Blended Learning LMS: 5 Features That Actually Matter

What is Blended Learning?

Blended learning combines traditional face-to-face instruction with digital learning experiences, creating a flexible and personalized learning environment. By leveraging both online and offline teaching methods, organizations can maximize engagement while maintaining the benefits of in-person interaction.

What is Blended Learning LMS?

In the SaaS ecosystem, a Learning Management System (LMS) reimagines blended learning for the digital age. Blended learning LMS combines self-paced online learning with live virtual interactions through webinars and virtual instructor-led training (VILT).

This modern blended learning LMS approach maintains the engagement of traditional blended learning while eliminating geographical barriers and scaling your training capabilities through live online interactive sessions.

5 Essential Features of an Effective Blended Learning LMS

1. Content & Course Authoring

Content authoring: It lets you create eLearning content like videos, interactive guides, articles, and PDFs.

Example: Trainn, a customer education platform, uses videos for product education. This example video teaches customers to record a video for an LMS using Trainn.

Course authoring: It helps you package these contents into structured courses.

Example: Trainn, a customer education platform, uses courses for onboarding customers into its product. Academy 101 is a course on how to set up a training academy on Trainn.

Why do you need it: A good blended learning LMS gives you both capabilities in one place, letting you create comprehensive courses where learners move through self-paced materials while getting instructor guidance regularly.

2. Quizzes and Assessments

This feature usually comes with the course authoring feature of the LMS.

Quizzes act as knowledge checks within courses while assessments are the final certification test.

Why do you need it: Although it is used for self-paced courses, learners can gauge how much they know about your SaaS tool before going into virtual instructor-led training (VILT) and webinars.

This allows them to ask more specific questions, refining their existing knowledge.

3. Virtual Training Capabilities

Virtual training comprises virtual instructor-led training (VILT) and webinar sessions by connecting with platforms like Zoom and Google Meet.

Why do you need it: In a blended learning LMS, you can schedule and manage these live online sessions right from your LMS, making the process simple.

They help you create interactive sessions that keep learners engaged and provide live answers to queries.

Dan Braithwaite explained it perfectly in our Customer Educated Podcast Episode:

“VILT isn’t just about delivering information; it’s about creating a human experience. It lets you connect with participants, address their unique challenges, and guide them through hands-on learning tailored to their needs.”

4. Social Interaction Capabilities

A blended learning LMS enables peer-to-peer interactions and discussion forums where learners share their thoughts, ask questions and learn from their peers' experiences.

Why do you need it: When learners can interact with each other, they're more likely to stay engaged and retain information better, making your blended learning programs more effective.

5. Analytics And Reporting

A blended learning LMS lets you track metrics like course engagement rates, and top-performing courses, and analyze learner retention cohorts. For virtual training, send post-session surveys to VILT and webinar session attendees

Why do you need it: Having these analytics helps you assess customer satisfaction, interest, and engagement with both your self-paced learning and live sessions.

Tip: Create a scorecard that includes both the learning methods to understand how your blended learning LMS is performing as a whole.

FAQs on Blended Learning

1️⃣ What are the benefits of using a blended learning LMS??

A blended learning LMS helps you with:

Better engagement: a blended learning LMS lets you create engaging learning experiences by combining self-paced modules with live instructor sessions.
Cutting costs and time: Blended learning LMS reduces the need for a physical classroom by turning them into virtual sessions.
Flexibility: Blended learning LMS provides flexibility for learners to progress at their own pace through courses. They can also choose to attend select live sessions.
Performance tracking: Through a blended learning LMS, you can track and measure all learning activities in one place.
Scalability: A blended learning LMS helps you manage different training formats, enabling you to increase the learner count efficiently without losing training quality.

2️⃣ What are some examples of blended learning in an LMS?

Example of how a customer success platform would use its blended learning LMS:
Customers start with self-paced tutorials about key features and platform setups. Then, customer success experts host weekly live sessions to demonstrate advanced features and answer questions.

Customers can also join discussion forums and interact with their peers. This combination helps customers learn the platform thoroughly while getting timely support when needed.

3️⃣ What is the best blended learning LMS tool?

Trainn is the best blended learning LMS tool. Trainn is a no-code LMS that combines powerful content authoring, course authoring, and virtual training capabilities that make it perfect for providing a blended learning experience to your customers.