The following is an early draft of an article I am about to submit for formal publication. Yet before I do, I want to get some feedback from teachers, critcs, observers, and educational technologists. This is an extension of the EduGlu proposal made by D'Arcy a few months ago. Please let me know what you think.
Abstract
With the rapid development in educational technologies, educators and administrators are constantly being challenged to make decisions about appropriate technology for online teaching and learning (Bates & Poole, 2003, p. 73). A reasonable question to ask might be: What types of technologies best suits a particular learning context? Considering the early stages of the elearning industry, the functionality and reliability of many free-standing web-based teaching and learning applications was not adequate to meet users' needs. Thus many learning institutions opted to invest in costly proprietary solutions, i.e., learning management systems (LMS), in that an LMS allowed them to knit a host of applications together in an optimal way. Given the maturation of many component-based web applications, educational institutions and the elearning market are again presented with a variety of functional solutions. In this essay, we will discuss one such solution, the component-based learning environment, and its advantages and disadvantages as compared to a proprietary LMS. The authors believe a component-based learning environment (CBLE) offers great potential in managing and engaging learners in an online teaching and learning environment, yet it does so at a cost. In the end, we believe that the relative advantages and disadvantages are "contextualized and dependent on the perspective and need of individual and users (learners, teachers, technical support, and administrators)" (Anderson 2006).
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Benefits of a learning management system
Given the growth of online learning and computer-mediated communications around the globe, several corporations responded by developing large-scale learning management systems (LMS) to assist educational institutions manage and deliver teaching and learning. These learning management systems provide a host of tools and services designed to support teaching and learning within a secure online environment. What makes a LMS attractive is that it provides a ready-made framework and set of tools to facilitate modular course development and management, e.g., a place to host assignments and discussions, a means to access useful Web resources and reading materials, a calendar, a grade book, an internal email system, as well as testing and quizzing features. Essentially a LMS can assist educators in organizing their content in a way that has a consistent look and feel and that is relatively easy to navigate. A LMS also offers a level of access security that conforms to federal copyright guidelines as long as educators adhere to these laws.
Disadvantages
Selecting a LMS has a significant impact on an educational institutions finances and infrastructure. One of the major disadvantages of an LMS is the substantial fiscal costs. A LMS requires the purchase of a software agreement or license. Additional database software may also be required to manage large numbers of student enrollments and a variety of file digital file formats (e.g., audio, video, graphics, and simulations) that might be used in courses. Hardware (i.e., servers) is required to host application and database software as well as provide a space to provide redundancy or digital copies (back-ups) of materials stored within the hardware.
In terms of infrastructure, personnel are needed to administer, maintain, secure, manage, train and provide help-desk assistance for all users. Physical space is required to house servers and support personal that also incur specific costs related to heating, lighting, cooling, and security measures.
Another challenge regards software updates. When a newer version of the licensed software is issued, upgrades may be required to the current operating system that can negate any modifications made by the users. As a result, managing this upgrade process can require both time and money.
The high cost associated with a LMS can quickly negate the benefits of technology. Schniederman (2003) suggests that “[s]uccessful technologies are those that in harmony with users’ needs. They must support relationships and activities that enrich the users’ experiences” (p. 2). In order to be successful, instructional technologies must avoid unnecessary complexity; they should center on increasing user satisfaction, expanding participation, and sustaining meaningful achievement. Educational institutions are complex organizations comprised of different sub-cultures that often operate semi-autonomously. What works well for one group may not work well for another group. Therefore, selecting a learning management system as a solution to supporting a variety of learning interests and needs can be viewed as prohibitive and counter-productive.
Given the level of complexity involved in choosing and supporting a learning management system, the question remains, is an LMS the most effective way to manage teaching and learning online? What options are available to educators and scholastic institutions outside of costly learning management systems?
Component-based systems
Ten years ago, there where a relatively few options for managing teaching and learning in an online environment. With the “explosion” of applications being developed for use over the Internet via the World Wide Web, a host of educational uses has evolved. Given this revolution in technology innovation, static solutions such as learning management systems need constant updates and patches to take advantage of this dynamic and fluid digital environment. Most formal learning management systems are not designed to allow for this type of flexibility. As such, the concept of a component-based system offers a fresh perspective as a means of managing online teaching and learning.
