For the FE/HE college that I work at, the Open source nature of Moodle is culturally well aligned.
The ability to grow use of technology through the VLE in an open
source community will be attractive to our delivery staff. Additionally,
the focus on maximising socio-constructivist learning is a good
partnership for the FE and Skills Sector where we are looking to develop
learning beyond the class-room and campus and maximise discussion and
collaboration.
The key factors to consider when selecting a VLE/LMS are:
• Cost - in a complex, ever reduced funded section of education)
• Usability - is the system intuitive; is the system functional with mobile devices
• Support - is there a quick and responsive department for the LMS
• Compatibility - is there good connections to other high use online systems used by learners
• Presentation - does the system offer a clear and professional design suitable for the broad range of learners
• Communication - does the system offer both synchronous and asynchronous communication tools
Delays of Open Source development can be interpreted as ensuring that
apps or tools work well. The institution I work for would rather use
features that are well established. There are great opportunities of
kudos for using innovative tools that are market leading but ultimately
the quality of teaching/learning can be accomplished by the plethora of
tools freely available. They may not be on the LMS but the beauty of a
LMS/VLE is that you can signpost out. The Open Learning community
world-wide is dynamic and exciting in terms of developments and can
support weaknesses in the open source VLE.
The use of Forums and Chat-Rooms gives communication control to the
learners. The way that the VLE course page is set up will have some
impact on the empowerment. For example, in my use of moodle, the
learners have access to a much larger range of learning objects from day
1 with a matching resource that details which learning objects relate
to which unit. This gives empowerments to the learner to access the
learning objects that works best for them and they can run the speed of
the course to meet their learning need. This system works well for those
learners not in a cohort but on a roll-on roll-off programme.
Some institutions are able to manage the VLE course page differently
(much like in OU H800) where the resources are linked to a weekly plan
and made open once dates are reached. This works well for a cohort of
learners who are encouraged to learn predominantly from each-others
experiences, thoughts and through debate.
The fear of many in education is that technologists or Instructional
Designers will drive forward educational developments. Educationalists
are passionate about their profession and protective of it. There needs
to be reassurance that this professionalism can be enhanced through the
use of technology and that the education sector can lead this through
partnership with technological advancements.
Thoughts about selecting a VLE/LMS
For the FE/HE college that I work at, the Open source nature of Moodle is culturally well aligned.
The ability to grow use of technology through the VLE in an open source community will be attractive to our delivery staff. Additionally, the focus on maximising socio-constructivist learning is a good partnership for the FE and Skills Sector where we are looking to develop learning beyond the class-room and campus and maximise discussion and collaboration.
The key factors to consider when selecting a VLE/LMS are:
• Cost - in a complex, ever reduced funded section of education)
• Usability - is the system intuitive; is the system functional with mobile devices
• Support - is there a quick and responsive department for the LMS
• Compatibility - is there good connections to other high use online systems used by learners
• Presentation - does the system offer a clear and professional design suitable for the broad range of learners
• Communication - does the system offer both synchronous and asynchronous communication tools
Delays of Open Source development can be interpreted as ensuring that apps or tools work well. The institution I work for would rather use features that are well established. There are great opportunities of kudos for using innovative tools that are market leading but ultimately the quality of teaching/learning can be accomplished by the plethora of tools freely available. They may not be on the LMS but the beauty of a LMS/VLE is that you can signpost out. The Open Learning community world-wide is dynamic and exciting in terms of developments and can support weaknesses in the open source VLE.
The use of Forums and Chat-Rooms gives communication control to the learners. The way that the VLE course page is set up will have some impact on the empowerment. For example, in my use of moodle, the learners have access to a much larger range of learning objects from day 1 with a matching resource that details which learning objects relate to which unit. This gives empowerments to the learner to access the learning objects that works best for them and they can run the speed of the course to meet their learning need. This system works well for those learners not in a cohort but on a roll-on roll-off programme.
Some institutions are able to manage the VLE course page differently (much like in OU H800) where the resources are linked to a weekly plan and made open once dates are reached. This works well for a cohort of learners who are encouraged to learn predominantly from each-others experiences, thoughts and through debate.
The fear of many in education is that technologists or Instructional Designers will drive forward educational developments. Educationalists are passionate about their profession and protective of it. There needs to be reassurance that this professionalism can be enhanced through the use of technology and that the education sector can lead this through partnership with technological advancements.