E-learning or LMS? The difference explained.
Ask ten people what the difference is between e-learning and an LMS, and you’ll get six different answers. The terms are often used interchangeably, even by vendors. That’s a shame, because when you’re making a purchase, you want to know what you’re paying for. In short: e-learning is the content, and an LMS is the platform on which that content runs. We’ll explain this in a bit more detail below.
What is e-learning?
E-learning is learning material in digital form. An interactive module on fire safety, a video course on Excel, a quiz on product knowledge: these are all forms of e-learning. You can create e-learning using tools such as Articulate Rise, Storyline, or Easygenerator. The result is usually a SCORM or xAPI package that you then need to host and make available somewhere. On its own, an e-learning module is therefore standalone: it’s content you could put on a USB drive. In practice, that doesn’t work, because you want to track progress, issue certificates, and know who has completed what. For that, you need a platform.
What is an LMS?
An LMS (Learning Management System) is that platform. It manages users, delivers content, tracks progress, and generates reports. The LMS itself does not create e-learning, but it displays and manages it. You can have an LMS without e-learning (think of in-person training sessions that you plan and evaluate centrally). You can have e-learning without an LMS (a PDF on your intranet). But in most organizations, you want both: e-learning as content, and an LMS as a control center. Read our explanation of what exactly an LMS is.
The difference between e-learning and an LMS in a single sentence.
E-learning is what the user does. An LMS is how the organization knows what the user has done.
When should you use e-learning, and when should you use an LMS?
If you have just a few standalone modules and few users, you can certainly offer e-learning without an LMS. If you have dozens or hundreds of users, periodic certification, or multiple types of learning content, an LMS is essential. In practice, we see that organizations almost always muddle through with e-learning without an LMS for too long. When the Excel spreadsheet tracking “who did what” starts to become a burden, it’s time for a platform.
How e-learning and LMS work together.
An LMS and e-learning platform communicate via standards such as SCORM and xAPI. You build your content in an e-learning tool, export it as a SCORM or xAPI package, and upload it to the LMS. The user completes the module, and the LMS records what was done and the score achieved. At Coulisse, we use xAPI to play Articulate modules within the LMS in such a way that the user doesn’t notice any difference between the two environments. For an explanation of these integrations, please refer to the article on LMS integration.
What to do if you're considering both.
Start with the content. What knowledge needs to be conveyed? What format is best suited for that? Then choose the platform that can support that content. Doing it the other way around (buying an LMS first and then figuring out what to put in it) often leads to disappointment.
Would you like to discuss what would work best for your organization? Let's get in touch.
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Questions? No problem.
E-learning refers to digital learning content, such as modules, videos, or quizzes. An LMS is the platform on which that content is delivered, managed, and tracked. E-learning is what the user does; an LMS is how the organization tracks what has been done.
Not necessarily, but in practice, yes. Without an LMS, you can’t track progress, issue certificates, or generate regular reports. For a few standalone modules with few users, you can manage without an LMS, but for anything beyond that, you can’t.
Yes, you can create e-learning content using tools like Articulate Rise or Storyline. Technically, you can also deliver the content via an intranet or a simple website. But without an LMS, you won’t have progress tracking, user management, or reporting capabilities.
SCORM is the standard that allows e-learning content to communicate with an LMS. A SCORM integration ensures that the LMS knows whether a module has been started, completed, and with what score. xAPI is a more modern version that can also track learning experiences outside the LMS.