LMS, as we know is the term used for referring to the platform that schools, universities and companies have in place for imparting training and learning to their students and employees. But little do we know that LMS is right now a billion dollar industry that is growing fast. One major component in LMS is the reader applications feature and in the scheme of things it isn't rocket science to understand its sole purpose - To read learning content from the LMS. EBook Reader Applications serve a similar purpose but at a slightly different context - To read ebooks from ebookstores. LMSs have been static for long and bringing mobile compatibility is only a natural progression. Ever since LMS has gone mobile, the burning question has been "Aren't ebook reader applications good enough to play the role of mobile LMS?" Not one but ten different reasons are there as to why this move is certainly worthwhile. Students & Teachers are going Mobile : Students nowadays crave for a smart phone more than getting a video gaming console or a snazzy laptop computer. Teachers too haven't been spared by the mobile wave. So we've got the stakeholders on board, the LMSs have gone mobile and the instances of using a reader application are much higher than that of a regular LMS application. Online & Offline Learning : When you're learning cannot happen offline, what good is it boasting of an LMS? Going mobile connects to the LMS on the go. But when there is no internet, there is no LMS. Applications can put an end to such a handicap since many ebook readers like Lektz, Aldiko, iBooks, Kindle etc. allows reading offline too. Content will become dynamic : eBooks eliminate the limitations attached with LMS content formats, resulting in highly interactive and enriched content. Running EPUB3 format learning material in an ebook reader is a truly out of the world experience limited only by the imagination. Customizing content and user experience becomes easier : Since ebook readers have been stand-alone applications since inception, they come with the capability to be customized for user tastes and preferences. Tweaking a font style, theme, page orientation, alignments are all at the user discretion. Content Protection becomes sturdier : The DRM mechanisms work better when they are applied at multiple levels. With ebook reader applications, DRM is always a multi-level security model. This means, similar to ebooks, learning material are also protected efficiently unlike the contrasting situation in an LMS application. Integrating existing applications is better than building one : To implement features that utilize the full potential of a mobile LMS requires the development of such an application from scratch. But ebook readers are basically made that way and are inherently built with the best features that make use of the mobile possibilities and still prevail offline too. It's only logical to integrate the LMS capabilities with the ebook reader interface. Multiple platform support : To use mobile platforms is to understand mobile platforms. The iOS and Android platforms are the major residing places of ebook reader applications. Therefore an LMS has been never an alien to these platforms when they integrate with the ebook reader application and can operate seamlessly. Eliminates need for separate interfaces and toolsAn LMS comes packed with a number of tools for managing, distributing and tracking learning content to users. An ebook reader application does the same with in-app downloads, cloud synced library and SCORM based user performance monitoring. Rather than having multiple tools to make all this happen, ebook readers are a "one app to show" that performs all these tasks. Best of both worlds - Reading ebook and learning from the school's LMS : Looking at the user experience aspect of this proposition, how would it feel to read a novel from a favorite author and then access the learning material from the school LMS - all in the same application? That's what this transformation will be able to accomplish. Support for global content and formats : An ebook reader with LMS support can support global standards and formats such as EPUB2, EPUB3, PDF, SCORM and Tin Can. This allows the students and teachers to access the educational content from different sources such as MOOC. So, those are your 10 reasons as to why an ebook reader application is a perfect fit for mlearning than a "conventional" mobile LMS. Now it's time for the concluding rhetoric: This is a paradigm shift in mlearning that is set to turn things on its head in the near future or so you may think. Brace yourselves - this is already a reality at one breakthrough product that modestly goes by the name "EduLektz". No pun intended but it's back to the future at http://www.edulektz.com
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ebook reader, lms, mobile lms, education, mobile technology, new mobile technology, education industry,
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