ATutor

LMS Comparison—ATutor

ATutor actually consists of four different platforms with a variety of tools (that all seem to start with the "A," much like Apple's "I": ATutor for course management, AContent for course management, ATutor Social for networking, and AChecker for accessibility. From what I could gather (through a tremendous amount of searching) is that all of the software can be downloaded for free, but creating a course or content costs money. Right away I see advantages and disadvantages: If you are a large organization with a multitude of needs, this would be cumbersome. However, if your organization's needs are small, this could save you a lot of money and allow you to create a system that grows along with you.

Communication Methods

AComm is an instant messaging and whiteboard tool. Learners can communicate with others through their Inbox using ATutor's private mail, through the discussion forums, the chat rooms, or the "User's Online" tool. Threads and messages can be sorted in a variety of ways. Students see an "inbox" on their student page for messages and can program their page to give a chime when they receive a new message. There are a variety of synchronous assets such as blogs, wikis, news , and announcements. There are asynchronous features such as AChat. This is a tool allowing real-time chatting within ATutor. Video embedding is available through the WSIWYG editing tool in ATutor, and sound capabilities are present through the presentation formats. Groups and forums are available throughout.

Content Organization

ATutor uses modules to structure courses. Standard-aligned content can be developed within ATutor using html or the WYSIWYG editor, or content can be imported. Instructors can also import or export content from ATutor as IMS/SCORM conformant Content Packages. IMS Common Cartride learning objects can also be imported and exported.

Interface Design and Complexity

I found the interface design for learners intuitive and simple to use. The learner page consists of tabs at top much like a file system with a "jump" drop-down menu. Learners move through ATutor using hierarchal, universal, or sequential navigation.
However, I struggled with the interface design from an instructor's perspective. It was easy to get off on a tangent when you clicked on a support tool, which could result in a long series of "Back" clicks to find where you left off in course development.

Platform Capabilities/Likes and Dislikes

Students are automatically logged into "My Courses" when they register and can setup their profile with textual and photographic information using ATutor's prompts. ATutor has the capability of being more than just a communication tool. Content creation can be extensive, but I found the lack of structure in terms of instructional design elements and templates a negative, especially for large organizations. From an administrative perspective, there is not a consistency that I would like in terms of design, and the novice instructor might struggle. However, the more experienced course designer might enjoy the freedom.
From the learner's perspective, I think having consistency in formatting and structure would be lacking in ATutor. Decreasing cognitive load by giving the learner new material in the form of content (as opposed to structure) in each course would be beneficial.

Final Analysis

This system might be a choice for an organization with a very limited budget and technologically savvy designers . Overall, I would not choose this system. I found the help functions burdensome, and the features relatively common and consistently being updated. Why the need for all of the updates? It makes me wonder what else is in need of updating.