LMS: Selecting the Right Tool

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LMS Selecting the Right Tool

• Kevin CorcoranAssoc. Executive DirectorCT
  Distance Learning ConsortiumGeorge F. Claffey
  Jr.Chief Information Officer
• CTDLC Charter Oak State College

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CTDLC Who We Are

• Consortium, 50 Members
• 10 Years Experience providing eLearning
  Experience in Northeast
• Non-Profit, State Agency, Higher-Ed Space

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CTDLC What We Do

• Provide eLearning services
• Implementation, project management, and best
  practices consulting
• Instructional Design
• Tech Support (Helpdesk)
• SIS Integration
• Remote Management / Hosted Services
• Custom Development

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Who We Support

• Higher Education
• 2-Year 4-Year
• Public Private
• K-12 and Adult Ed Program
• Non-Profits
• State Agencies
• Corporate (training)

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What Do We Support

• Learning Management Systems
• Angel
• Moodle
• Blackboard Vista
• Blackboard Enterprise Edition
• Ancillary Products
• Adobe Connect
• Elluminate
• iTunes U
• Misc. Web 2.0 (Wikis, Blogs, etc.)

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What Weve Developed

• ePortfolio
• Multi-use portfolio focusing on the student
• eTutoring
• Collaborative online tutoring platform
• Virtual Learning Center
• CT State Virtual High School

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Why Are Institutions Using LMS?
-Supporting an Online Program
-Hybrid Learning
-Augment On-Ground Courses
-Informational Portal
-Prospective Students Technological
Competitiveness
-Continuing Ed / Adult Learners
-Multi-Institution Partnership Programs
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Catalysts for Change

• Cost / Cost Avoidance
• Vendor Experience / Roadmap
• Product Features
• Support / Supportability / Resources
• SIS Integration

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Considerations

• Required Core Functionality
• Product Learning Curve
• Interoperability with existing systems
• Integration
• Scalability
• Migration
• Resources required

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Required Core Functionality

• What are Must Haves
• Multi-institutional
• Portal
• Branding
• Portability (offline, pda, smartphone/iphone)
• Adaptive Learning / Assessment
• Suite of Complimentary Products

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Product Learning Curve

• Faculty Adoption
• Easy to use for beginners
• Rich feature set for sophisticated users
• Student Adoption
• Easy to Use
• Community features

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Interoperability

• Third-Party Tools (Respondus, SoftChalk, Lectora,
  Turn-It-In)
• Publisher Content
• Co-Production
• SCORM and IMS Compliant
• IMS (Instructional Management Systems)- specs and
  standards that allow system/data integration
• SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model)-
  specs and standards allowing portable course
  content

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Integration

• Single Sign-on
• Directory Services
• Public Cookie
• SIS Integration
• Real-Time (message broker vs. direct connection)
• Batch
• Business Rules
• Data Stream Security

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ScalabilityHow many users are we going to
connect at the same time???

• Shared
• Multiple Institutions on same infrastructure
• Economies of Scale create significant cost
  savings
• May Create Limits (branding, customization, etc.)
• Dedicated
• Single Server (serves as both app and DB)
• Dedicated App and Database
• Clustered (Load-Balanced)
• High-Availability (Redundant)

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Migration

• IMS Compliant Import / Export
• Batch vs. Individual
• Clean-up
• Rebuild

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Resources Required

• In-House
• Number of FTE to support
• 24/7/365 vs Office Hours Support
• OS / Server Support
• Network / Security / Storage Support
• Application Tier / Database Tier Support
• End-User Support
• Project Management
• Training (Faculty Student)

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Resources Required

• ASP Support
• Additional Budget
• Local Project Management
• Local End-User Support Manager
• Training (Faculty Student)
• Who is supporting integration?
• Number of FTE to support
• 24/7/365 vs Office Hour Support
• OS / Server Support
• Network / Security / Storage Support
• Application Tier / Database Tier Support
• End-User Support
• Project Management
• Training (Faculty Student)

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Decision Committee

• Create an Inclusive decision committee
• Cant solely be an Academics or IT decision
• Diverse group can create campus-wide buy-in
• Survey all your potential users
• Document your research
• Share the findings with the stakeholders
• Let them understand the whys benefits, risks,
  etc.
• Create a Scoring Rubric

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Resources

• EduTools - http//www.edutools.info
• EduTools provides a great
• side by side comparison of
• the major LMS platforms available.