Learning Management Systems

Background

Learning management systems (LMS) have been around for quite a few years now and are changing to match the style of the new learners.  There are two main types of LMS that will be the focus of this page: institutional and academic.

Workplace LMS discussed below are the IUHealth system and the Franciscan Alliance system. 

 Workplace LMS

A brief history and the actual process used at IUHealth can be found by clicking here. IUHealth nurses have the opportunity to apply for submission of a particular project and the eLMS committee reviews the project evaluating duplication, costs/benefits, and generalizability to other settings. A resource site used by nurse educators at IUHealth can be found here: http://iuhealth.org/education/informatics-business/software-programs-training/

Franscican Health Alliance uses a system called Compass.  Information about St. Francis' lms can be found by clicking here. Similar to IUHealth nurses have the opportunity to apply submissions for learning modules on the Eduction site.

Academic LMS

University of Indianapolis has under gone a change in the last three years with the use of the Sakai LMS which is called ACE.  A brief history of the rationale for using a new LMS and the process used to chose the system is explained in this document titled, UINDY LMS history of development.

Educause is an organization focused on use of technology in education.  Their site has many reliable resources related to technology.  This first article, Seven Things You Should Know About....Navigating the New Learning Ecosystem. (2012). Educause Learning Initiative, describes the current and future use of LMS in universities.  The use of multiple approaches to organizing students' work and learning suites allows independence to choose what works for them.  How students are encouraged to develop their own websites as a place for resources and to showcase their own learning and work.

Many educational institutions are the use of LMS as toolbox where learners may go to find resources such as free or low cost presentations, social bookmarking, social networking, and document sharing. Much of this is due to the ability to store information in the cloud rather than on individual systems. Use of this method allows the learner to see that learning is an evolutionary process where ideas are constantly changing.  Learning this system allows for easier changes in learning in the future.  Seven Things You Should Know About...LMS Alternatives. (2010). Educause Learning Initiative. 

Evaluation of Learning Management Systems

Educators need to be part of the decision team when new LMS are needed.  Without their expertise, systems will be adopted that are not learner and teacher friendly or usable. Below are good articles related to evaluating LMS. 

1. Brennan, T. (2012). Choosing a new learning management system (LMS). ASCUE Proceedings, North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, 60-67.
2. Freire, L., Arezes, P. Campos, J (2012). A literature review about usability evaluation methods for e-learning platforms, Work, 41, 1038-1044.
3. LMS Strategic Review: Best Fit Rubric.  This Excel file was used by faculty, staff and students to help determine the best learning management system for UINDY. 

Exploration of Learning Management Systems

Now that you have an idea about some of the local systems used in both workplace and academia, explore some of the company websites.  The four LMS that UINDY tested were Moodle, Sakai, Blackboard and Haiku.  Below are their website and additional LMS sites: 

1. http://moodle.org/
2. http://www.sakaiproject.org/
3. http://www.blackboard.com/
4. www.educreations.com
5. Haiku: http://www.haikulearning.com/