Management of Distance Learning Systems in China

1. Designing and Managing
Virtual Learning
Environments and LMS
ILO course:
Management of Distance Learning
Systems
Turin 19-20 January 2005
Lecture by G. Marconato

2. I’m going to speak about..
• Some terms in use
• LMS/VLE main features
• Key matters in designing and
managing LMS/VLE
• LMS/VLE evaluation (check-list)

3. Terms in use

4. LMS- Learning
Management System
• It is a “platform” i.e
• A set of integrated tools aimed at
managing resources involved in the training
process
– Student
– Teachers
– Learning materials
– Learning activities
– Communication
• A very easy way to set up and to deliver a
training programme

5. VLE – Virtual Learning
Environment
• It is a LMS
– When you consider the tool from a
pedagogical point of view (a different
name for the same thing)
– When specific didactics functionalities
are implemented within the platform

6. LCMS – Learning Contents
Management System
• It is a “specialised” tool devoted to the
learning contents
– Development
– Updating
– Delivering
– Learning assessment
• Every LMS/VLE has a lcms functionality
implemented
• A specific lcms tool has much more
sophisticated functionalities for contents
management

7. E-Learning Suites
• A suite is a collection of point
products that's loosely or tightly
coupled and increases a product's
functionality.
• Vendors are packaging and
integrating (to varying degrees) four
categories of e-learning support:

8. Categories of support
tools
• LMSs
• Virtual classrooms (a subset of Web
conferencing systems) and delivery
capabilities
• LCMSs and content authoring
• Professional services

9. Partial vs. Comprehensive
E-Learning Suites
• Suites come in different stages that
reflect the level of integration they
offer to enterprises.

10. • The “point-product profile model”,
which was dominant at one time, is
starting to lose popularity. However,
many e-learning vendors still fit this

11. • Partial e-learning suites have
emerged and are often created by a
series of partnerships when vendors
lack the components they need for a
comprehensive e-learning suite, or
when one of the components is weak
or partially integrated

12. Comprehensive e-learning
suites have emerged.
• Evaluating them will shift to a
paradigm in which suites are
compared on their integration,
feature functionality, data type and
standards support, in addition to
scalability and interoperability.

13. Some of the widest used
platforms (LMS)
Proprietary
• Saba
• Docent
• Hyperwave
• Web CT
• Blackboard
Open source
• Moodle
• aTutor
• .ERN
• LON-CAPA
• ILIAS

14. Open Source VLE focussed
on collaborative and
activity-based learning
• FLE3 (Finnish)
• Knowledge Forum (Canadian)
• LAMS (Australian)
• ReLoad (British)
• Coppercore (Dutch)
• Edubox (Dutch)
• Lobster (British)

15. • No single platform will suit your
organisational and didactics needs
• The “your own solution” will be a
multi-platform environment
– A LMS as the core
– More than one specialised/focused
application

16. LMS/VLE features and
functionalities

17. LMS: Learning
Management System
• These typically contain features for
administration, assessment, course
management, possibly content
management and authoring.

18. LCMS: Learning Content
Management System.
• These emphasize content
management/authoring and include
many features of an LMS

19. Two main areas of tools
• Learner Tools
• Support Tools

20. Learner Tools
• Communication Tools
• Productivity Tools
• Student Involvement Tools

21. Communication Tools
• Discussion Forums
• File Exchange
• Internal Email
• Online Journal/Notes
• Video Services
• Video Services
• Whiteboard

22. Productivity Tools
• Bookmarks
• Calendar/Progress Review
• Orientation/Help
• Work Offline/Synchronize

23. Student Involvement
Tools
• Groupwork
• Self-assessment
• Student Community Building
• Student Portfolios

24. Support Tools
• Administration Tools
• Course Delivery Tools
• Instructional Design Tools

25. Administration Tools
• Authentication
• Course Authorization
• Hosted Services
• Registration Integration

26. Course Delivery Tools
• Automated Testing and Scoring
• Course Management
• Instructor Helpdesk
• Online Grading Tools
• Student Tracking

27. Curriculum Design
• Accessibility Compliance
• Content Sharing/Reuse
• Course Templates
• Curriculum Management
• Customized Look and Feel
• Instructional Design Tools
• Instructional Standards Compliance

28. Key matters
in designing and managing
LMS/VLE

29. • Choosing the solution you need
• Make or Buy?
• Proprietary or Open Sources
solution?

30. Choosing the solution you
need
• You could face with a wide range of
training activity into which integrate
technology
– A complete curriculum or course taught at a
distance
– Just a module of a course at a distance within
a classroom-based course
– Follow-up activities
– Resources delivery
– ………..

31. First, be clear about your
needs
• The technological support you need
for your training activity could be of
a wide range of types
• So…..
• which are your support needs?

