An LMS for Tutors and Language Schools: How to Save Time

By TalkEn.Cloud Author Team

An LMS (learning management system) is a software platform that can host learning materials, tests, and personal accounts for the teacher and students, and on which video lessons can be held. And that is only some of the functions LMSs can perform. Put simply, it is an online assistant for a tutor that helps simplify and automate work as much as possible, saving precious professional and personal time. Language schools can use an LMS in the same way, which, among other things, makes it easier to onboard teachers and monitor their work. To learn more about such systems, their possible features, advantages and differences, read our article!

Contents

1. What an LMS is and how it differs from a distance learning system
1.1. How an LMS differs from a distance learning system (DLS)
1.2. Why cloud-based LMSs are in demand
2. The LMS features that make it indispensable for teachers and tutors
2.1. Planning the whole course and each lesson
2.2. Organizing self-paced distance learning with an LMS
2.3. Personal accounts for teachers and students
2.4. Online lessons and video conferences
3. The advantages of LMSs
4. How to choose an LMS platform for your individual needs

What an LMS is and how it differs from a distance learning system

An LMS is a tool for managing learning (the abbreviation stands for Learning Management System). In a sense, it is a hub where a teacher can post lessons, textbooks and other learning materials, create homework and tests, schedule lessons and hold the virtual meetings with students themselves by video call. So a tutor no longer needs to send lesson materials to each student or look for a program to communicate with them, because all possible needs are met by one single LMS, which can be accessed from any device and from anywhere in the world.

Such a tutor’s students will also be delighted. They will get a link and access to the learning management system, where they can find all the textbooks they need and get reminders about each upcoming lesson. An LMS platform can even host recorded full lessons for students to go through on their own.

Thanks to LMS platforms, lessons can also be held online

An even better way to describe what an LMS is comes from the point of view of language schools, for which such platforms are a real lifesaver. What is the biggest headache for such schools? That their unique learning materials may become publicly available. To prevent this, all textbooks and ready-made tasks are uploaded to one platform, and access is given only to teachers who currently work at the school. An LMS platform also lets you monitor teachers’ work and reduce their workload: at the very least, you will not have to pay for homework checking.

How an LMS differs from a distance learning system (DLS)

The concepts of learning management systems and distance learning systems are very often treated as the same, although that is not quite right. A DLS only covers hosting, managing and sharing learning materials, while an LMS can also run live online lessons. So to cover every possible way of teaching, tutors and language schools choose universal LMS platforms.

Why cloud-based LMSs are in demand

Some educational institutions create their own learning management systems to manage their work processes and interaction with students. Such platforms can be installed directly on the user’s computer or accessed only when connected to the company’s server. That is how the very first LMS platforms worked, but they turned out to be inconvenient: the program has to be constantly downloaded, and it is hard to add and distribute updates.

That is why a modern LMS is a cloud-based platform that you can enter with just a device and the password to your personal account. And if a tutor uploads materials to the system, they immediately become available to all their students (or the tutor can open access to just one of them). So cloud-based LMSs are convenient, and demand for them is growing every day.

The LMS features that make it indispensable for teachers and tutors

Different learning management systems have different sets of features. Some features are relevant only for private tutors, some are needed only by large schools with many teachers, and some are used by everyone. Here is the basic functionality that almost every LMS includes.

Planning the whole course and each lesson

Tutors used to have to prepare lots of material for every lesson, which often got lost or could simply be ruined by an accidentally spilled cup of coffee. Today, thanks to an LMS platform, writing a course program and planning each lesson has become much easier, because all the materials can be organized in one cloud system. This is extremely convenient for teachers, who can see all the topics in front of them and quickly edit or add to them when needed.

What is more, an LMS can contain ready-made learning materials on which even an inexperienced tutor can build lessons and teach them to individual students or whole groups.

An LMS saves a tutor from the pain of developing lessons

Organizing self-paced distance learning with an LMS

We have already mentioned distance learning, where pupils or students simply get access to learning materials and then work through them on their own to gain knowledge. In fact, LMS functionality lets you work the same way. This gives tutors and language schools the opportunity to teach courses with the flipped classroom method: students learn the theory on their own using prepared materials, and then practice what they have learned in a video lesson with the teacher.

Personal accounts for teachers and students

In their own LMS account, a teacher can at the very least:

• see and interact with all the students and groups they work with;
• use a planner with the dates and times of scheduled lessons, which the LMS can sync with students’ planners;
• monitor how often lessons take place with each student;
• track students’ progress, which shows whether or not they are improving;
• monitor completion of the homework and tests assigned to students;
• share comments with students, for example about their homework.

Students get access to a similar account, but only the learning materials and the planner are open to them. The teacher can also give access to tests or other ways of checking knowledge needed to consolidate a specific topic. And, of course, the student can receive messages from the tutor with feedback or advice through the LMS.

