Introduction
For our LMS comparison, I chose two platforms that I have heard of, but want to learn more about. My knowledge of Blackboard is limited to being a student who uses it. Although I have created courses using Moodle, I have not done so in Blackboard. I know very little about Joomla, but have heard that a local high school is using it, therefore, my interest is peaked.
Blackboard
Communication Methods
Blackboard offers both synchronous and asynchronous communication. In addition, it incorporates instant messaging via email or text, making ubiquitous learning possible using mobile devices. A translator setting allows non-English speaking users (and parents) the option of notification delivery in their native language. Real-time chats are available for student-student or student-instructor communication. Chats are archived for future reference.
Organizing Content
Content can be organized in segments, and structured by the instructor to include files, whiteboard files, and links. Instructor can choose what tools will be available to the students. The interface design is consistent among courses; however, the instructor can also customize it.
Content, assignments, and quizzes can be customized for assess by certain students, groups, date, and time. A Performance Dashboard allows instructors to track student performance and activity. A course template builder is available. Multiple departments can have their own look and feel, while all using Blackboard. Instructors can share materials, and it is SCORM compliant.
Interface Design
Blackboard is user-friendly for the instructor to design and to a student familiar with Blackboard courses. A tutorial on the parts of Blackboard is advisable for the novice user. Support for building courses and tools for such is advised to assist instructors. Blackboard requires technical assistance for set-up. It uses Windows/Unix but not Mac operating systems, and it supports Oracle and MySQL database systems. IT personnel must be on hand for management and maintenance of servers.
Capabilities
Blackboard has a method to assign students via a student information system to courses. In-house technical support helps to make this process smooth. In addition, students can be segmented into groups for specialized content and communication delivery.
Blackboard can easily multitask as an authoring tool for content building, a communication tool, and hub for student materials or used for only one purpose. For example some instructors and institutions use Blackboard for location of syllabus and other files; others use it only for the communication piece. As well it can combine all facets of a virtual classroom into one place.
Likes/Dislikes as an Instructor
Blackboard is prevalent in secondary and higher education. The name is familiar, and many have seen or used Blackboard in the past. It has many of the components an instructor would want, including assessment hosting and tracking. It is costly, so a return of investment must be present. In that case, instructors and students alike should be using Blackboard to its potential. Blackboard does come with a company name that is long-standing in the eLearning community. Therefore, they are constantly developing and improving their product to best fit the needs for 21st learning.
Likes/Dislikes as a Student
As a graduate student who has used many LMS platforms, Blackboard is not as intuitive or visually rich as something like Moodle. Depending on the design or template, tools and materials may become buried in sections of Blackboard that do not make sense for the learner. On the other hand, once you have enough experience with it, you start to figure out where things might be located. Again it depends on the design by the instructor and/or administrator whether items are found or easily communicated.
Uses for Blackboard
Blackboard could be used from the middle grades up through higher education and industry. Possibly as low as grade 5 could benefit from electronic delivery from a LMS like Blackboard. Because it is so comprehensive on many levels, it presents a “one-stop-shop” for students to access content, communication/feedback, and assessments. In my teaching experience, children and parents often get confused if they have to go to multiple locations to download, view, upload, ask questions, etc. electronic media. Blackboard is a possibly way for users to find everything they need in one place.
Certainly it is useful for higher education, governmental entities, and industry. However, I wonder about secure data and documents, and if Blackboard is considered safe for sensitive material.
Joomla
Communication Methods
Joomla also allows for synchronous and asynchronous communication. Forums, chats, live conference, emails, and announcements are all ways that it keeps dialogue going. Students can select whether email notifications come in a digest form or as an RSS feed. Spell checker is available for responses. Files can be shared using a dropbox. An ePortfolio option is present.
Organizing Content
Joomla has similar features to Blackboard. There are many customizable ways for instructors to post content. Likewise, students have options to download and print or save to a local device for offline use. Instructors can create linear modules and save them for reuse. Test banks can be developed as well as imported from other sources. A multitude of test question standards are available including questions with multimedia attachments.
Interface Design
Joomla has a professional and polished look to it. It can be hosted on their server or your own. A Graphic User Interface can be used to modify this LMS. Visually it appears fresh and user-friendly for both the instructor and student. The interface and navigation adjusts based on the user’s role. A student’s interface is slightly different than an instructor’s.
Capabilities
As an authoring tool, Joomla allows for content, assessments, surveys, and multimedia files. Self-registration and enrollment can be applied or manual registration and enrollment. Material, data, and quizzes can be imported and exported.
Likes/Dislikes as an Instructor
Joomla is more affordable than Blackboard. It does offer a way to import Blackboard courses. It can be customized take on a school logo and brand. Its name is not well known yet, which could be the downside for using a platform that many cannot say or spell.
Likes/Dislikes as a Student
Students will like the cleanness of the Joomla interface. As with Blackboard this can be a single point of entry for a course or a support system for face-to-face instruction.
Uses for Joomla
Right now I know of one high school in my district that is using Joomla. They like it very much and are considering adopting more “paperless” classes in the next few years. I can see the benefit of my school, which feeds into this high school, using Zoomla. However the return of investment for a subscription-based platform like this would come from discontinuing our 3-year relationship with a grading program/homework board program we use. I can see that as being difficult, especially with teachers that do not understand eLearning at all.
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