Learning Management System

Learning Management System
By
Parth N. Acharya

Sardar Vallabhbhai Institute of Technology, Vasad

By PresenterMedia.com

•Structure of Presentation
1 Introduction to LMS

2 Benchmark of a good LMS

3 Hardware and Software for LMS

4 Features of a commercially available LMS -
TrainNet
5 Features of an Open Standard LMS - MOODLE

X Q&A

•Introduction to LMS
What is LMS?

Learning Management System is a software package
 enables the management and delivery of learning content
and resources to students.

LMS typically contains features for
 administration
 assessment
 course management
 content management and authoring.

•Benchmark of a good LMS
General Criteria

Features and Functionality Intellectual Property Security
Cost of Ownership Hardware and Software
Maintainability and Ease of Considerations
Maintenance Multilingual Support
Usability, Ease of Use, and User  Integration Capacity
documentation LOM integration
User Adoption / Current User Reliability
Community
Scalability
Openness
 Standards Compliancy / Specification
Conformance

•General Criteria
FEATURES AND FUNCTIONALITY COST OF OWNERSHIP
• See Feature Specific Criteria for • What is the cost and ease of
details. implementation?
• How robust is the feature set for • How fast can you be up and
the program? running?
• Does it already include all of the • What level of expertise is
teaching "tools" faculty need? required?
• Does it include both synchronous • What kind of support and
and asynchronous assistance are available?
communications tools? • What are the costs for
• Can data be imported and licensing, software, hardware
exported easily into/from the and custom development
program? requirements?

•General Criteria
MAINTAINABILITY AND EASE USABILITY, EASE OF USE, AND
OF MAINTENANCE USER DOCUMENTATION
• How many valuable resource hours • How available and accessible is
will this take to administer and end user documentation/support?
maintain at the server level? • How responsiveness of will
support be?
• How many valuable resource hours
will this take to administer and • How available is
maintain at the program level? documentation, how-to
guides, training and online help?
• How granular and distributed is the
administration (the more granular • Will the program require lots of
the better)? training or is it fairly intuitive to
use?
• Are all of the data processes
automated and will they integrate • How long will it take faculty to set
easily with your other systems? up their courses at a minimal
level?
• Does the program run on a server
platform on which your staff already • How well will this program help an
has excellent expertise? average group of faculty deliver
their materials online?

•General Criteria
USER ADOPTION / CURRENT OPENNESS
USER COMMUNITY
• Is there a strong development • How open is the source code
community associated with the really?
program? • Is it written in a modular
• Are comparable institutions format that is designed for easy
currently utilizing the program? modification and new, custom
• Dog story/fraternity of users modules?
• Are there clear code
specifications for writing new
modules?

•General Criteria
STANDARDS COMPLIANCY /
SPECIFICATION CONFORMANCE INTEGRATION CAPACITY
• Does the LMS adhere to • Has the application been
specifications like integrated with other systems?
SCORM, IMS, OKI, AiCC? • Does the solution allow for
• Can the LMS import and manage ready integration with other
content and courseware that systems?
complies with standards
regardless of the authoring
system that produced it?
• Is XML support available?

•General Criteria
LOM INTEGRATION RELIABILITY
• • Is the solution reliable?
• How available is compatible
content?
• What is the capacity to integrate
with existing and newly created
learning objects?
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
SCALABILITY SECURITY
• Is the program suitable for both • Are there tools for digital right
small and large installations? management (DRM)?
• How easily does the solution allow • Are the provisions for privacy
for growth of issues?
users, content, functionality?

•General Criteria
HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE
CONSIDERATIONS MULTILINGUAL SUPPORT
• Does the software run under an • Does the system support
open source operating system?
additional languages?
• Is there provision for platform
solutions?
• What are the client browser
requirements?
• What are the database
requirements?
• What additional server software is
required?
• What are the hardware
specifications?
•

•Benchmark of a good LMS
Feature – Specific Criteria
Security
Access
Course Design, Development and Integration
Course Monitoring
Assessment Design
Online Collaboration and Communications
Productivity Tools

•Feature – Specific Criteria
SECURITY ACCESS
• Encryption (encodes and decrypts • Individual/Group Login and Password
messages)- Ability to accommodate
privacy - note that full certificate-SSL (a • Assignable Privileges
protocol that encrypts a single TCP • Browser accessible
session) likely to be too slow for this
purpose • Course Authorization - Course
• Authentication (verifies the identity of selection by keyword, course ID, title.
a user) --Username & password with Program recommendation.
forgotten password routine
• Registration Integration -
Registration, Prerequisite
Screening, Cancel Notification
• Student Tracking - minimum PC
requirements; bandwidth
requirements and ability to work
offline.

