There are a lot of different options emerging in the WordPress space for eLearning. I’ve regularly looked at and compared it to by StudioPress and by Woothemes. If you don’t feel like searching, you can find them here:
But with all that already written, people still write comments and send email asking about one other product in the eLearning space: .
So this past week I purchased a copy (which I always do before doing comparisons or evaluations), installed it and took it for a spin. I also read everything they put on their web site. And from that assessment, I thought I’d give you my take.
Probably one of the first things I noticed about LearnDash was that it was coming at the space from a different trajectory than others.
Let me explain what I mean.
If you read everything WooThemes has written about Sensei, you will come away with the sense that they are WordPress guys first, Plugin guys second, and eLearning guys last. Nothing wrong with that. The benefits are a tight integration between the plugin and all the rest of WordPress.
If you read dig into everything over at WP Courseware, you see a slightly different dynamic. They’re plugin guys first, eLearning second, and WordPress guys third. It’s a slight nuance, but it’s the only way I can explain my take on LearnDash.
Moving about their site, I come away with a distinctly different impression – that they’re eLearning first, plugin second, and WordPress third. And that will have an impact on how you see, experience and value what they’ve done.
I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with any of these approaches – we all come from somewhere and have default inclinations. But it has an impact on messaging and product development. Check out their differentiation.
Now, back when I was doing eLearning systems for Berkeley Lab (1995-1997), I was hip-deep in industry publications, standards, and the like. Back then I was involved with something getting started called SCORM – a standard for educational content that would allow the content to be portable.
Today’s replacement is called the Tin-Can API. If you’ve never heard of it, don’t stress. A lot of people have never heard of it. But it shouldn’t surprise you that LearnDash not only knows about it, but has built their plugin to support it.
This gives us an immediate glimpse into how LearnDash is different from the other eLearning plugins for WordPress. Because the others don’t think about Tin-Can at all.
That’s how you know if you’re in their target market. If your focus is really on Learning Management Systems (LMS) and integration with the Tin-Can API, then LearnDash is for you.
That’s why they count many universities as their clients. Those folks are square in their sights. It also explains the integrations they’ve worked on – WaxLRS and GrassBlade. I briefly checked them out, and again, it was valuable for more Tin-Can integration, and alternative course-launching.
Just because LearnDash has LMS industry integrations doesn’t mean you shouldn’t consider them for my non-academic e-course. It’s a plus if you need it and neutral if you don’t.
Feature-wise, the two are really very comparable. Some things are easier to do in one and other things easier in the other. Such that when you look at the list below, you’ll see that feature for feature, it’s pretty much a wash.
But that’s what LearnDash has done a bit. They provide their own content protection approach – which is good if you love all-in-one solutions. They provide their own payment processing (via Paypal integration) too. And they add 2CheckOut – not the first one I’d pick for integration.
If you’re a WordPress person, who builds a lot of WordPress sites, and are looking to help someone create a simple online course to show off video and similar things, maybe even with a few quizzes and want the easiest solution – I’d still go with
If you’re building a serious online learning system for a major site, and want access to the professional experience and deep understanding on learning management systems, then access to that kind of email support and guidance is likely better from .
If you’re going to need integration with the Tin Can API, there’s no question, use .
If you want to wrap your courses with a a great membership plugin, go with