Common Challenges Faced by Educators in Adopting Learning Management Systems

Have you ever felt like the courses that you are creating and selling courses on multiple platforms but your students are not engaged at all? That could be due to outdated teaching methods you’re using. Now imagine you have a learning management system where you can create and sell online courses at a centralized platform. Seems like a great idea but can still come across challenges in using LMS.

Despite the endless benefits offered by platforms for online courses, some educators are hesitant to adopt them. Some of the problems encountered using learning management systems are getting all your students on a single platform, and creating and selling courses while making them engaging for students.

Although it can seem overwhelming, the benefits of LMS are undeniable. To overcome the challenges of learning management systems, you first need to be completely aware of what they are. 

In this blog post, you will discover the biggest learning management system challenges faced by educators. So, if you’re ready to get the best out of a learning management system without running into obstacles, keep reading.

Why Do Educators Need a Learning Management System?

If you’re one of those educators who is creating and selling online courses over multiple platforms, you’re losing out on a lot of profits. This might look like a huge claim, but it is the truth. 

Imagine, you are offering a course on ‘Designing Course for Beginners’ on Instagram, and ‘How to Use JavaScript to Build Real-Time Chat Applications’. Now, your Instagram student is not aware of this and believes you don’t have this course. Naturally, the student will look for other educators for courses you already have elsewhere. This is how you’re losing revenue without knowing.

It can consume a lot of your valuable time and can lead to content piracy and duplication. All you need is a centralized solution where you can create and sell online courses to all your students in one place. You can do this while ensuring security, privacy, and revenue generation. That’s what an LMS can do for you.

Let’s discover how it becomes a one-stop solution for educators-

• With LMS, everything can be seamlessly executed within a single dashboard. From course creation to scheduling and performance monitoring, you don’t need multiple tools for that.
• You can incorporate multimedia elements, and AI-generated content which can help you provide engaging and personalized learning experiences to your students.
• One of the biggest challenges in using LMS is that you can feel that you’re not connected to your students. However, you can review students’ performance through personalized reports and provide regular feedback.
• An LMS gives you a regular revenue stream channel. You can monetize your expertise and content by putting a price on them and making them available on subscription. Furthermore, you can upsell and cross-sell courses that many other platforms for online courses don’t allow.

Common Challenges in Using LMS Faced by Educators

Despite all their inviting advantages, Learning Management Systems (LMS) come with a unique set of challenges. It can be daunting, especially for educators who are just beginning their careers. Let’s explore these common challenges in using LMS in detail so you can navigate them to adopt LMS without any hassles:

Resistance to Adapt

Some educators are old school and have spent years honing their teaching methods. Adopting an LMS requires a complete overhaul of their approach. It is understandable for you to have the same approach but this mindset can stop you from exploring the benefits that an LMS can offer.

A big fear they feel is that if they start using a centralized platform to create and sell online courses, they might lose the learners they have on other platforms for online courses. It’s quite valid since the potential loss of revenue can deter many of you from using an LMS.

Familiarity is comfortable. For some, getting into an LMS can seem like a monumental task that requires extra effort. The thought of investing additional time and energy into learning a new system can feel overwhelming for you. It’s one of the most prevalent challenges in using LMS and categorically the most difficult to overcome.

Technical Difficulties

What happens when somebody who doesn’t know how to drive a car is handed the keys to reach a certain location? They will not know what to do. That’s exactly the case with educators who have never encountered an LMS or platforms for online courses.

You get many features and tools in one place that can become daunting to discover and use. It’s a steep learning curve and educators can get easily lost on how to start or create and sell online courses, especially without proper guidance.

Educators who are not tech-savvy can struggle with basic tasks such as setting up courses, uploading content, or managing student data. Furthermore, you need reliable hardware, up-to-date software, and a stable internet connection for an LMS to work properly. If you don’t have access to all these, it can stop you from fully utilizing an LMS’s potential. 

Overall, challenges in using LMS due to a lack of technical know-how can lead to frustration.

Content Creation and Publishing

Many educators with less experience in creating courses using multiple tools can face significant challenges in using LMS. Some traditional educators prefer to create educators in classic style, creating everything independently from scratch.

But the days of offering online courses in PowerPoint are long gone. Learners around the world seek an immersive, interactive, and media-rich experience. This involves adding AI-generated content, images, videos, and PDFs. To take it to the next level, you should also add test series and question banks. The benefits of engaging courses are obvious but they can also need a high level of skill.

Publishing a course is also among the most crucial challenges of learning management systems. You might struggle with how to price it, who should get access to it, or how to cross-sell. Another issue is the integration of third-party content with the learning management system. All of these obstacles can hamper a very essential step of using LMS.

Lack of End-User Support

Some users will inevitably run into challenges in using an LMS or have queries regarding how specific features work. The problems encountered using learning management systems can become frustrating if you are unable to get answers to such questions. These obstacles can also motivate many educators to give up using the LMS.

