flexibility offered by Moodle makes it appropriate to be used for an entirely online course or as an additional tool in face-to-face courses. The services offered through Moodle include activity modules such as forums and wikis, several content delivery methods, and learning assessments such as quizzes and tests. Before registering for Moodle, users are able to explore several demonstration sites and experience Moodle through the eyes of teachers, students, and administrators. [3]

1.2 Edmodo

Edmodo was formed in 2008 by Nic Borg and Jeff O’Hara with the goal of moving the school environment forward to match the technological and social advancements that were being made around the world. Over 17 million users around the world use Edmodo’s resources each day to engage, connect, measure, and personalize the educational process. [4] By using devices and platforms that students are familiar with, Edmodo aims to get students excited about learning. \ Teachers and students can make use of discussion boards, polls, and quizzes, to track and measure academic progress. Edmodo also offers a variety of resources to personalize the online learning experience including apps and award badges. The sharing of information between students, teachers, administrators, parents, and publishers is made easy to ensure that all users have access to high quality education resources.4 Edmodo currently offers a free service for all K-12 public, private, nonprofit, and charter schools located in the United States, Australia, the UK, and Canada. [5]

1.3 Blackboard

Founded in 1997, Blackboard currently serves over 20 million users in over 70 countries each day. [6] In order to achieve its goal of making education immediate, direct, and personalized, Blackboard offers clients and partners a variety of system platforms.6 The platforms include: Blackboardlearn, Blackboardconnect, Blackboardanalytics, Blackboardcollaborate, Blackboardtransact, and Blackboardmobile. [7] The services provided through these platforms range from educational content delivery to assistance in performing financial transactions. The various platforms can be used depending on the specific needs and goals of each educational organization or company.

Blackboardlearn is commonly used by colleges and universities to make teaching and learning accessible to students whether in the classroom or around the world. The platform Blackboardcollaborate offers institutions a way to provide a social, interactive learning environment while lowering the costs associated with traditional face-to-face collaboration. Online learning provider IDEAL-New Mexico was able to reduce fuel costs by \$1.5 million using Blackboardcollaborate. A final platform offered by Blackboard is Blackboardtransact. Blackboardtransact helps to make financial transactions more secure and convenient. Each year, Blackboardtransact processes over \$300 million in deposits, \$167 million in credit card transactions, and over \$40 million in financial aid transactions. In addition to making transactions more convenient for students, Blackboardtransact also helped prevent over \$450,000 in overdraft fees for student users. [7]

To ensure that all features of its system perform, Blackboard provides clients and partners with a wealth of technical and design support. Whether students need help accessing a discussion board or a client requires assistance to build a new program or host important information, Blackboard offers services to meet these needs. [8] Blackboard aims to move beyond just offering a way for students and teacher to connect and looks to create an entire online environment where everyone can manage all aspects of education.

2 References