University Business - August 2007 - (Page 62)

Learning the Basics Four quick questions and answers related to learning management systems Q. How can a learning management system beneﬁt a higher ed institution? A: An LMS helps to facilitate self-paced learning, assess student understanding of course material, present class resources in a central location. It also extends courses to include digital resources and sets the stage for content that professors can reuse and share across departments. Q: What basic capabilities do LMS systems have in common with one another? A: Generally speaking, all LMS systems offer a way to present content in a folder structure. They also include assessment tools, survey tools, discussion groups, announcement boards, and grade books. A good LMS system enables users to stream video that’s synchronized with a PowerPoint presentation, document, or any other electronic input. Q: How do LMS systems differ from each other? A: The biggest differences involve user interfaces, custom features, licensing and pricing, services for course building and training, and integration with other oncampus systems such as e-mail and registration. Q: How can I compare LMS systems with one another? A: One popular tool is available at www.edutools.info/course/productinfo. On-site vs. Oﬀ-site Systems Colleges and universities have to weigh several factors when trying to choose between on-campus LMS systems and oﬀsite hosted systems. For instance, an integrated, universityhosted system can provide more disk space for storing content than a third-party website is willing or able to, notes Dyer. Also, an on-site system can utilize the greater bandwidth provided by a university LAN rather than slower, remote internet connections. On-site solutions also make minimum of eﬀort. This feature is particularly important if course staﬀ changes between semesters, or if the university has other programs that can reuse the course content. Open Alternative In addition to on-site and oﬀ-site systems, there’s the increasingly popular third option: open source. The Sakai project, for instance, is an LMS solution that continues to gain momentum at major universities. Stanford University, for one, went into full production with Sakai in mid-2007, replacing a legacy homegrown system, according to Lois Brooks, director of academic computing. “Sakai is localized, integrated, and welltested,” says Brooks. “This is a big achievement for us, fulﬁlling the commitment we made to ourselves, and to our collaborators at Indiana, Michigan, and MIT three years ago when we started this project.” Looking ahead, Stanford will be able to exchange Sakai software components with dozens of universities across the country that are participating in the Sakai initiative. That should pressure Blackboard and Pearson-eCollege.com to maintain fair pricing and ongoing innovation in the LMS space. Joseph C. Panettieri is VP of editorial content at Microcast Communications (www.microcast.biz). He has covered Silicon Valley and the business of technology since 1992. universitybusiness.com Oﬀ-Site Also Has Upsides Still, hosted systems (aka Software as a Se vice) also provide several major beneﬁts. ‘If your LMS system goes dark, your university goes blind.’ —Eric Elgar, e2TechLabs.com authentication easier by allowing students a single sign-on to all university assets. “A university-hosted system can draw on other administrative systems, which allows the course staﬀ to focus on content and learning rather than managing registration lists and other issues,” adds Dyer. “It is also designed to assist course staﬀ with issues unique to education, such as copyright protections for some replicated course materials or materials that will later be published.” Finally, a university-hosted content management system allows for the retention and reuse of the content with a 62 | August 2007 For starters, hosted LMS systems provide predictable monthly costs—similar to a predictable cable bill or cell phone bill. “Since everything is subscription-based, the hosted model gives you a good feel for what your long-term LMS costs are going to be,” notes Golod. Also, the hosted model provides key beneﬁts in terms of maintenance and management. Hosted applications like eCollege.com can be upgraded easily and frequently— much in the way that Google or Yahoo can upgrade their back-end systems with little or no impact on users during the upgrade process. http://www.edutools.info/course/productinfo http://e2TechLabs.com http://PearsoneCollege.com http://eCollege.com http://www.microcast.biz http://www.microcast.biz http://universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - August 2007

Contents
College Index
Company Index
Advisory Board
Editor's Note
People Watch
Sense of Place
Viewpoint
Admissions
On the Hill
Future Shock
Independent Outlook
Facility Focus
Wanted: Foreign Students
Service With a Star
Beneficial Benefits
Addition By Subtraction
Report from EduComm 2007
Report Card
Internet Technology
What's New
Calendar of Events
Direct Connect
End Note

University Business - August 2007