I am currently conducting research for a HR and L&D Conference to be run later in the year. I hope to include a valuable session on LMS and PMS – would be keen to hear from you on what are the key discussion points around this subject and also if there are any high profile speakers who I could approach.

Look Forward to hearing from you.

Cheers

Jason

Did you mean to seek suggestions on different LMS vendors offering web conferencing features?

Amit

Digitec Interactive (http://www.digitecinteractive.com)  — ask for Dick Hofmann. Last I heard they were incorporating Webinar archiving capability into their KnowledgeDirect Web LMS.

LearnGauge (http://www.learngauge.com) — ask for Chad Gent. They have a couple of different LMSes and  might be able to address your need.

I’ve been researching various LMS providers for an ongoing series of blog posts, and recommend that you identify the types of elearning you plan to make available via your LMS.

For example, Blackboard and iCohere are two companies that specialize (if you will) in systems that make instructor-led programs available. Haven’t seen Blackboard, but iCohere’s will store archived/recorded Web conferences, though I don’t know about live sessions launching from it.

KnowledgeDirect Web and LearnGauge’s LMS are built more for asynchronous, stand-alone elearning.

I have been experimenting with another system and it appears that though the structure is designed for instructor-led courses (more of a course management system than an LMS), it seemed to have loaded a link to a stand-alone asynch course A-OK. No scoring from the asynch course was built to be saved, so that hasn’t been tested.  Let me know off-discussion if you’d like info on this option.

Eager to see what others are recommending and have experienced!

Thanks!

You have raised some very relevant and important questions here. Let me try to answer them one by one.

Yes, it is very reasonable to expect IT vendors to be able to provide you with a fixed price for the work once the customization elements have been identified. However the customization elements not only just need to be listed but also be defined clearly. In case of a lack of clarity the IT vendor may not be able to provide you with an accurate estimate.

There is no fixed formula for calculating maintenance requirements in terms of hours, etc. as the support requirements are subject to number of users, nature and amount of content on the LMS, usage trends, etc. However it may be wise to anticipate high support requirement around the time when new things happen on the LMS – new courses, new assessments, etc. Also, the system should ideally settle down after the initial few months of usage and the maintenance requirement goes down. Most of the maintenance time is actually user support time on queries rather than any real problems. As a vendor we actually sell pre-paid support hour packages to our customers as it helps customers keep a control on the spend. There are options on annual maintenance contracts or even incidents-based support arrangements.

I am not really aware of any reports of standards on this but will be on lookout for such.

There are a number of small organizations using open source LMS. Best would be to go to specific LMS forums and you will find a user group there to talk to.

I hope these responses helped. I think the most important thing to understand regarding open source LMS is that only the code is free of licenses but that doesnt imply that there are no other costs associated with implementing the LMS.
I will soon follow up my comments with a complete post around open source LMS and a few queries raised on this post compiling all such tips and insights.

Amit

I like your suggestion, Amit, to start with the “out of the box” (such that it is) structure and working from there.

So here’s my question: when the customization elements have been identified, is it reasonable to expect IT vendors to be able to quote a fixed price for the work? Money is tight (yes, everywhere, but especially so when your finances are based on membership dues and program registration fees), so having a clear idea of the costs going in is essential to getting leadership buy-in.

Is it possible for an organization to estimate the amount of maintenance (in hours) an open source system might require, for ongoing budget projections?

Are there any reports of standards that an organization can consult for information like this?

Does anyone know of any small organizations using open source LMS?

I haven’t promoted open source as a possible solution to my small-staff clients because of these drawbacks. Any insight provided will help.

Thanks so much!