1	Teaching Enhanced with Course Management Systems Scott E. Siddall Denison University siddall@denison.edu
2	Teaching Enhanced with Course Management Systems Scott E. Siddall Denison University siddall@denison.edu
3	Outline What is a CMS? What can a CMS do? Today’s CMS market To build or buy or…. Open Knowledge Initiative
4	What is a CMS? Generalized framework versus discipline-specific courseware Personalized portal for courses One of many tools for teaching Many names: CMS = LMS = VLE More than a system to manage content Digital asset management LCMS Electronic reserves
5	What is a CMS? CMS in the residential college Distance learning versus proximity learning Since 1998, increased popularity, complexity CMS = enterprise-wide academic systems
6	What is a CMS? Content management and presentation Within and outside the classroom, on and off campus Classroom management Authentication, course portal, workflow tools, announcements, official and ad hoc student groupings Communication and collaboration E-mail lists, groups, discussion forums, digital drop boxes, student portfolios Assessment Quizzing, surveys, timed activities, gradebooks …and more
7	Faculty perspective Relatively easy to customize course content and design Lower administrative overhead Recycle and revise course materials Fair use compliance Use textbook contents, assessment pools Use as presentation tool in class Don’t add work: substitute CMS methods for traditional methods (e.g., word processed and printed syllabi) Concerns about licensing costs, dependency on one vendor Something new to learn
8	Student perspective Consistent and easy access through course portal Unified contact point Use as presentation tool, portfolio Has potential to save costs of printing, coursepacks
9	What can a CMS do? Extend learning beyond class time Encourage students to prepare for class discussion New channels of communication Accommodate multiple styles of learning …and more…but CMS designs are inherently constraining
10	What is a CMS? Easy to use software Used to customize selected learning components Linked to campus databases Key: based on technical standards (whose?)
11	Today’s CMS Market $6-8 billion market Mostly corporate “e-learning” E-learning software Top Class, IBM’s Learning Space, Ucompass Educator, Embanet’s integration services…. E-learning services Element K, Smartforce, Saba Software….
12	Higher Ed CMS Market WebCT Standard Edition Campus Edition Vistas More features, harder to use Blackboard Learning Systems Community Portal Building Blocks Less powerful, easier to use Better funded
13	Blackboard Multiple language support Version 6 this summer New assessment and gradebook tools Building blocks from third parties Equation editor
14	Foreign language characters Unicode Much better support in Mac OSX and Windows XP
15	Blackboard and WebCT “Neck and neck” in the market Tiered products – pressure to move up Both are losing money Shifting to leased software, services Microsoft investments in Blackboard and the .Net strategy Recent fee increases – justifiable?
16	New pricing models Entry-level “Basic Learning System” is $7,500 per year Other levels based on student FTE Learning System <2,000 students: $25,000 per year 2,000-3,999 students: $32.500 per year 4,000-7,999 students: $40,000 per year Community Portal <2,000 students: $15,000 per year 2,000-3,999 students: $17,500 per year 4,000-7,999 students: $20,000 per year WebCT following similar pricing scheme, except support for entry-level “standard edition” ends on Dec. 2002
17	Alternatives? CMS have become mission critical Can small colleges afford them? What are the alternatives? Can we build our own?
18	To buy or build? Good commercial software meets 80% of your needs You have less control Expensive…worth it? Homegrown software can meet 90% of your needs You have full control Support costs can be large and unpredictable
19	To buy or build? About managing costs Buy? Share in development and support costs with other customers Pay corporate profit Build? Pay for all development and support costs Sell/share later? Core competency of the small college? “If you think a CMS is expensive now, wait until you see how much it costs when it’s free!”
20	What’s involved in building? Development Design Programming Testing Documentation Distribution Support Software maintenance – bugs, new features, new technologies Ongoing user support Training
21	Standards are Key Proprietary corporate programming standards Leveraged to make a profit Open source software Collaboratively developed programs Freely available source code can be extended Enduring if enough developers commit to it
22	Open Knowledge Initiative Project supported by Mellon Foundation http://web.mit.edu/oki/ An open source framework Based on open technical standards for Common services – such as secure access, or document management, etc. APIs – application programming interfaces to connect the services Platform independent Java based but accommodates tools written in other languages
23	Open Knowledge Initiative Initial educational services contributed by collaborating institutions MITs Stellar U Michigans Chefs Stanford’s CourseWork Unicode, support for sound recording, playback No earlier than Fall, 2002 WebCT and Blackboard are contributing Will Bb’s Building blocks become OKI compliant? U of Wisconsin system required OKI compliance of WebCT
24	What’s next? Depends on goals, campus culture Look at other institution’s implementations 50% of CLAC schools use Bb Involve faculty in evaluation and selection Many online comparisons Be careful – many are biased, outdated
25	What’s next? Gain experience now with a basic CMS Available to all faculty, or limited pilot program Example: $14,000 hardware and software costs for Blackboard basic Learning System Renewing your CMS or licensing courseware? Ask about (even require) OKI compliance Watch OKI announcements at http://web.mit.edu/oki/
26	What’s next? Contribute your campus’ successful courseware applications to the OKI toolset Partner with a larger institution to design and develop an OKI compliant tool Subscribe to EDUCAUSE’s Center for Applied Research (new research bulletin on CMS) “There is much ground between being a passive buyer and a do-it-yourselfer” – Richard Katz, VP of EDUCAUSE
27	Related Resources CMS planning to be compliant with OKI: MIT’s Stellar project University of Michigan’s CHEF Stanford’s CourseWork .LRN Project from MIT’s Sloan School of Management Comparisons: EDUCAUSE library Reviews from SUNY 20 CMS from the Consortium for IT in Education http://www.c2t2.ca/landonline/ Open standards groups: The IMS Project: define standards for interoperability of CMS and related programs SCORM Initiative: Shareable Content Object Reference Model (another standards group for media)
28	Related Resources Britain and Liber, “A framework for pedagogical evaluation of virtual learning environments” DeBorough, “Simple Elegance: Course Management Systems As Pedagogical Infrastructure to Enhance Science Learning”
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