COURSE DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT AND INTEGRATION
• Enables easy maintenance of • Accessibility Compliance
courses. • Instructional design tools
• Customizable adaptable look and • Instructional Specifications
feel Support
• Support classroom and virtual • Curriculum Management
courses
• Easy Navigation/linking
• Course templates
• Easy Course structuring
• Use and access LO
• Extensible Architecture
• Web course creation
• Support style sheets
• Support multimedia types

COURSE MONITORING PRODUCTIVITY TOOLS
• Course Listing/Catalogue • Bookmarks
• Course Descriptions
• Calendar/Progress
• Schedules and Availability
Review
Control
• Orientation/Help

• Search

• Work
offline/Synchronize

ASSESSMENT DESIGN
• Ease of exam and assessment • Competency Mapping/Skill Gap
creation and grades tracking. Analysis
• Creates test questions and • Course Certificate Creation -
facilitates test administration Support for multiple certificate
• Automated Testing and Scoring types. Restricted creation.
• Learner Profile • Self-assessment
Management/progress tracking • Online Grading tools
-- Enables measurement of • Activity Tracking
training needs and identify
improvement areas.
• Course Path Maintenance -
Path lists and diagrams

ONLINE COLLABORATION AND
COMMUNICATIONS
• Community learning or • newsgroups
collaboration components that • online support / help desk
support communication.
• file exchange
• Messaging - Integration with
• online journals
SMS/text messaging on cell
phones • notes

• E-mail - Ability to integrate with • whiteboard

emails sent from regular POP • discussion groups/forums
mail accounts (from learners • groupwork
not logged in real-time)
• chat rooms
• bulletin boards

•Hardware & Software for LMS
Learning management system works in a Client-Server mode.
 Teacher/Administrator – Server
 Student – Client
Server
 Hosted – Asynchronous (wider in coverage)
 Stand alone – Synchronous (works with campus area network)
The selection of hardware depends upon the type of the usage.

All open standard LMS are based on php language.

•Hardware & Software for LMS
All sever side generally needs http server software.
Server Software
 windows 2003
 Apache
Database software
 MsSQL
 Oracle
Video (handled in two ways)
 Interactive learning – Video streaming server
 Non-Interactive learning – FLV
VMware packages are also available for easy installation.
 http server
 Database server
 php support

•Examples of popular LMS
Each LMS package boasts how it is incorporating the above
criteria.
LMS are available as
 Open standard package (freely available)
 Commercially sold package
Most popular LMS packages
 1. Commercially sold LMS - TrainNet
 2. Open standard LMS - MOODLE
Let us study them.

•Features of TrainNet

The following slides the features of commercially available LMS
named TrainNet.

The features are taken from it’s brochure.

•Unique Features of TrainNet
High Quality Adjustable size Live
Video:
•Students receive high-quality, clear
video and audio from the instructor.
Both the teacher and student can
independently adjust the video to any of
three available sizes: small, medium
and full screen,or completely turn the
video off.
•TrainNet's video encoder is based on
pure software and requires no third
party hardware.

Interaction Tools
Video BW:
Video supports MPEG4 and H.264 standards with scalable bandwidth from
28Kbps to 3Mbps
Video Control by Instructor:
The instructor has full control over the video and can synchronize all students’
PCs to the same video size, as well as disable the ability of the students to
change the video size.
Return Video from the remote classrooms –
TrainNet enables the teacher to receive return video either automatically from
the remote, which received permission to speak, or from multiple remotes.
Return video is based on software and requires no specific HW. This video can
be rebroadcasted to all Students
Multiple Video Bit Rates –
Course video stream, can be sent in both High, and Low, video bit rates,

Interaction Tools
Full Duplex Voice Interaction:
•Voice is provided in full-duplex enabling clear and uninterrupted communication
between the teacher and the students.
•TrainNet allows the instructor to connect any student in the class for a VoIP
conversation.
•When the student is connected, the student’s voice is broadcast to all students in the
class.
Immediate Anonymous Feedback:
•TrainNet allows the instructor to request instantaneous anonymous (yes/no) feedback
from the students at any time during the lesson.
•The feedback is displayed as a percentage of yes/no responses, providing the instructor
with on-the-fly results.

