Platforms for computer-mediated learning have existed in various forms for more than half a century. Since the COVID pandemic, their presence in developed countries has become near-universal across all levels of education beyond early childhood. After a brief history of learning management systems, this chapter explores the political economy of learning platforms. Following that, we parse the typical learning management system in a conceptual outline, highlighting the ways in which these platforms have to date tended to fossilize anachronistic pedagogies. Then we present a counterpoint from our own research and development work, creating and evaluating in practice the CGScholar (Common Ground Scholar) learning platform, including recent work developing and evaluating Generative AI applications. We conclude with an optimistic view of possible futures for education in the era of platform learning that are both transformative and efficient.