7 LMS Automations to Incorporate Into Your Learning Management System.

Written by Tim Newham

11 September 2023

learning management system

key LMS automations to try

scrolling arrow down

Administrative duties in your LMS can end up taking up a huge amount of time. We run you through key LMS automations you should incorporate.

Learning and development teams often face high demand for budget and resources. However, these manual tasks can be a significant drain on already limited resources.

This is where LMS automation can be of immense help in reducing overheads and cutting costs.

In this blog, we’ll go through:

  • What an LMS is
  • What LMS automations are
  • 7 LMS automations you need to incorporate into your system

Let’s get started.

⚡️Pro Tip

Why not also check out the key LMS features you need to include in your system? It’s a great way to ensure you’re ticking all the right boxes for your learners.

What is an LMS?

A learning management system (LMS) is a software that provides a virtual space for the management and delivery of educational content.

Related: Best learning management systems to choose from

LMSs can be used for e-Learning programs, online courses, and education.

They are powerful tools for facilitating student learning, tracking progress, and providing real-time feedback.

The main features of an LMS include course management, content creation and delivery, assessments, tracking, and reporting.

The system is designed to provide a streamlined process for educators to create, publish, and manage educational materials and for learners to access and complete their coursework.

What is an LMS automation?

An LMS automation is a feature or tool that helps simplify and streamline repetitive tasks within an LMS.

It automates tasks like grading, course enrolment, course content delivery, reporting, tracking, and notifications.

LMS automation reduces manual tasks that can be very time-consuming, freeing up time for learning and development teams for more creative projects.

It improves the efficiency of learning and development, providing more opportunities for employees to learn and grow within a structured and organised framework.

LMS automation is designed to enhance and optimise the learning experience and outcomes for both educators and students, making online education and training more accessible and effective.

Best LMS automations to try in 2023

An LMS automation is a feature that helps automate repetitive tasks in the LMS system, such as grading, sending reminders, or updating student progress.

Automations in an LMS can help save time and increase productivity for the L&D team as well as for employees.

LMS automation can range from simple tasks such as sending reminders to more complex tasks such as creating customised learning paths for each student.

Let’s break down some of the LMS automations you’ll find in our Think Learning LMS.

Some LMS automations include:

  • Automatic enrolment
  • Course expiration reminders
  • Automated grading
  • Personalised learning paths
  • Tracking and reporting
  • Automated notifications
  • Automatic certificate generation

🚀 Pro Tip

We use Totara’s basecode to create our learning and talent platforms. This provides us with a number of LMS automations, but we’ve also created our own bespoke solutions too.

Automatic enrolment

Using the audiences feature that comes as standard in Totara can help you to automatically enrol your learners onto the relevant courses based on certain parameters.

That could be things like their job role or team, or their enrolment date.

This is particularly useful when you have a high number of employees or lots of new starters and you’re looking to ease the signup process for your L&D team.

Course expiration reminders

Compliance is hugely important for regulated sectors. Ensuring your employees stay compliant can become a logistical nightmare as expirations are staggered and you have large numbers of employees to chase.

But, with course expiration reminders (both in your dashboard and via notification) you can ensure you keep on top of it.

There are a number of options:

  • Reminders to notify learners when a course is about to expire
  • Reminders to managers to notify them when a course is about to expire for their team members
  • Dashboard alerts in your LMS to remind learners of upcoming expiration

This feature can help learners stay on track and complete their courses before the deadline resulting in better compliance rates for your business.

Automated grading

Automatic grading means you can preset answers to your learning content to save your L&D team time marking content.

This means you can create quizzes or assignments that are automatically graded by the system. This feature significantly reduces the time it takes to grade assignments manually, freeing up time for your team to focus on more complex tasks.

Personalised learning paths

Personalised learning paths are a powerful feature that can help students stay engaged and motivated.

This feature allows you to create customised learning paths tailored to each learner’s individual needs and learning style.

Automated learning paths can include interactive activities, quizzes, videos, and assessments. This feature empowers students to take control of their learning journey and provides personalised feedback based on their performance.

💡Pro Tip

With a Think LMS you can also benefit from our recommendations engine, trending content and advanced search options. This allows you to give your learners a more bespoke experience.

Tracking and reporting

Tracking and reporting are essential features for educators to monitor student progress and performance efficiently.

LMS automations provide educators with access to real-time data that tracks student progress and performance. With automated tracking and reporting, educators can access data such as attendance, completion rates, and student performance, which can help them make informed decisions about course content and delivery.

Automated notifications

Automated notifications are a simple yet effective automation that can help keep your LMS users informed.

We created a tool called ThinkNudge where you can create customisable email and text notifications so you can send reminders such as new course content, assignment deadlines, and grading updates.

This feature can save time and improve communication, keeping your learners informed and engaged, as well as compliant.

Automatic certificate generation

One easy LMS automation you can use to save time is automatic certificate generation.

This feature is particularly useful for organisations who provide courses that require certification, and it saves time and improves efficiency by automating the entire process.

Build LMS automations in your own platform

In conclusion, learning management systems offer a wide range of automations that can help educators manage and streamline tasks.

Related: Complete guide to learning management systems

The seven automations mentioned in this article are the easiest to implement and have the potential to make learning more efficient, productive, and enjoyable for both your L&D team as well as your learners.

Whether it is automatic enrolment, automated grading, or personalised learning paths, the LMS automations can significantly improve the learning experience and make online education accessible to a broader audience.

By incorporating these automations into your LMS, you can help simplify the learning experience and save your teams time and effort.

Remember, it’s easier with a Think LMS in place. Book a demo of our platform to see how our LMS automations can give you access to a better, more well-rounded solution.