Do you need an LMS to deliver great elearning content in WordPress?
It’s a common misconception that elearning content needs to be sat inside of a learning management system. As we know, WordPress has lots of great plugins available to help this, such as LearnDash, Lifter LMS and Tutor LMS - so sourcing an LMS may feel like the natural first step when you are looking at online learning.
The primary function of an LMS is to help you administer courses and manage the learners who access them - but in WPETG’s view, online learning is so much more than what many people think. Online learning comes in all shapes and sizes - big or small, simple or complex, broad or specific, open or closed.
One of the advantages WordPress’ has over other many platforms is that it is end-user focused, with a huge amount of scope for custom design and development. You can use it to create beautifully designed interfaces that are perfect for the delivery of online learning.
We’ve been on the lookout for great examples of elearning content that are delivered in WordPress, and don’t necessarily involve a learning management system. These could be public facing websites developed by companies or charities to raise awareness or champion a cause.
The four examples below are all based on WordPress and show how it is being used as a base platform to deliver amazing learning content:
The Sea We Breath
https://www.bluemarinefoundation.com/the-sea-we-breathe/
A stunning, educational piece from the Blue Marine Foundation showing the importance of restoring the oceans.
Wonderstruck TV
https://www.wonderstrucktv.com/
A BBC America project that’s kind of like Netflix for animal documentary clips! Collections of short clips, accessed via a neat interface.
Building Net Zero
https://netzeroneedsnuclear.com/building-net-zero/
An informative website showing the benefits of nuclear energy, with content interspersed with interactive games.
Statistics and Catastrophe
https://www.ghwk.de/statisticsandcatastrophe/
An interactive map, with various statistics from the second world war.
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Of course, there’s a huge amount of design and development that goes into platforms like these, but they are certainly great inspiration for what can be achieved within a WordPress setting and possibly show an alternative to many consider to be traditional "online learning".
We're considering expanding this concept into an article or blog post, so we’d love to hear from you if you have any thoughts or examples of online learning delivered in WordPress (inside an LMS or otherwise). Please comment below, tweet us or email us your examples.
Those are some terrific examples! The Sea We Breathe really has a WOW factor that hooks you in to continue learning and seeing what else you can uncover as you 'dive deeper'. I think it's fab.
The subject of the post is an interesting point for discussion. I've sat in a number of conference keynotes where the LMS is singled out as the key reason for many of online learning's pain points and that we should be 𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 the LMS all together...
I appreciate the point they are trying to make but I think we've got to be more realistic and assume that because the LMS is not going away any time soon we should be evaluating how we can better balance an outstanding learner experience vs the business and logistic needs that an LMS needs to support.
I think this is where our group sets itself apart through our work and exploration using WordPress to create custom learning experiences, as we are striving to put the learner and the audience experience at the heart of any new project.
By adopting WordPress and a DIY mentality, rather than trying to make an off the shelf corporate training LMS platform fit into any and all situations, I think we create a much richer and tailored online learning experience.