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Choosing an LMS
This document outlines key considerations for selecting a Learning Management System (LMS), including defining requirements, evaluating current systems, and understanding the cost and operational implications. It emphasizes the importance of stakeholder involvement, using weighted criteria for evaluation, and avoiding bloated systems that offer unnecessary features. The author also highlights the benefits and challenges of hosted solutions and warns against internal customizations to core databases.
Choosing an LMS
- 1. Choosing an LMS: What ma1ers most to you? Anthony Al9eri S213-‐Choosing_an_LMS-‐al9eri Choosing an LMS: What ma1ers most to you?
- 2. Legal Mumbo Jumbo • All opinions and sugges9ons are my own and do not reflect those of my employer, this conference, or, really, any sane human being who has ever lived. • I do not in any way, shape, or form endorse any par9cular vendor or their product. Any men9on is purely for illustra9ve purposes ONLY. – Though I am openly biased towards Open Source products
- 3. What will you learn? • A basic methodology for evalua9ng and comparing systems • Some 9ps, tricks, and landmines to watch out for • Considera9ons for ancillary costs and efforts such as hos9ng. Where will it live?
- 4. If you do not understand a thing, then it just is. -‐-‐Zen Koan
- 5. No problem can be solved by the same kind of thinking that created it -‐-‐ possibly Albert Einstein
- 6. Remember, you may have to grow old… But you don t have to mature! -‐-‐Red Green
- 7. Basic Student func9ons of an LMS • Track learning • Assessments • Deliver learning content • Enrollment • Consolidate learning • Process payments/eCommerce
- 8. Basic Admin func9ons of an LMS • Repor9ng • Security • Integra9on • Learning Management • Student Management
- 9. What does an LMS look like? Database: mySQL, Oracle, noSQL Web Server: Apache, IIS Applica9on Server JBoss, Websphere Set of web pages, PHP, Java code… OS: Linux, Windows
- 10. Why do I need a (new) LMS? • Changes in business needs • Current system is outdated or deprecated • Repor9ng needs have changed • Change in market/industry
- 11. The rule of 12 – 24 – 60 • Remember that implementa9on will generally take 12 months • Plan to have your LMS for five years • Do NOT base your requirements on your needs for today… aim for the future! • Go into implementa9on knowing that requirements WILL CHANGE en route!!!!!
- 12. Talking the talk… • Course • Class • Offering • Instance • Scheduled Instance • Session
- 13. Gather Requirements • Klatch with stakeholders – It takes a Village – Managers, students, trainers, etc… • Ask – What do you need the new system to do? – How important is each func9on? • Accentuate the posi9ve: – The user should be able to view their transcript from the home page • Eliminate the Nega9ve: – The current system won t let you view your transcript from the home page
- 14. Build Requirements • Klatch with SME s – Managers, trainers, etc… • Put all of the Requirements from your stakeholders into a single spreadsheet – Group by user (student, manager, trainer, admin) – Group by func9on (enrollment, cer9fica9on, content) • Remove/re-‐write nega9ve entries • Send back to stakeholders for full evalua9on using a weighted scale
- 15. Evalua9ng the Need • Use a weighted scale on what func9ons are needed: – 0: We really don t need it – Li1le impact – 1: Nice to have – More pleasant experience/Cool factor – 2: Should have – Can work without it, but adds value to the system – 3: Required – Uhm… Required
- 16. Evalua9ng the Need • Average out the values for each Requirement to determine and build requirements • Remove anything below a set value (1.0, for example)
- 17. Evaluate your current LMS FIRST! • Re-‐evaluate your current LMS with the same standards you ll use on your candidates. • Do this before weighing your candidates to find out what REALLY needs to change
- 18. Avoid the Dog and Pony Shows! • Eliminate products that do not meet your requirements or are over budget. • Provide vendors with your weighted requirements • Focus the vendor on what is important to you • Direct how they present their products • Push for a Sandbox so you can test yourself