End-user assistance includes clear instruction on how to use LMS, and its features and overcome learning management system challenges. It becomes crucial that you only invest in an LMS that offers perpetual support.

In the absence of such support, many of you might feel clueless about how to overcome the challenges of using an LMS. 

Time Constraints

Setting up an LMS is not a quick task since it requires a lot of configuring, customizing, and incorporating of course materials. Many of you are busy providing multiple study materials on multiple platforms for online courses.  It can feel overwhelming and time-consuming.

It’s not just a one-time thing, it requires constant hustle. You need to create, publish, manage, price, and manage multiple courses. You would also constantly have to mark test responses and review performances. 

Then comes the concern of having to learn how to use it in an optimum way. Since you would be doing so much regularly while managing your maybe packed schedule, it can become one of the biggest challenges in using an LMS.

Financial Barriers

As much as LMS is exceptionally beneficial for educators, at the end of the day it comes with a substantial price tag. Affordability has always been one of the biggest challenges in using LMS. It can be out of reach for small-time educators or coaches who are just starting on this path.

Despite the potential long-term benefits, it can burden both educators and learners initially. Many of the LMS may charge hidden costs or commissions which can take away a lot from your revenue.

However, you can always choose. Some LMS are available as self-hosted models and some are available on subscription models. If you do not want to create a regular financial burden, go for a self-hosted model. In case you just want to try it out for a certain or definite time, you can pick subscription models.

Anywhichways, it still creates a significant financial burden and ends up posing challenges in using LMS with limited budgets.

Digital Distraction and Lack of Engagement

Challenges of learning management systems include managing digital distractions. Students of today have plenty of resources that can easily distract them like games, mobile phones, social media, and much more. You have to use new creative and engaging ways to hook your students.

But making engaging courses means spending a lot of time and resources on multimedia elements like images, videos, PDFs, audiobooks, and gamification. Only your interactive courses can compete with other digital distractions students have.

It is also quite difficult to foster a sense of community in students since everybody is just taking courses at home. If they don’t interact with each other or the educators, it makes them aloof and feel disconnected from your platform.

Less engagement from students means less revenue for you. Hence make sure students don’t face engagement challenges in using LMS, as it also impacts your profits.

How to Overcome These Challenges in Using LMS

The challenges in using LMS that are explained is this blog post can certainly look overwhelming. However, by taking certain measures, you can overcome them.

Get Training and Support

Nothing happens overnight. Take your time to get yourself accustomed to LMS. Take workshops, webinars, and tutorials to get the complete picture- from basic features to advanced tools. Most of the LMS comes with tutorials to help you navigate through it easily. Platforms like YouTube can also help you understand the platform. 

Choose User-Friendly LMS Platforms

Be on the lookout for user-friendly and easy-to-navigate learning management systems. A user-friendly LMS does not take up the majority of your time in figuring out the technology which is great since you get plenty of time to do things that matter- creating and selling online courses. For educators facing challenges in using LMS due to a lack of tech knowledge, it can be a boon.

Choose Your Plan Carefully

We understand some of you operate on a limited budget, but there are ways to manage costs. There are a few learning management systems that offer a free trial or limited features, free of cost version. Many offer a tiered pricing model where you are charged depending on the features you choose. So to overcome the affordability challenges of learning management systems, choose customized LMS where you’re in control of costs.

Create a Supportive Network

Being an independent educator can be taxing and unrewarding. It’s advisable that you join an educators’ community, online forums, or discussion groups. Whenever you’re in doubt or concerned with challenges in using LMS, you can seek advice or a solution there. This sense of community can make you realize you are not alone in this journey and make it easier for you to adopt an LMS.

Develop Engaging Content

AI has completely changed the way content is created and consumed. It has also made life easier for educators as you can create engaging and interactive courses in minutes. If keeping students engaged is one of the primary challenges in using LMS for you, then look for tools with AI capabilities. Remember engaged students mean more profits.

Boost Your Revenue Generation

Using an LMS can open up new revenue streams for you. LMS gives a centralized solution where you can easily create and sell online courses. Be vigilant, do not choose learning management systems with hidden charges and commissions. There are some LMSs where you can make more money than others. If you’re wondering how to detect one, look for features like upselling and cross-selling. To further maximize your profits, provide a mix of free, subscription-based, and bundled courses.

One-Stop LMS to Overcome All Challenges

There it is. A comprehensive guide on what an LMS can do for educators, what LMS challenges they might face, and how to overcome them. Each challenge is unique and can look very domineering to most educators. 

However, we also discovered every obstacle can be overcome with a positive approach and the right solutions. There are going to be many improvements and innovations in the future to help educators in tackling challenges in using LMS.

If you’re looking for a user-friendly solution where you will face minimum friction and learning management system challenges, look no further. Technocrats has built a fully customized and centralized learning management system where you can create AI-powered courses, and also sell them. Our upselling and cross-selling features can help you build a regular revenue stream. What’s best is that we don’t charge commissions or hidden costs. If you’re interested in our LMS, reach out to our team for a free demo.