1. An LMS Comparison: OLAT
OLAT is one of many LMS that can provide efficient and structured learning. Many of the LMS platforms have many similarities and differences. I will highlight capabilities and communication methods that are available on the OLAT platform.
Chat
OLAT offers real-time chat which is useful for students to use for collaborative purposes. The chat tool supports a limited number of simultaneous rooms. It supports unlimited simultaneous group discussions. Students have the ability to create new rooms. It also gives the course modifiers the capability to moderate chats and suspend students from the chat rooms. The system creates archive logs for all chat rooms so students may reference past meetings. The OLAT chat interfaces with a service called ‘ichat’, a chat service that allows instant messaging, video, as well as audio conferencing. A service similar to what Skype provides. OLAT may be used both synchronously and asynchronously.
How to organize the content on the platform
Instructors have the ability to share content with other instructors and students through a central learning objects repository. For any content in the repository, users can view reports displaying every course in the system that is currently using the selected item. The system provides default course look and feel templates. Instructors can change the navigation icons and color schemes for a course. Instructors can also change the order and name of menu items for any course. Institutions can create their own look and feel templates across the entire system, including their own institutional logos, headers, and footers.
Versioning
Versioning support for the OLAT was not stated. I am unsure as to what type of update support is available for the OLAT.
What type of interface design does OLAT use?
OLAT’s interface design supports Oracle, MS SQL Server, MySQL, and PostGreSQL
What did you like and dislike about this platform from a learner’s perspective?
I liked the usability factor from the learner’s perspective because the features that OLAT offers its users are features that are familiar to online learners. For example, chat, IM, file exchange…etc. just to name a few. I don’t have any dislikes about the the program at the moment because I would have to use the OLAT LMS to truly find out which features are really useful and at the same time develop suggestions for improvements to OLAT to better serve my learners.
How would you use this platform?
The OLAT platform could be used for my classes just as I would use Moodle. But because of privacy issues and the fact that my students (middle schoolers) are under age, I understand that I would not be able to utilize OLAT in its entirety. Most features, however are available and are more than enough to use with the physical education fitness lab and health portions of my classes.
Who else could you see using this platform: government, corporations, higher education, K-12 education?
Any institution or business could use a LMS. Any job that requires learning specific procedures or protocols could benefit from a LMS. It would be fitting for military institutions to use a LMS due to the numerous procedures that military personal must follow.
2. An LMS Comparison: Pearson Learning Studio Campus (PLS)
The PLS LMS compared to the OLAT LMS has far less features than that of OLAT LMS. Price may be the issue for such differences in the available features. I will compare and highlight some of the differences between them.
Chat
Unlike the OLAT, Pearson is limited in its chat capability. PLS is limited in its ability to moderate chat rooms and its users. Another glaring difference but a nice one is that PLS developed the chat tool in a way so that it supports a structured way for students to ask questions and instructors to provide answers.
How to organize the content on the platform
Versioning
Versioning support for the PLS was not stated. I am unsure as to what type of update support is available for the PLS.
What type of interface design does OLAT use?
The system is limited and supports MySQL only.
What I dislike about this platform
I liked the grading features that OLAT has to offer. The PLS LMS apparently does not offer any type of grading program. Because I feel that the grading program is of such high value to me for communication with students and parents.
How would you use this platform?
The PLS platform could be used for my classes just as I would use OLAT. But because of privacy issues and the fact that my students (middle schoolers) are under age, I understand that I would not be able to utilize PLS in its entirety. Most features, however are available and the PLS may be more than enough to use with the physical education fitness lab and health portions of my classes.
How would you use this platform?
The Pearson Learning Studio LMS (PLS) platform wouldn’t be my first choice to be used for my classes because of its glaring differences from the PLS and OLAT comparison. OLAT LMS offers so much more but one factor that has not been calculated is price. If it were a money issue and the PLS LMS could do the job according to my needs, then I might be fine to settle using the PLS LMS.
Who else could you see using this platform: government, corporations, higher education, K-12 education?
Same here as my the comments that I have made in the previous LMS review of OLAT. Any institution or business could use a LMS. Any job that requires learning specific procedures or protocols could benefit from a LMS. It would be fitting for military institutions to use a LMS due to the numerous procedures that military personal must follow.
- Login to post comments