Reflection
I found this weeks assignment to be very interesting. Working in groups can always pose challenges – time, availability and willingness to compromise are typically key factors to the success of a group. I feel that our groups worked extremely well together, using our strengths to benefit the group, allowing others to lead when appropriate and creating a positive atmosphere where each individual felt like their opinion was valuable.
With respect to the actual creation of an LMS rubric, I found the assignment very rewarding. Professionally we just went through this process and we would have had a much better experience had we used such an evaluation criteria when we vetted possible LMS platforms. Bates and Poole (2009) provide a great general criteria for any piece of educational technology because it forces us to consider every facet of education when evaluating technology. By considering the LMS from a teacher’s, student’s, IT, administrative, and parent perspective it helps to identify they value of a piece of technology. Perhaps the most crucial finding was from ‘Selecting a Learning Management System’ by Wright, Lopes, et al. (2014) which noted that the most crucial step in any selection process is to identify the key requirements which were non-negotiable, and other features which are not as essential. Too often we can become enamoured with some specific features of a new piece of software that we forget what we actually need the software to do. If we do not identify these ‘must-have’ features at the onset of a search, we are bound to be unsatisfied with the result of the search.
Bates, T., & Poole, G. (2003). Effective teaching with technology in higher education: Foundations for success (1st ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Wright, C., Lopes, V., Montgomerie, C., Reju, S., and Schmoller, S. (2014). Selecting a Learning Management System: Advice from an Academic Perspective. Educase Review. Retrieved from: http://er.educause.edu/articles/2014/4/selecting-a-learning-management-system-advice-from-an-academic-perspective