I have decades of experience with Saba, Cornerstone, and smaller LMSs. Now I’m striking out on my own without the corporate budget and resources. I’ve developed a curriculum for heavily regulated industries and need an LMS to host and administer the training content. I’ll be creating, administering, and reporting on the training. Should I go with Moodle or Canvas, or use platforms like Udemy or Coursera? I’m not a fan of LMSs, but they’re necessary for managing certifications and curricula.
You should check out Basewell. We’re very startup-friendly and built as an anti-LMS with polished authoring tools and strong data integration. It’s scalable and flexible enough for your use case.
Alex said:
You should check out Basewell. We’re very startup-friendly and built as an anti-LMS with polished authoring tools and strong data integration. It’s scalable and flexible enough for your use case.
Thanks, I’ll take a look! I like the idea of the free demo and scalable per-user pricing model since we’re also a small AI-fueled startup. And I appreciate the Spotify playlist, haha!
@Charlotte1
Glad you found the playlist! Scalability is the goal—Basewell is built to support companies from day one and scale up as needed. Feel free to DM me, and I can walk you through it personally (I’m one of the founders).
Instead of just asking for a good LMS, it might help to list the specific features you need. LMSs vary a lot. Think about the specific tasks you need support for, the media types you’ll use, and any integrations you might require.
@SophyGenesis
Good point. At a high level, we need HIPAA compliance, excellent reporting, a user-friendly admin interface, e-commerce to sell our content, robust curriculum and certification features, and ideally some social/community features. As for integrations, it’s hard to say right now, but we’d like something that plays well with other platforms. We’ve considered Absorb, Docebo, and Adobe LMS. Pricing models need to be startup-friendly with easy scalability.
LMSs can be a necessary evil sometimes. I implemented Canvas (open-source version) on a server in Hong Kong for a client in China. Right now, we’re using Canvas because our accreditation partner requires it. It’s not the most elegant solution, but it works. I’ll be importing a course into Canvas soon, and while it’s a bit clunky, the support isn’t bad (compared to when I was using the open-source version with just two guys on IRC).
@RaeganRevord
We’ve looked into Canvas and Moodle as well. I’ve used Canvas as an end-user. We’re also considering EdX, Coursera, Udemy, and Open Sesame. Do you feel you need to be a backend coding expert to implement and support Canvas? Seems like a full-time job.
@Charlotte1
Canvas is fairly simple, but it has lots of connected behaviors and interactions that require technical knowledge. I have a background in IT and low-level software development, but recently, I’ve been doing more product and project management.
The open-source version of Canvas requires significant technical expertise. Documentation is sparse, and support is minimal. You’ll need Linux skills as well. The commercial version, however, requires less technical expertise—just like using any large SaaS product. There are many good third-party videos explaining how to use it, but you’ll still need a decent chunk of time to set everything up. Universities typically rely on instructors to get courses into the system, with help from part-time or full-time administrators. Both groups need training.
@RaeganRevord
Update: The course transfer into Canvas is going well but is a bit slow. I’m looking into tools that can create structured text files for import into Canvas, but I’m skeptical about how much time they’ll save. I might also try converting Word files into Canvas import files.