32. The “multi-platform”
approach
• No one single solution could fit your
needs
• You could start with a solution for
your main/basic needs
• Then to integrate within it further
modules as your needs will be clearer
or will emerge

33. Make or buy?

34. The “buy” approach
• If your project is about the “use” of
technology,
• The best approach is to buy a commercial
solution
• You will be “ready to go” in a short time
• You will have all the technical support you
need from the qualified vendor

35. The “make” approach
– Deciding to develop “in house” a new platform
(many academicals organisations do it) means
you are embracing a technology development
project
– This require long time before to start to
deliver your own training activity
– The approach is justified only in terms of
academic/research objectives, not in terms of
a training strategy

36. How drives the project?
• Within the “buy approach” the
project will be driven by pedagogical
objectives and by pedagogues and
didactic experts
• Within the “make approach”, by
technology and technologist

37. What about
open source tools?

38. • Open source means a free/open
access to the source code: The
programme should be modified from
you to conform to your needs
• There are no licencing fees for the
use of an open source application

39. – Free Redistribution: The license shall
not restrict any party from selling or
giving away the software as a component
of an aggregate software distribution
containing programs from several
different sources. The license shall not
require a royalty or other fee for such
sale.

40. – Source Code: The program must include
source code, and must allow distribution
in source code as well as compiled form.
The source code must be the preferred
form in which a programmer would
modify the program. Deliberately
obfuscated source code is not allowed.

41. – Derived Works: The license must allow
modifications and derived works, and
must allow them to be distributed under
the same terms as the license of the
original software.

42. …but is it really free?
• It is free only for the licence costs
• You have to pay (even if in an indirect
way – i.e staff wages) for the
development and customisation needs

43. You must be aware that:
• The “state of the art” is driven by
proprietary applications
• In the educational software fileld
proprietary applications are much
more complete and sophisticated
than the open source one
………………. But …………………..

44. Pherhaps you don’t need for a
sophisticated tool

45. Critical issues in the use of
open source applications
• The overall development costs
• The implementation “time to go”
• The quality of the development
output

46. • The qualified assistance in
development, updating, customisation
• The maintenance to the “state of the
art”
• The integration of new releases into
your customised platform

47. The main finding in choosing
between os and proprietary
• Is your project:
– A technology use project ?
– A technology development project ?

48. • No single platform will suit your
organisational and didactics needs
• The “your own solution” will be a
multi-platform environment
– A LMS as the core
– More than one specialised/focused
application

49. LMS/VLE evaluation
From COL LMS Open Source Report July
2003 (Rev. 16 October 2003)

50. Cost of Ownership
• What is the cost and ease of
implementation?
• How fast can you be up and running?
• What level of expertise is required?
• What kind of support and assistance are
available?
• What are the costs for licensing,
software, hardware and custom
development requirements?

51. Maintainability and Ease
of Maintenance
• How many valuable resource hours will this take to
administer and maintain at the server level?
• How many valuable resource hours will this take to
administer and maintain at the program level?
• How granular and distributed is the
administration (the more granular the better)?
• Are all of the data processes automated and will
they integrate easily with your other systems?
• Does the program run on a server platform on
which your staff already has excellent expertise?

52. Usability, Ease of Use,
and User documentation
• How available and accessible is end user documentation/
support?
• How responsiveness of will support be?
• How available is documentation, how-to guides, training and
online help?
• Will the program require lots of training or is it fairly
intuitive to use?
• How long will it take faculty to set up their courses at a
minimal level?
• How well will this program help an average group of faculty
deliver their materials online?

53. User Adoption / Current
User Community
• Is there a strong development
community associated with the
program?
• Are comparable institutions currently
utilizing the program?

54. Openness
• How open is the source code really?
• Is it written in a modular format
that is designed for easy
modification and new, custom
modules?
• Are there clear code specifications
for writing new modules?

55. Standards Compliancy /
Specification Conformance
• Does the LMS adhere to specifications
like SCORM, IMS, OKI, AiCC?
• Can the LMS import and manage content
and courseware that complies with
standards regardless of the authoring
system that produced it?
• Is XML support available?

56. Integration Capacity
• Has the application been integrated
with other systems?
• Does the solution allow for ready
integration with other systems?

57. LOM integration
• How available is compatible content?
• What is the capacity to integrate
with existing and newly created
learning objects?

58. Reliability
• Is the solution reliable?

59. Scalability
• Is the program suitable for both
small and large installations?
• How easily does the solution allow for
growth of users, content,
functionality?

60. Intellectual Property
Security
• Are there tools for digital right
management (DRM)?
• Are the provisions for privacy
issues?

61. Hardware and Software
Considerations
• Does the software run under an open
source operating system?
• Is there provision for platform solutions?
• What are the client browser
requirements?
• What are the database requirements?
• What additional server software is
required?
• What are the hardware specifications?

62. Multilingual Support
• Does the system support additional
languages?