Learning Management Systems for the Workplace A Research Report

Acknowledgements I wish to acknowledge those learners, facilitators, tutors, developers and LMS administrators who helped with this work by being available for interview, and sharing their experiences of working in virtual learning environments. Special thanks are due to Steve Corich of Eastern Institute of Technology for sharing unpublished work, Richard Wyles of the Open Polytechnic for enlightening me on the workings of the NZOSVLE, and Keith Tyler-Smith for many convivial discussions. 2 Executive Summary This report investigates the use and suitability of proprietary and open source learning management systems to support online and blended learning in New Zealand workplaces. The need for this study arose out of Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology (CPIT) and Tertiary Accord of New Zealand (TANZ) experience with the Blackboard and Moodle learning management systems (LMS) for workplace delivery. Blackboard is a proprietary system, and Moodle is free open source software. The report considers literature on the experience of facilitators, administrators and learners with using Blackboard and Moodle to support adult learning. It then describes research on user experience within New Zealand. The examples studied relate to programmes for management training in the public sector, and to support literacy tutors employed by the Workbase organisation. Data was also obtained on user experience of Interact, a locally developed open source learning environment. Blackboard offered certain features which were lacking in Moodle. These included a drop box facility which supported users working in two locations, and a real time whiteboard function. However, Moodle was considered more user friendly, customisable and engaging. It was designed to support learning as a social event, and learner centred approaches. Moodle architecture is modular in nature. The Moodle development community includes the New Zealand Open Source Virtual Learning Environment project which has received several e-Learning Capability Development Fund (eCDF) grants. It is also involved in developing links to supportive software such as resource repositories and portfolio applications. The development community is large and global, and able to produce software solutions to fill both perceived gaps between Moodle and other LMSs, as well as innovations requested by users as their experience and expertise in e-learning develops. Blackboard was initially designed to support programmes at US institutions. Blackboard has a large number of users and installations worldwide. Its original architecture was instructor centred and hierarchical. Blackboard has recently introduced social learning tools and some degree of modularisation with its Building Blocks feature. However, the Building …