LMS- Decision time for Benoit!
Benoît, a sessional instructor in the English department of a large, research-intensive university, has to select an LMS for teaching his Business Writing course. Moodle- of which he has no experience with- or WebCT/Vista- where he has had minimal experience using WebCT. He needs to evaluate these 2 online platforms to determine which one is best.
Upon reflection I now see that I should have tackled this with a more analytical approach using CRITERIA, such as the SECTIONS model but I think the 6 hats are FUN!
This is one way for him to look at it:
Problem Solve using de Bono’s 6 Thinking Hats!
- White Hat– the facts: Ben must teach Business English online. Ben has taught Business English f2f. Ben has used WebCT to share lecture notes and readings.
- Yellow Hat– positives: WebCT/Vista is fairly similar to WebCT. WebCT/Vista has university support. Moodle has less red tape and available online support. Moodle is reportedly easy to use.
- Black Hat– negatives: WebCT/Vista reportedly has hiccups. Ben has limited time to learn and prepare.
- Red Hat– emotions: Ben is stressed. Ben is excited to learn something new!
- Green Hat– creativity: Ben quits his job at the university and moves to Cambodia to teach English where they have never heard of Moodle or WebCT/Vista! Ben innovates a new LMS!
- Blue Hat: What is more important: providing the best learning environment for his STUDENTS or selecting the system that is the most efficient and easiest for him to ORGANIZE?
Once he decides on his priority- the decision will be clear.
Bates, A.W. & Poole, G. (2003). Chapter 4: a Framework for Selecting and Using Technology. In Effective Teaching with Technology in Higher Education: Foundations for Success. (pp. 77-105). San Francisco: Jossey Bass Publishers.