- 19. Candidate Self-‐Evalua9on • Use a weighted scale to see if the LMS measures up: – 0: The LMS doesn t support the func9on at all – 1: The func9on is on the plan with no date or requires a customiza9on – 2: The func9on is on the plan with a date/NO customiza9on – 3: The func9on is supported out of box
- 20. Candidate Self-‐Evalua9on • Send the candidates your list of weighted requirements to self-‐assess which ones they support • Average out the scores and remove anyone scoring below a given threshold (example 1.0)
- 21. Evalua9ng the Evalua9ons • Set up Demos for those who score high enough • Get access to a Sandbox for your own tes9ng
- 22. Evalua9ng the Evalua9ons • Test out the requirements yourself to see if you would score the product the same as the vendor has • Remove candidates whose scores are suspect
- 23. Using a Hosted Product (SaaS) • Will always get latest updates • Vendor support will have easy access for any issues • Lowers staffing costs
- 24. Using a Hosted Product (SaaS) • Lowers effect on network/data center resources • Fastest way to implement
- 25. Using a Hosted Product (SaaS) • Informa9on Security policies may not allow it • It may NOT lower overall hos9ng cost
- 26. Using a Hosted Product (SaaS) • Limits poten9al customiza9on/localiza9on • Updates are driven by outside forces. – You may get an update at a 9me when you can not be out of service
- 27. Build Systems, not STUFF! • Abby the IA, h1p://abbytheia.com/ • Know the difference between – I need to be able to reach my students – I want a link to MyFace like they have. • The more STUFF you add, the more resources are required to manage it! • h1p://www.slideshare.net/AbbyCovert/build-‐ systems-‐not-‐stuff
- 28. Put Differently: Don t be a Clown! We need a bu1on for FaceTube cause all the COOL sites have one!
- 29. 29 We should have a link to FaceTube to allow us greater reach to more students to bring in more traffic and revenue.
- 30. The ballad of… • Avoid bloated products that promote func9ons you don t need – Trying to replace be1er purpose-‐built op9ons – May not add any value to your implementa9on – Creates dependencies that may make upda9ng or replacing more difficult later on • Some9mes, less is more
- 31. A Word on Internal Customiza9on DON T! • Use Skins or API s to add/change func9onality • NEVER change the core database!
- 32. 32 Free isn t always Free* • Free sooware is not always open Source • Generally, you ll need to hire more staff or contract out third party for technical support • Updates may be sporadic and may not meet your needs • Hos9ng needs may be complicated by dependencies (MySQL, TomCat, etc…) * I m s9ll biased towards Open Source products
- 33. 33 The Process Paradox • If you can t define it in the real world, it will never work in the virtual one – Remember If you don t understand a thing… – Even if you can, do you really want to?
- 34. 34 The Process Paradox • What works in the real world, will rarely work in the virtual one – Things may happen in a different order – Things will happen MUCH faster!
- 35. Thanks! • Please remember to complete the survey – S213: Choosing an LMS Anthony Al9eri al9erian@gmail.com @aa_al9eri
Editor's Notes
- #5 If you don’t know how the LMS software works, you won’t know what it can do, or cannot do. You won’t know if there are gems that you’ve never discovered. And, possibly more importantly, If you don’t understand how your business works in the Real World, you will NEVER make the Virtual World line up the way you need it to.
- #6 Example: You have an LMS that no one likes, so you build the next LMS as defined NOT but what you want, but what you don’t like about the first LMS, the second LMS will fail too! And if you use the same logic for the third… Guess what!!
- #7 Even the most experienced people still make silly decisions. We’re drawn to the bright and shiny. Just because you CAN have a button, doesn’t mean you SHOULD have one! You MUST have the maturity to ensure that what you NEED is more important than what you WANT. But, at the same time, never get too “mature” that you forget what’s cool and fun.