The completion of the assignment has been a real learning curve for me. First, I was not even sure what we were asked to do. I relied on my team-mates to clarify what a rubric for an LMS might look like while I took on another task, namely the preparation of the Précis. Second, when I finally got the grasp of what a rubric for LMS was and how to assess it (Pappas 2013, Kabassi et al. 2015, Rueckl 2017), I found myself not even wanting an LMS for this particular case study. I realized early on that the case study needed some additional clarifications on the context of the pilot program. I performed an extensive literature review on e-learning among aboriginal people in Canada and that allowed me to see more clear the functionalities we really needed from the LMS (Nordicity 2014, O’Donnell et al. 2016), This review also made me very skeptical about e-learning in its new form the Canadian North: both because of the difficult broadband access and cultural considerations. I realized that the categories we would normally use to assess LMS in non-aboriginal context are quite different from the ones we should use for this case study. Enriched with this knowledge I was able to take a critical look at the rubric the team was preparing and underline such characteristics as simplicity to keep the LMS light, and more human support than on-line support to answer to the cultural requirements.
My team tried to accommodate my doubts and we came up with a rubric that reflects these concerns.
References
Kabassi, K., I. Dragonas, A. Ntouzevits, T. Pomonis, G. Papastathopoulos, & Y. Vozaitis, (2016). Evaluating a learning management system for blended learning in Greek higher education. Amsterdam: SpringerPlus, 5(1), 101.
Majumdar, A. (2014). Blended Learning: Different combinations that work. eLearning Learning. Retrieved from http://www.elearninglearning.com/blended-learning/collaboration/?open-article-id=2738075&article-title=blended-learning–different-combinations-that-work&blog-domain=gc-solutions.net&blog-title=g-cube
Nordicity. (2014). Northern Connectivity: Insuring Quality Communications. Ottawa. Available at: http://www.northernconnectivity.ca/ [accessed 24 January 2018]
O’Donnell, S., B. Beaton, R. McMahon, H. E. Hudson, D. Williams, T. Whiteduck, and First Nations Education Council. (2016). “Digital Technology Adoption in Remote and Northern Indigenous Communities in Canada.” Canadian Sociological Association 2016 Annual Conference. Calgary, AB: University of Calgary,
Pappas, C. (2013). LMS Accessibility Comparison: Blackboard vs Desire2Learn vs Moodle vs SAKAI. eLearning Industry. Retrieved from https://elearningindustry.com/lms-accessibility-comparison-blackboard-vs-desire2learn-vs-moodle-vs-sakai [accessed 24 January 2018]
Rueckl, R. (2017) 7 Questions To Evaluate A Blended Learning Platform. Teachthought. Retrieved from https://www.teachthought.com/technology/7-questions-evaluate-blended-learning-platform/ [accessed 19 January 2018]