Joomla LMS
Communication
Both asynchronous and synchronous communication tools are available in Joomla LMS. Groupware tools such as a Discussion Forum, Shared Whiteboard, Conferencing, and Chat all facilitate communication. Chat communication is available for small group or whole class communication. Multichannel audio/video streaming allows for conferencing within the platform through Adobe Flash Media Server. This feature includes an in-conference chat feature, streaming video to the Shared Whiteboard, and web camera viewing. Conferences can be recorded. A Mailbox feature allows the students and instructors to send and receive emails from within the platform.
Content
Content is set up on pages as topics–the topics could be different weeks or segments in the course. The Learning Path feature allows the instructor to control how his students view the content and “forces” them to work through it in a predetermined order. This allows for a greater understanding of the content and stops students from skipping over content.
Interface
This LMS has a simple interface design. It appears much like a word processor with easy to follow icons. The online tutorials offer support for both the instructors and students, and clearly illustrate how to set-up or use the features.
Capabilities
Resources such as files, links, and images can be uploaded and organized into folders. Students and instructors can exchange files through the Dropbox feature. The instructor can also write quizzes, keep track of grades in the GradeBook, and monitor student attendance and activity.
Likes and Dislikes
From both an instructor’s and student’s perspective, I like this platform because it appears easy to use and the navigation is intuitive.
From an instructor’s perspective, I like the Dropbox feature since it eliminates numerous separate e-mails from students in order to gather documents. All of the students documents appear in one easy to find location.
From a student’s perspective, I like the Conference feature. Online live sessions can easily be found within the LMS in one central place.
Use of this Platform
This seems like the ideal platform for K-12 environment because it the interface is easy to follow. It would also be helpful for self-paced courses for individuals.
Desire2Learn LMS (Version 9.0)
Communication
Desire2Learn offers synchronous and asynchronous communication, such as E-mail, Locker, Blog, Chat and Pager, and Discussions. The Discussions feature encourages peer interaction. The News feature allows the instructor to communicate updates, changes, and new information to students. News items can be created in advance and set to release on a certain date. E-mail allows classmates to communicate with one another and the instructor, and also with those others outside the course. The Dashboard tool in the EPortfolio feature provides students with an at-a-glance look inside their EPortfolio where they can see recent comments left by other classmates, any new material sent by instructors, and invitations to review others' work.
Content
In Design2Learn the course content is organized in a branch format by topic or modules and can consists of imported files, links to web content or other learning environments, new files created in the HTML editor, or materials from the learning repository.
Interface
This platform has a drag and drop interface that facilitates course design. Skip navigation makes it easy to navigate from one page to the next. The design wizard helps to align course objectives with assessment and content. While the interface is said to be simple by the developer, it appears much more sophisticated than Joomla LMS. Nonetheless, it appears easy to navigate with some experimentation.
Capabilities
Desire2Learn has many capabilities. The platform allows instructors to write assessments and includes different pieces such as quizzes and oral reports. A grades feature makes it easy to follow students’ progress and identify those in need of additional support. The Surveys and Self Assessment feature make it possible to analyze course trends. The Competencies and Rubrics feature provides standardized assessment across courses for accreditation or certification of formal programs. User Progress and Attendance feature allows the instructor to quickly see how much a student is participating and monitor progress on assignments. The Intelligent Agents features allows an instructor to share milestones or identify those students that are in need extra help. Video, i.e. from YouTube, can be embedded also.
Likes and Dislikes
From an instructor’s perspective, I like the Dropbox feature again since it eliminates numerous separate e-mails from students in order to gather documents. I also like the Intelligent Agents feature since it allows instructor to identify those students at risk, and plan for interventions. Also the grade book feature offers a lot of flexiblitiy. After grading an assignment I can leave comments with links to specific areas in the course such as lessons, web links, and the rubric.
From the learner’s perspective I like the EPortfolio feature that allows students to view all recent communication.
Use of this platform
This platform seems ideal for higher education, government agencies, and any program that requires standardized assessments for certifications etc.
- Login to post comments