types of learning management systems
Taxonomy of LMS. In my reading, Coursera is selling three different kinds of learning management systems in the same package. In a chapter in his recent book, Digital Teaching Platforms, John Richards of CS4ED.com argued that there were three different types of learning management systems. He used slightly different terms, but here's how I would classify them. First, there are learning management systems as platforms for course development. This is how we typically think of LMS's now, like Blackboard, Canvas, or Moodle. Second, there are self-contained online courses, that students can take from start to finish without teacher interaction.