In the fast-paced world of business and education, a successful learning management system (LMS) is a vital part of your organization’s productivity. An LMS can help you manage your employees and students more efficiently, but only if you choose the right one. If you’re considering an LMS for your organization, free trial periods are a great way to test and assess a learning management system (LMS) before committing to a subscription.

Learning management systems can be complex, so it’s necessary to dedicate time and effort to assess the system across multiple users. The question is, how do you get the most out of your trial period? Here are some tips for testing out the features of an LMS during the free trial period:

1. Define your goals:

 The more specific you can be about what you want from your LMS, the easier it will be to determine whether or not it’s up to scratch before you make any commitments or sign any contracts. Defining your goals may take some time – after all, the whole point of using an LMS is so that it meets your needs in ways other software cannot. Many people want to use the free trial period to check the performance of a new LMS. Often, they are so eager that they need to carry out the test during the first week. 

2. Check your admin panel:

 Check out your admin panel to familiarize yourself with it and make sure you have access to all the options you need. Test out any new features or functionality. If there are any new features or functionality that you want to test on LMS, now is the time! Make sure everything works as well as expected.

3. Test your LMS with a group of employees:

 Testing is perhaps the most necessary step in checking out your new LMS: getting feedback about how it works in practice from people who use it daily. Hold group training sessions or ask for feedback for each training session held during your LMS trial period.

You can also check out LMS reviews online. Look for ways to improve the overall user experience, features, and functionality of LMS based on this feedback.

4. Check course formats:

Some LMS let you create courses only in one format, while others allow you to choose from several format options. For example, some programs offer videos with voiceover instead of recorded lectures, and some do not allow adding text at all. Check what features suit your requirements. Do not forget to check the user navigation and ease of access within the course of the LMS.

5. Check tech support:

If you need help during your free trial period, how will you get it? Most companies provide 24/7 support via email or phone; some provide live chat. Check out if your LMS provides tech support?

6. Check out the options of integrations as per your usage:

When looking at an LMS, pay attention to all the different ways people interact with the systems. Some platforms are strictly online, while others have some mobile functionality built-in. Are all of those functions on par with what you need? How well does the platform communicate with other tools you use? Historically, one of the biggest complaints about LMSs has been their inability to integrate well with other software. Are my learners going to be frustrated by that?

Most LMSs have some type of test-taking functions, which can include multiple-choice questions, matching exercises, or even short writing assignments. How well does this work, and how easy is it? Can I customize it? What kinds of reports will I get from it? These are some sure short questions to be asked.

Conclusion:

When you switch from one LMS to another, you might want to test it before committing. As a rule, you can conduct a free trial for at least 30 days. These tips can help you make the most of your free trial.