Online lessons and video conferences

The most important LMS feature is the ability to make video calls, including conference calls for group lessons. Almost every tutor who works with students online has faced bad connections, when sound or video drops out, or one program starts overlapping another, or you cannot turn on screen sharing for students.

All these problems are easily solved with a learning management system, because it is specially designed to keep a call going even if one of the users has a weak internet connection. The system also makes it even easier to show learning materials, because you can adjust the size of the video window to your needs.

Neither students nor the teacher have difficulties in group lessons either. The LMS lets a tutor see all students at once and control the sound when needed.

The advantages of LMSs

Of course, access to the platform is paid, so it is important for a tutor or language school to understand clearly what advantages they are paying for. We have highlighted the basic benefits of using an LMS:

• A convenient, clear interface. This means the user does not need separate training to use the LMS. Even more importantly, the tutor does not have to spend time introducing the program to their students: once in their personal account, anyone will immediately understand where to view textbooks and where to see the schedule of upcoming lessons.
• 24/7 access to materials. By posting lessons and textbooks in an LMS, a tutor lets students study at any time, even at night. This lets teachers work even with students from other continents regardless of the time difference. The main thing is to schedule video lessons correctly.
• No limits on the volume of learning materials. A tutor does not need to worry about the size of textbooks, because the LMS administration takes care of this. You can upload text files, pictures and even audio and video recordings to the platform: any materials that may benefit students and help them learn new topics.
• Monitoring students’ knowledge. By giving access to tests or other assessment methods through the LMS, a teacher can also see exactly how their students complete tasks. This lets the teacher notice weak spots in students’ knowledge and later make an effort to improve things. In particular, it lets you change the curriculum if a student is not making progress.
• No need to install lots of apps or use several programs at once. Yes, modern devices are very powerful and can run hundreds of apps at once. But if a student can only study on a phone, they will be 100% more comfortable learning through an LMS, which saves them from constantly switching between tabs. Experienced teachers understand that this also helps students concentrate on learning, especially schoolchildren. The child will only need a link to a good dictionary to translate new words quickly. Using an LMS also helps with a weak or unstable internet connection, because a cloud program needs less traffic, so the lesson will go on despite any problems.

LMSs help students concentrate during lessons

• Significant time savings for the teacher and the student. First, an LMS lets you organize learning online, so neither the tutor travels to the student nor the other way around. Second, once a lesson has been prepared, the teacher no longer spends effort or time organizing lessons. Third, LMSs let you create tests with automatic checking, so you do not have to check them by hand.
• Universal access. We have already mentioned this but decided to make it a separate point: you can access an LMS from any device. So work from a computer, tablet or phone and get equally convenient access to learning materials.
• A higher status for the tutor and the language school. It is one thing when you work with a tutor via Zoom or some other platform, they send you text materials via Telegram, extra lessons are on a private YouTube channel, and for tests you have to go to some little-known website. It is quite another when you can access all these tasks in one place in an LMS. This immediately changes how people see the tutor and creates a positive, prestigious reputation. The same goes for language schools: the better the service, the more positive the reviews.

How to choose an LMS platform for your individual needs

An LMS is a tool that can either help you save time and effort, or simply take your money and create extra difficulties. So you need to choose a platform very carefully, after studying all its features and capabilities.

But it is important to start your search for an LMS not with the program but with yourself. We mean your needs and tasks. First of all, we recommend writing down on a sheet of paper all the tasks you usually do in your work as a tutor, school teacher or online school manager. Then write down the functions you miss in the regular programs you use all the time. Now you should have a rough idea of what your ideal LMS platform should be like. But you still have other tasks!

When you choose apples at the market, you do it quickly and well, because you have tasted the fruit many times and know what the tastiest one should look like. So to find the perfect learning management system, it is also important to look at and try different offers so that you can then compare them and identify their pros and cons. So do not limit your search to one option, and study different LMS offers.

Once you have defined your own requirements and looked at different options, also use these criteria to choose an LMS:

• an affordable price, or the option to choose between several access plans, one of which suits you;
• video calls among the LMS features, including group calls;
• check how much the learning management system lets you automate the learning process: for example, whether it can check students’ work automatically and whether it syncs your schedules;
• ready-made learning materials in the LMS that let you teach without preparation;
• a convenient and truly intuitive interface, especially if your students may be older people or children;
• high-quality LMS technical support: while you are getting used to the system, you will definitely need people who will explain everything and help in emergencies.

As for whether to connect an LMS at all, do not hesitate: you will feel its advantages from the very first use. And you will be very surprised at how much free time you have!

Read also

• An LMS for Tutors and Language Schools
• An LMS Platform: Convenient Learning Management for Tutors
• A CRM for a Language School: Easier Management and Scaling