Your remarks about a LMS are not related to how colleges use a LMS. We assess learning all the time and do it in different ways depending on the learning theory that the instructor may believe in. If people do not know how to teach, the LMS will not do it for them. It is like developing a web page with software like Dreamweaver. Unless the person knows how to develop a website, the software will not do it for you unless you know how to use it.
I am not a fan of LMS as I find them very confining – I want to use web 2.0 tools and I must go out of the LMS to use the tools that I want to. The LMS also does not allow 2 classes taught by the same instructor to communicate, collaborate or share together information if they are doing a major project. These students will also need an outside source such as a wiki.
The reason the LMS is confining is due to the underlying system that controls our students- in other words the database that the students are in for registration and financial records while also considering FERPA laws.
So, unless the company has hired an Instructional designer, or had any training in how to teach online, there will not be the learning that is expected by the employees. It costs money to hire an instructional designer- but they will work with the SME so that you would design a good LMS that provides meaningful assessments.
The LMS you have – that also could be an issue if it was picked by management that has no clue of how these processes are handled inside the LMS.
Running a LMS is not an easy process and it does cost money. If a company invests money into one, they should invest the money is determining what you want to measure and how the LMS would work in your company.
Kathleen, The LMS is certainly just a tool and that’s precisely the point we want to drive home with this cartoon. In fact we have been writing about this in some other posts as well: LMS: Strategy or Tool?
You’ve hit the nail on the head with the point about instructional designer. We see a lot of projects – and I am talking here of the workplace learning/training scenario – focusing on reducing costs, making them look good, work seamlessly, etc. but not really focusing on learning bit. It takes some education or experience of making your own mistakes before you get to realize this truth.
I went to your first link and added a lengthy comment there. This is a very interesting topic for me- I am faculty at a community college but I managed the distance learning for a while and have a PhD in instructional design for online learning but I teach biology. What I love, which is dealing with distance learning and technology, is not what I teach- too bad as I have a ton of knowledge that is not being used at my community college because they do not know what I know. As you will read on the other post, I have done instructional design and it was a ridiculous situation due to people who think they know what distance learning is. Just stick up a computer, put it on the internet, get the LMS and there you have a distance learning program!!!!! So easy not!
April 7th, 2010 at 8:12 pm
Your remarks about a LMS are not related to how colleges use a LMS. We assess learning all the time and do it in different ways depending on the learning theory that the instructor may believe in. If people do not know how to teach, the LMS will not do it for them. It is like developing a web page with software like Dreamweaver. Unless the person knows how to develop a website, the software will not do it for you unless you know how to use it.
I am not a fan of LMS as I find them very confining – I want to use web 2.0 tools and I must go out of the LMS to use the tools that I want to. The LMS also does not allow 2 classes taught by the same instructor to communicate, collaborate or share together information if they are doing a major project. These students will also need an outside source such as a wiki.
The reason the LMS is confining is due to the underlying system that controls our students- in other words the database that the students are in for registration and financial records while also considering FERPA laws.
So, unless the company has hired an Instructional designer, or had any training in how to teach online, there will not be the learning that is expected by the employees. It costs money to hire an instructional designer- but they will work with the SME so that you would design a good LMS that provides meaningful assessments.
The LMS you have – that also could be an issue if it was picked by management that has no clue of how these processes are handled inside the LMS.
Running a LMS is not an easy process and it does cost money. If a company invests money into one, they should invest the money is determining what you want to measure and how the LMS would work in your company.
April 10th, 2010 at 9:07 am
Kathleen, The LMS is certainly just a tool and that’s precisely the point we want to drive home with this cartoon. In fact we have been writing about this in some other posts as well:
LMS: Strategy or Tool?
Five Ways to Use an LMS for Effective Learning Measurement
You’ve hit the nail on the head with the point about instructional designer. We see a lot of projects – and I am talking here of the workplace learning/training scenario – focusing on reducing costs, making them look good, work seamlessly, etc. but not really focusing on learning bit. It takes some education or experience of making your own mistakes before you get to realize this truth.
April 11th, 2010 at 12:31 am
I went to your first link and added a lengthy comment there. This is a very interesting topic for me- I am faculty at a community college but I managed the distance learning for a while and have a PhD in instructional design for online learning but I teach biology. What I love, which is dealing with distance learning and technology, is not what I teach- too bad as I have a ton of knowledge that is not being used at my community college because they do not know what I know. As you will read on the other post, I have done instructional design and it was a ridiculous situation due to people who think they know what distance learning is. Just stick up a computer, put it on the internet, get the LMS and there you have a distance learning program!!!!! So easy
not!