LMO Wk 3 Blog Reading
This is all very complicated and I am coming to the conclusion that a topic area like Learning Management Systems and Organization could easily morph into its own year long program. As the previous two weeks have shown, there is a plethora of tools and systems available for not only developing learning content and organizing that that material per the needs of a specific student or institution.
CMS, LMS, and LCMS platforms are all very complex, and their implementation should be made only after considerable discussion from those immediately involved including participants (learners), trainers, administrators, IT staff, and programmers.
Despite the complexity that comes with the depth of functionality within these systems, I really appreciated this week's readings which first helped categorize the different tool sets that might all be leveraged within a larger learning platform. Per the e-learningguru website, authoring or production tools, individual element tools, webcasting and streaming tools, virtual classroom portal and discussion tools, as well as information management and training tools are all critical components in the creation and deployment of content. Seeing these resources broken down into some individual laments helped to clarify not only the tools themselves, but the steps that might have to be taken to go from lesson conception to deployment.
Furthermore, it is no surprise that the other main topic up for discussion this week is assessment. Within one of our first EMDT courses, I believe it was Beth Strugeon who reminded us all that "teaching and learning are two distinct activities". This perspective is critical as we all look to understand the role of technology and how it can effect a student's learning and comprehension.
At least personally, the idea of education and technology could easily be consumed with a singular focus on the exciting digital resources available for media-rich content. As an educator, I can immediately start dreaming up all of the videos, podcasts, and interactive web-enabled elements that would be fun and engaging to distribute within the classroom. However, this attitude is largely focused on my content delivery, or "teaching". Little in this particular subject area concerns "learning" or the actual input, understanding, and synthesis on behalf of the student involved.
Both virtual and physical educational environments demand assessment, otherwise, educators, parents, administrators, and even students have no way to measure true comprehension. What has been learned? How can it be applied? How does this relate to one's life, community, or profession? These are all important questions to carefully consider when developing educational goals and outcomes prior to the blind implementation of an exciting new technology or resource.
Throughout the last 10 years, I've learned (often frustratingly so) that organizations and institutions in higher education move very slowly. However, I believe that this realm is one of those areas wherein any use of new tools should be a deliberate and comprehensive "discussion" between all parties involved.
Like many FSO participants I'm sure, as soon as I was enrolled in this program, I wanted to have a portal as powerful as Full Sail's available to my students. However, it is clear that the development of such resources is a lengthy process which can take nothing short of years. It comes as no real surprise that as Full Sail began developing the custom-built FSO system, they leveraged other online CMS tools in the interim.
Quality work takes time. Developing systems which not only distribute educational content but aid in assessing whether that material is understood by the learner is a significant and time consuming process that demands careful analysis and planning. Thankfully, as a grateful participant currently engaged in the FSO portal, I can whole-heartedly say that these systems can be nothing short of life changing for students if adequate time (and care) is taken.
Tools of the trade. e-learning.com Retrieved August 15th, 2010 from http://www.e-learningguru.com/wpapers/4-Tools.pdf
Learning management systems and organization presents Alicia Murray and Gustavo Hernando. Full Sail University. Retrieved August 15th, 2010 from http://online.fullsail.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=activities.main
Dougiamas, M. (2007). Moodle outcomes in version 1.9. Retrieved August 15th, 2010 from http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=78074
Scott,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I agree with you that it is amazing how complex these systems are. I find myself also envisioning a platform like FSO in my classroom. I am not sure I can even fathom the work that goes into the creation of such a complex system. To read about it is one thing but to actually create all aspects of the system is a completely new world.
Actually the subject can be so complex and deep that folks like Dr. Gibson had a doctorate on the subject after years and years of working in and around IT and systems work.
ReplyDeleteI am also discovering the sort of "Alice in Wonderland" head-spinning complexity that is this subject material. It is indeed very vast and wide in it's scope, and it can indeed be difficult to stop digging. I'm finding it difficult to put together my own course in Udutu, let alone an entire system like FSO. It is indeed a worthy dream, and we all know that the goal is for us to be able to take the elements that are readily available for us to use as soon as we can. That's what I appreciate about our program, it's immediate applicability and usability. Loved your thoughts on this.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you brought up assessment, as it has been a hot topic not only through EMDT, but in my own school district. You are right in your statement that both virtual and physical learning environments demand assessment so parents, students, and faculty can track progress and make sure that the students "get it." I was a bit overwhelmed at the beginning of this course with the complexity of it all, as well as all of the new acronyms that I had to learn, but this most recent WIMBA session was definitely valuable for clearing up some of the questions I still had. Nicely done.
ReplyDeleteIt is very interesting that you touched on two items. One - the little time we have and Two - How complicated analyzing or creating a system as vast as FSO would take time.
ReplyDeleteI believe in any school district, you are limited to the knowledge that your IT department. Are they willing to go into implementing a system as complex as FSO's system and provide support to all staff members. I feel they are all looking for something simple, but managing the back-end is not important. It s the front-end.
I liked that you felt that teachers should be involved in the decision making on new technology coming into our classrooms. I think it is important for the people using the tools to want to use the tools. You also mentioned how long the creation of different systems can take. While I agree that some time is required to make everything work in sync, I am in shock and awe at UDUTU and the easiness of creating a great tool for myself and my students. The content is there for us, but we now have so many wonderful options to aid in our delivery.
ReplyDeleteI completely understand what you mean when you commented about being consumed with trying to find ways to use these technologies in our classrooms. Last month in the Game Strategies and Motivation class, I had racked my brain trying to come up with a digital exercise for our final project. I was trying to envision some sort of Guitar Hero style means of teaching frequency and audio principles, and making it entirely too complicated for the scope of the project. It wasn’t until I received some feedback from Dr. Siegel and other members of the class, that my direction changed. He instructed me to start by thinking of a game that wasn’t a video game, to come up with a core concept first, before getting caught up in the technology. I think it is too easy for us to have these tools and then go looking for things to fix, instead of having a problem and then finding the right tool for the job.
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