Changing the system

http://www.educause.edu/EDUCAUSE+Quarterly/EDUCAUSEQuarterlyMagazineVolu...

By Ining Tracy Chow
Taken on June 23, 2010

I chose this article because I wanted to learn more about the decision making process in choosing a LMS and the experience of actually administering the program.

The university changed from an in-house LMS system to Moodle. The university chose a specific date to start using moodle. This decision meant courses already in session were using the old system while all new courses would be offered in moodle. Some suggested switching cohort by cohort which would have been easier on the user but would haven taken several years to phase in.

Even though the school was already using a LMS they still needed to adjust all their courses to fit the moodle format. Though it was time intensive there was a significant payoff since the previous system did not allow the professors to edit the pages. Even after two years many professors still rely on support staff to help edit their pages.

The support staff runs quality checks making sure that all details of the course site are correct from dates to working links. The expectations of quality are discussed explicitly to ensure everyone is creating quality courses. Students received training in how to use computer resources. There needed to be staff dedicated solely to helping students use the online resources and systems.

Some of the main conclusions drawn from implementing Moodle were
1. Allow plenty of time for implementation and planning.
2. Courses need to be developed early to allow plenty of time for testing
3. Make quality and oversight a priority.
4. Allow plenty of training opportunities for instructors and learners.

I found it interesting that it was such a big change from an in-house LMS and Moodle. It left me wondering how much planning would have to go into using a LMS for the first time. Having a recent experience creating a course on Moodle I can see how much technical skill is required in creating a course. I can foresee lots of resistance to using an LMS from my middle school staff.

Jennifer Ellis