If digitalization of education was more of a just a desirable thing previously, now, thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s an inseparable part of all your studying chores. To be fair, whenever students are writing an essay or doing research, they, most likely, use digital tools for that. They will research paper parts by googling at least the most basic aspects of your final work.
Education requires determination and good managing skills. And managing yourself online may be quite difficult. Some can waste hours, days, or even weeks choosing the ideal research paper titles and learning writing formats. So, e-learning requires discipline. And the very first step to do that would be picking up a proper LMS platform
Considering the number of platforms offering Learning Management Systems on the market, picking the proper one may turn out to be even more difficult than doing scientific research. There are, literally, myriads of them. Some of them are good, some of them are bad. Some of them are awesome, some of them are loathsome. But, most likely, WordPress LMS will be the first one you come across.
WordPress is an open-source management system, which has been around for almost twenty years. Which signifies that it’s a trustworthy hub. But does its longevity make it the most suitable option for you? Like all of the platforms on the market, WordPress LMS has its advantages and flaws. But that’s not enough for you to make a final decision.
You need to make sure that you enjoy all the advantages that the system provides you with. And you need to determine whether you are ready to cope with the downsides of it. Knowing exactly what pros and cons the hub has may come in handy. And now you can check out all the ups and downs of WordPress LMS. Let’s start with the advantages, first.
1. Ease of Use
The ease of use is one of the crucial things you need to consider before picking an LMS program. After all, it is important that students will follow their courses, rather than trying to figure out how the platform works. In terms of ease, WordPress is your ultimate choice, as it’s one of the better, if not the best, management systems.
WordPress is extremely convenient to use thanks to its straightforwardness. It doesn’t require knowledge of coding. Moreover, you don’t need to be tech-savvy in order to navigate and use it. This feature makes WordPress stand out, as other management hubs may require an in-depth understanding of the way it works, before using it.
2. User-friendly Interface
The interface must be comfortable, as it’s where students interact with each other, and with their professors. The more comfortable it is, the better it is for learning progress. WordPress interface is easy-to-navigate, and the platform offers several thousands of themes for it. Using this LMS will give you not only a comfortable interface but a pretty one as well.
3. Extensions
From time to time, you need some extra plugins to enhance your e-learning system. And WordPress wins among other LMS’, as it offers more than 50,000 of sort plugins. And that’s not the end of it, as the number is growing daily. While not all of those extensions are designed exclusively for e-learning, their flexibility allows you to use them to meet your requirements.
4. Customization
Customization is an inseparable part of e-learning. Based on the course, and the tasks it involves, the LMS program may require merging things into one interface, instead of having separate ones for separate functions. The confluence of various ideas in one interface can be easily executed thanks to WordPress.
Be it a plugin, a theme, or an extension, they can be easily customized thanks to WordPress being an open-source hub. And the straightforwardness of the management system allows you to do it without being an IT specialist. Customize whatever you need in your LMS platform with ease.
It seems that WordPress is an ideal system for your needs. But that doesn’t mean that it’s free of any shortcomings. Not that the content management system becomes a total disaster based on its flaws, it is still important to learn them before choosing it as your platform for e-learning.
1. Sensitive Data Security
Stating that using WordPress is unsafe would be an overstatement. But, there are several things you need to consider before using it. The popularity of WordPress among users means that it is often being targeted by hackers. And while using it for the e-learning course is okay, you need to maintain the personal data of students and professors secure, otherwise, it can be easily jeopardized.
2. Scalability
Running WordPress for your LMS course is great. But it works great only when it’s being used for one particular course. While you can find plugins and extensions designed specifically for e-learning, none of them are scalable enough to deal with, let’s say, the whole college. Thousands of students accessing the information simultaneously may lead to severe system performance issues.
Thus, if you require a system that can run on a large scale, it is better to stick with ones that are designed specifically for e-learning. Those platforms are equipped to deal with large numbers of students, and you can utilize them for the whole campus, rather than for the specific course.
3. Frequent and Unexpected Downtimes
Speaking of unexpected downtimes, unfortunately, they occur frequently. Students must be able to access the site whenever they need it. WordPress-based platforms often go down due to their nature. Thus, students won’t be able to access the course when needed, and they will have problems with uploading their research papers or essays.
It’s not an unsolvable problem, as it can be easily fixed by hiring backup service providers. But that may be costly. Thus, whenever employing this technology, educational institutions must be ready to face extra expenses. The only other way out is sticking to the traditional form of studying.