The component-based system approach allows the user to mix and match an array of web applications for a specific use (Ferdig, Mishra and Zhao, 2004). This solution allows educators “to easily and inexpensively develop complex, diverse, dynamic and pedagogically sound” online learning environments (Ferdig, Mishra and Zhao, 2004). What makes component-based systems an elegant solution is the notion of context independence, i.e., a component can be transferred from its development context to a variety of application contexts. Ferdig et al (2004) use the screw as a useful metaphor for illustrating this concept. For example, the screw is used in a large number of contexts. It is developed in a factory (development context) and is applied to a variety of specific contexts (application contexts) such as cars, ships, walls, desks, tables, chairs, toys, etc. What is also important to note is that the application can easily be replaced by other components with comparable attributes but with different or improved characteristics. This allows for a learning management solution to be functional, dynamic, and cost-effective.
Advantages of a component-based learning environment
“Given the complexity of software today it is difficult for any single developer to produce an excellent all-purpose piece of software” (Ferdig, Mishra and Zhao, 2004). A component-based learning management solution offers a number of benefits.
Expert solutions – selecting or designing a component that fits a specific need is more beneficial than selecting an application that was designed to do many things (i.e., “a master of one” vs. “a jack of all trades”).
Creativity and control – combining different applications puts the control in the hands of the educator and allows for more than one way to approach designing learning environments.
Flexibility – a component-based system affords expansion and alteration depending on the needs of the learning environment. Given the development of online applications such as social bookmarking tools, wikis, or RSS aggregators, a formal LMS must rewrite operating code to allow for the use of such applications. Such operations take time and money to debug and implement, thus delaying the eventual roll out to the users. A component based system offers the user a means to plug and play a variety of web applications immediately and at no cost.
Troubleshooting – a component-based system allows users a means to quickly identify and correct a software problem based on whether the selected application is operating properly or not. A solution involves replacing a malfunctioning application rather than parsing lines of software code.
Disadvantages
Teaching and learning with technology encompasses a number of advantages and disadvantages, each being undesirable if the instructor is not sufficiently skilled or if the environment is poorly constructed. As with any solution, there are typically trade-offs that must be accounted for. A component-based learning environment requires an educator or instructional designer to be up on the latest news involving application solutions and developments. To a large extent, purchasing a formal LMS relieves educators from such responsibility. Thus, supporters of component-based systems often belong to a community of interest wherein information, development news, and user experience is documented and shared. These communities exist in both face-to-face learning communities and on the World Wide Web in the form of web logs or blogs where participation is encouraged and a diversity of opinion is tolerated.
A major issue with a component-based solution involves student privacy and intellectual property concerns. Will management, security, privacy and intellectual property concerns be compromised by an open, flexible system? Will locking the system behind firewalls impact usability?
Another issue involves technology and student support. If the application chosen for a learning environment is overly complex, who is responsible for training students? Will students be able to get support from the institution’s help desk or will instructors be responsible? Again, learning environment design is critical if a component-based system is selected.
How to choose components
With so many software applications on the market, deciding which applications to choose can be a difficult task. From a learning environment design perspective, the task is rather straight-forward and consistent through out mediums: what do I want students to know; how will I measure their achievement; what applications/tools/techniques will be most effective in assisting students actively engage the content, the instructor, and each other (Merrill, 2002). In terms of using educational technologies, it is important to note, that the course objectives and pedagogical concerns should drive the technology and not the other way around. Choosing components how determining how they are employed in a learning environment is tantamount. Thus it makes sense if at all possible to keep it simple.
Rather than prescribing or recommending specific applications, it is important for educators and instructional designers to experience and become familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of a variety of applications for themselves. Ultimately, a component-based learning environment serves as an ecosystem or a point of aggregation for a variety of components. For example, a web log (or blog) can be used to pull together a variety of disaggregated content like images from a photosharing account (e.g., flickr), online bookmarks from a social bookmarking account (e.g., del.icio.us), documents from a collaborative online writing account (e.g., writely), brainstorming notes from a wiki (e.g., PBWiki), as well as audio recordings stored online (e.g., OurMedia). In this example of component architecture, the blog is more than just an online journal; it serves as a formal, dynamic learning environment.
