{"id":2111,"date":"2012-10-30T22:26:46","date_gmt":"2012-10-30T22:26:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/newsletter.alt.ac.uk\/?p=2111"},"modified":"2012-10-30T22:26:46","modified_gmt":"2012-10-30T22:26:46","slug":"free-cloud-lms-opportunity-threat-or-irrelevance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/altc.alt.ac.uk\/blog\/2012\/10\/free-cloud-lms-opportunity-threat-or-irrelevance\/","title":{"rendered":"Free Cloud LMS: Opportunity, Threat or Irrelevance?"},"content":{"rendered":"

With Blackboard\u2019s announcement of the takeover of Moodlerooms<\/a> and NetSpot earlier this year the VLE\/LMS market is clearly undergoing a fair amount of change after a few years of relative inactivity. I originally wrote this piece for the M25-LT ALT Regional Interest Group<\/a> reflecting on new possibilities and opportunities for teachers to use free cloud-based course management systems instead of institutional VLEs\/LMS. I also wanted to consider the non-financial costs and risks involved.<\/p>\n

Cloud LMS?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve used the term LMS (Learning Management System) in the more general sense as it might be used in the US \u2013 to cover both \u2018teaching\u2019 and \u2018training\u2019 related systems. While Blackboard is the leading paid-for LMS provider, there are already a few free LMS or VLE (Virtual Learning Environment) systems out there, e.g. Moodle, but the key difference is that the new breed of free cloud LMS are externally hosted while still completely free to the teacher – similar to other free or \u2018freemium\u2019 cloud-based applications such as Google Docs or WordPress.<\/p>\n

Another key difference, compared to established LMS solutions, is that an individual teacher can sign up and set up a course area in no time at all, as both are designed to be very quick and easy to use. Obviously, it still takes the same amount of time and effort to create your content and learning activities.<\/p>\n

Coursekit (recently renamed ‘Lore’) and Instructure Canvas, launched in 2011, are the two cloud-based education apps that I have seen that most closely resemble an institutional VLE. According to at least one blog article<\/a> written at the time both were in some way created as a reaction to a distinct student dislike of using Blackboard. You only need to check the comments on these articles for confirmation that this dislike is still fairly commonplace.<\/p>\n

\u201cCanvas is awesome! I\u2019m at a university where the official LMS is Blackboard (horrible!) but several of my professors have recently had us use Canvas. It\u2019s vastly superior to Blackboard, I really like it.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Comment by Joshua Lyman on \u201cInstructure Launches To Root Blackboard Out Of Universities<\/a>\u201c, Techcrunch.com<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a student and my university uses blackboard as its LMS. Let me tell you, it\u2019s one of the worst platforms I have ever used\u2026I also have a terrible time using it. It\u2019s very counter intuitive and I usually end up spending more time finding what I need for an assignment than the actual assignment itself\u2026Remember, people don\u2019t know what they want until you tell them what they want, and maybe it\u2019s time to tell them to try something new.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Comment by Allan Yu on \u201cThe Ingenious Business Model Behind Coursekit, A Tumblr For Higher Education<\/a>\u201c, Fastcompany.com<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/a>
Figure 1 – Screenshot of Instructure Canvas<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Why would a teacher use a free cloud LMS platform?<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the key strengths of these systems is their simplicity. They are generally limited to providing file resources, a list of books\/readings, assignments and calendar and a platform for internal course communication.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe wanted to create a simple, elegant LMS that covers 95% of instructors\u2019 needs\u2026 Blackboard covers 100%\u2013 that\u2019s why it\u2019s such a cluttered platform.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Coursekit\/Lore founder, Joseph Cohen.<\/p>\n

Communication is primarily in the form of a message board more like a Facebook feed than a traditional Blackboard\/Moodle style web discussion board. Although VLEs have often had communication at their core, there is definitely something attractive about the way that communication is presented in these examples of LMS \u2013 especially CourseKit\/Lore. The creators have recognised the ubiquity of social media such as Twitter and Facebook and taken this to the heart of their product.<\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/a>
Figure 2 – Screenshot of Lore – old ‘Coursekit’ design<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Screenshot<\/a>
Figure 3 – Screenshot of Lore\u2019s new design<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Opportunities<\/strong><\/p>\n