Monthly Archives: January 2014

What’s the Difference Between LMS and CMS?

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I had a question after reading the two articles this week related to Moodle and other Learning Management Systems…

What’s the difference between a Learning Management System and a Content Management System? And be sure to read the comments below as my intial posting here, based on information I found online, was incorrect!!

Digging a bit deeper, it turns out that there is also a “LCMS” = a Learning Content Management System.

It seems that what sets apart the LMS from the other two is the idea of tracking members’ behaviours and interactions as well as providing a comprehensive “space” to submit and receive materials related to a course / courses.

An LMS is able to record how often members of that System are engaging and sharing content, therefore, it can be used to analyze behaviours, such as how often a student / professor posts content. Also, members can upload content to an LMS and download content from an LMS; both of these options (specifically upload) may be not available in the other two management systems.

While we haven’t explored the true costs of each managements system, I imagine that the LMS would be the most expensive in terms of finances, human resources, and time to create.

To learn more about the key differences, here is a blog site I found with a brief definition of each: LMS vs LCMS vs CMS

Another source, a blog by Justin Ferriman, reports,

“Course management systems are narrower in scope. That is, this system focuses on the management and distribution of eLearning and instructor led courses. To put it another way, course management is often the main function of an LMS – a secure place to store and launch training to a subset of users. In some respect, you can attribute metrics to a course management system, but that isn’t a requirement…To put it simply, an LMS can be as big or small as you want it to be, while a course management system will struggle to adapt to be something more than a file repository. An LMS such as WPLMS can integrate a social (human) component to learning and collaboration – tracking an individual learner’s performance, accomplishments, and connections across an entire group.”

image of “Blackboard vs Moodle” retrieved from http://flic.kr/p/dzmm99 (January 19th, 2014).

Applying the Frameworks: SECTIONS

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I found the article by Bates and Poole (2003), “A Framework for Selecting and Using Technology” a more comprehensive insight into criteria for the decisions surrounding adoption of technology for the classroom.

The parts of this model which struck me most were, S is for Students, and I is for Interaction and Interactivity.

S is for Students

This section resonated with me most because I find it a real challenge to develop curriculum for courses which meets the needs of most learners at my school. I teach sciences and computers, and the demographics of our student body cuts across many generations. For instance, we have students from as young as 18 and as old as 96 (the 96 year old student we had last year drove her car every day to school and brought her own laptop….and didn’t even need glasses for reading – wow!).

Because of the variety of ages, planning of curriculum needs to be conscious of student differences in technological fluency. I try to incorporate choices within concept areas to meet the diversity of knowledge in the classroom and the array of learning approaches which students bring to school. For example, if we are learning how to use Excel, I will have choices within this Module of learning for a range of computer abilities to accomodate learners who have used technology their entire lives, to those who are working hard to transition to our Digital Age.

Catering to a student body with such dramatic age differences, I have observed that members of older generations often prefer the use of textbooks for learning, and often demand one in the first days of the course. Students of younger ages are more comfortable utilizing recommended resources on the internet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xFAWR6hzZek

I is for Interaction and Interactivity

This part of SECTIONS caught my eye because it is something which I feel I do well in some courses, and not so well in other courses. Some of the reason for this is due to numbers – some courses have very low attendance at our centre. For example, I currently have 4 students taking Physics on a “self-paced” delivery model meaning they move through individual Modules of work at a pace that suits them and come see me for guidance if stuck or curious. With students starting at various times throughout the year, I struggle to come up with ways to have learners engaged in ‘social learning’, especially when the attitude is, “I just need to get through Physics so I can get on with life.” This is in stark contrast to my Photography / Digital Media class which buzzes with social activity and always results in students making lasting friendships, tutoring one another in aspects of photography and computers, and great teachable moments throughout.

 

Hello world!

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Welcome to UBC Blogs and my first post for ETEC 565A.
I am a science and computers teacher at the Adult Learning Centre in Duncan, BC. I am new to the world of blogging, but love to tinker and try to be creative. I have two daughters who keep me very busy outside of school and study times. I love to hike, play guitar, and will cheer for the Canucks even when they lose.

http://flic.kr/p/9SkamW

As a bit of an aside, I have something to share with you regarding staying organized. You probably already know about “Sticky Notes” on your computer. I started using them, and liking them, to post little snapshots of my week. They stay on my desktop and serve as reminders of what to do next!

Because the life of us “MET-ians” can be very busy and some weeks I feel like I need a checklist or my mind will implode, I will continue to use technology to help me stay focused and set micro and macro goals.

Thank you Sticky Notes.