Conclusions
At the beginning of this essay, we asked: What types of technologies best suits a particular learning context? To this end Bates & Poole (2003) offer six characteristics that can be used to frame a criteria for selecting and applying technology to the learning environment. These considerations have been adapted as follows:
- Will selected technologies work in a variety of learning contexts?
- How does it impact strategic, institutional level and tactical, instructional level decisions?
- Do the selected technologies provide equal attention to educational and operational issues?
- Will it take into consideration the affect of different media and technologies enabling an appropriate mix for a given context?
- Are the selected technologies user-friendly, practical, and cost-effective?
- Will the selected technologies be quickly out-dated, or will they be flexible and accommodate new developments?
Bates and Poole’s list provides a reasonable framework for educational organizations to be begin thinking about what types of technologies best suits a particular learning context. For formal educational institutions it is also important to address organizational management concerns, matters of student safety and privacy, reliability issues, as well as intellectual property laws.
Other implications for using components
Component-based learning environments (CBLE) utilizing a variety of social software are possible in completely online or hybrid courses. What makes a CBLE attractive is that is can be customized to particular learning needs. What makes CBLEs less desirable is the disruptive nature of technology and innovation itself.
Boundaries – Educational vs Personal / Formal vs. Informal use
Often courses built within a proprietary LMSs are inaccessible once the formal institutional term is complete. Given that learners have an existence and identity outside the formal school setting, component-based learning environments can be designed in such a way that when a formal course is "over," the learner has the ability to take their work with them. Contributions to a CBLE by the students are owned by the learner and can be used and re-used as the owner deems appropriate.
There advantages/disadvantages to both a LMS model and a CBLE model. The CBLE model supports a more cognitively flexible approach to course design that places more emphasis on instructors thinking about what they are using technology for. My contention is that the better instructors understand the tools and why they're using them then the better the learning environment and instruction will be.
References:
Anderson, T. (2006). PLE's versus LMS: Are PLEs ready for prime time? Retrieved 26 February 2006 from http://terrya.edublogs.org/2006/01/09/ples-versus-lms-are-ples-rea
Bates, A.W. & Poole, G. (2003). Effective teaching with technology in higher education: Foundations for success. Jossey-Bass.
Ferdig, R.E., Mishra, P., & Zhao, Y. (2004). Component architectures and web based learning environments. Journal of Interactive Learning Research, 15(1), 75-90.
Merrill, M.D. (2002). First principles of instruction. Educational Technology Research and Development, 50(3), 43-59.
Schneiderman, B. (2003). Leonardo’s laptop: Human needs and the new computing technologies. MIT Press.
Comments
Hello, Chris --
I was sitting down at the computer to do some other work when I came across your post -- Your post raises a slew of thoughts -- I'm including some quick reactions here --
One of the main advantages of a CBLE is that it allows for the inclusion of apps that meet individual learner needs, teacher and classroom needs, and institional needs -- while tension can exist between these stakeholders (to simplify, because they all need to do/demonstrate different things with the same content) a CBLE allows an institution to give the different stakeholders the tools to do precisely the work they need to do. The needs of one group does not need to be met at the expense of the other.
When you discuss disadvantages of CBLE's, you mention tech support -- I see this as less a feature unique to CBLE's, and more as a fixture of how organizations now work. Tech support will be needed, no matter the system. Like cars, like refrigerators, like bicycles, computers will break. This isn't unique to proprietary LMS's or CBLE's. The shape of that support will vary, but its presence will always be necessary.
Why not a mixture of both. A simple easy to setup and use lms (eg. Moodle - not to mention free )supplemented with other learning tools not available in the lms, as required. It is easy enough to link to resources outside the lms when required.
21st century learning tools must be flexible to accommodate the 21 st century learning styles of the current and future crop of digital natives. There are advantages in both so only use each in a way that their strengths are utilized.
Garry, Thank you for the comment. Moodle is definitely a wonderful solution and I agree, if you can use both, then by all means have at it. I work with a variety of educators with varying technical abilities. Installing a Moodle environment is not for the timid. Yet, using a blog to support teaching and learning is much simpler, especially if you use a hosted solution. I think the solution revolves around context and capabilities.
This article is in the working stages and I appreciate your feedback.
-cs