Interaction Tools
Raise Hand:
•Students can raise a "virtual hand" by clicking a "raise hand" icon on their PC, to ask for
permission to speak to the instructor.
•The raise hand option also provides a window for a text question to be typed and sent
to the instructor.
•Only when given permission to speak, the student can speak.
•White Board:
The Whiteboard allows the instructor to write, annotate and use graphic tools to
illustrate points directly on the course material slides. A connected student can use the
Whiteboard tool, as well.
Text Chat:
TrainNet includes a built-in text chat, allowing students to send real-time messages to
other students and to the instructor, as well as private messages to the instructor only.
Email:
An integrated email system enables students and instructors
to communicate and send attachments within the learning system.

Instructor Control
Guided Content Presentation:
The instructor can present the course slides and synchronize all students with a particular
slide in the presentation, with just the click of a button.
Hidden slides:
The instructor has the option to disable or enable students to view slides that have not been
discussed by the instructor.
Guided Web Browsing
The instructor can synchronize all students to any site on the Web and use external HTML
content during the course.
Student Raised Hand List:
TrainNet provides a queue list of students who have raised their hand in the training session.
The first student who has their hand raised appears in a “Quick-Connect” button that allows
the instructor to simply click the students name to
connect them to speak.
Full control over Student PCs:
The instructor can turn off and disable select features in all student PC during the course
(e.g., video, mouse, keyboard, and chat).

Administration

Student Registration: Students are registered to TrainNet either by
the teacher/system administrator or, if enabled, by self-registration
from their desktop.
Course Registration: The system administrator has the ability to
assign students to courses in the system. Courses are either
“open”, where all students are eligible to participate, or as
“restricted”, where students are enrolled by a system administrator.
Attendance List: The instructor, as well as the students, has
access to an attendance list, which details the names of all students
attending the class. The instructor can also view the queue of
students who raised their hand.
Reports: TrainNet offers a variety of reports such as attendance,
tests scores, and other information that enable both the instructor
and the students to get a clear picture of class and individual
student progress.

Recording, Playback and Rebroadcast
Recording of Sessions:
TrainNet is capable of recording live lessons for use in various asynchronous modes. After a
recorded lesson is created, the instructor or system administrator can upload the course
immediately to the virtual campus.
Re-broadcast of Recorded Lesson:
The recorded lesson can be re-broadcasted at specific time and students can attend the re-
broadcasted lesson as if they were in a live lesson (including registration, tracking of
responses, etc).
Distribution for Offline Learning:
The recorded lesson can be distributed, (on CD or downloaded from the TrainNet server)
for offline viewing and study.
Playback of Recorded Lessons:
After a recorded lesson is uploaded to the server, students can access the course. While
participating in a recorded playback session, the student can pause or stop the course at
any time.

Application Projection and Sharing
•TrainNet offers special tools for IT or software training that enable the instructor to
project any application from his/her PC to all student PCs.
•It also allows an organization to get trainees’ feedback on an application prior to inducting
it or making a large purchase.
• Application Projection:
•Any software applications residing on the instructor’s PC can be projected to all student
PCs.
•The students can view and follow all instructor operation and movement within the
application.
• Application Sharing:
•The instructor can pass control over the application to any student and give him/her the
ability to control and operate an application as if it was installed on their PC.
•All other students see all students’ movements in the lesson.

Content Creation
TrainNet provides various options for easy creation and presentation of course
content.
Using the Desktop Camera:
The desktop camera enables the teacher to present printed material from books, slides or
even free hand writing without advance preparation.
PowerPoint Conversion:
TrainNet includes a tool for converting PowerPoint content to HTML
HTML Content:
TrainNet can import any HTML content from external sources, such as websites or files.
HTML Content generation tools like EXE Learning (Freeware) comes quite handy for HTML
Contenet creation.
HTML Questions:
TrainNet enables the instructor or course designer to add HTML questions to content
courseware.

Additional Features
Intuitive User Interface:
•TrainNet provides an attractive and userfriendly, icon-based interface appropriate for
users without prior PC knowledge.
• The interface is “clutter-free” to direct the student’s attention to the study material.
Teacher Assistant:
•When large groups of students attend a lesson, the teacher has the option to redirect all
students’ questions to a Teacher Assistant (a separate PC on the network).
•The teacher assistant can respond to students’ questions without interrupting the
flow of the lesson.
Content Previewing:
•Students can preview the content before the lesson starts or review previously discussed
material during and after a lesson.
Status Messages:
•Status update messages (i.e. "student is connected to speak" or "HTML content is being
synchronized with the instructor") are continuously sent to all students.

Learning Management System

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