Information Technology specialists handle the installation and technical maintenance of the LMS including security management and hardware performance. The system is managed on the “back-end” by System Administrators who manage user accounts including roles and duties, create courses, manage the look-and-feel, and coordinate training and testing for updates and changes to the system. The LMS is utilized by faculty, subject matter experts, and training staff to conduct online training including web conferencing, self-directed courses, and assessments – including performance reports and completion tracking. Users of an LMS are generally students, employees, or customers who have access to course materials, complete assignments, and track grades and process.  In large organizations these roles may be exclusive, while in smaller organizations their functions may overlap. 

For example, in the process of opening a new account at my financial institution, users have separate programs for each of these functions: notification of member in need of assistance, completing account opening, and printing/ordering debit card. While information is accessible behind the scenes in each program, the user requires a separate login to complete each function. A consideration for linking too many programs via SSO is security for our members – if a user’s SSO information is compromised, a lot of access is potentially allowed.

This article from Microsoft discusses SSO for Enterprise (business) and highlights the three types of SSO services available from Microsoft in greater detail: https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa745042(v=bts.10).aspx.   This is the “What is Single Sign On?” page from Auth0, which is a product that assists with SSO: https://auth0.com/docs/sso/current. I found it interesting that there is a market for additional products, to create SSO within your company. 

 

 

I chose this LMS feature based on no understanding of what “gamification” meant or how it was to be used in a Learning Management System.

Gamification in eLearning is” the use of game theory and game mechanics in no-game contexts to engage users in solving problems”.

            As expressed by the blog I found by DigitalChalk, it helps to motivate your students and if the student is motivated they do better in the course.  It helps to engage with better and more stimulating interactives (videos, powerpoints) for the user/student based on the LMS platform they are using.  

            The article continues by on providing additional resources/tools, that can help you “gamify” your eLearning platform.

            Additional links provide information on statistics of using gamification a much more common attribute in the past few years, one that I found interesting was “Almost 80% of the learners say they would be more productive if their university/institution or work was more game-like”.

            Finally, it pointed to the fact that by 2018 the global gamification market would reach 5.5 billion, which gives the idea and need for creators/authors of gamification creating a greater need and use of this tool.

 

https://www.digitalchalk.com/blog/5-tools-to-help-you-gamify-your-elearning-content

For me Online Learning had, in the past, always been a two-way street between myself and my instructor, corresponding between each other, in the form of emails or chat.  Then I was introduced to an application called Black Board, being my first and only Learning Management System (LMS) to date, and the world to remote instruction changed dramatically.   No longer was I limited to communication between myself and my instructor, but was introduced and created a correspondence between my peers who were taking the course as well.  No longer did I have to create my own process to retain my test scores, syllabus, and assignments completed and needing to be completed, but had one area where all this information could be retained.  It also become very valuable when taking multiple on line courses.  To filter between my multiple classes online in the past, took time away from the course work itself and required for me a greater discipline of tracking the requirements of the coursework.  

In the end, simplification, greater communication and ease are the three words that come to mind when I think of Black Board and Learning Management Systems.  My one, of many, interest in taking this course is to understand the eLearning components and broaden my view further in the understanding and use of eLearning in the corporate, health, and educational world. 

LRS or Learning Record Store essentially allows a standard area to store user / learning data in a database. This database can then interface with not just Tin can / experience API but learning management systems. It can exist inside of an LMS, or outside of one. Either way LRS can be accessed and the information can be shared across multiple LMS’. While Scorm.com calls it the “heart” of an API management system, I would I probably say it is more analogous to the brain where long term memories are stored. 

https://learninglocker.net/

for more information about experience API: 

https://experienceapi.com/overview

I also found a neat flow chart on Scorm.com that shows a nice diagram on how LRS' can be integrated into Learning management and other systems.

One confusion I have had for a while is the difference between an LMS and an LCMS. Then again, what is a CMS? Here is what I found.

 I learned on OpenSesame.com that the two are quite different. LMS stands for learning management system. An LCMS, on the other hand, is a learning content management system. 

Learning management systems are used primarily in higher education and corporate training. These are what we commonly think of as complete online classroom management systems. They are software platforms for storage and delivery of training content, much like Learn, that we use. In addition, they also have capabilities for tracking participation in that training. This happens to make them the ideal medium where safety training, or legally-mandate compliance must be documented for individual employees or trainees. The target user, then, is the learner.

The target user for the LCMS, however is the learning content creator, or the instructional designer. The LCMS is all about content: primarily creating it, and then storing  and organizing it. LCMS are built to allow multiple collaborators to create, and then publish, content in a variety of formats.  In the corporate world the LCMS is often used to take older versions of training courses and customize them with newly created content. Content creation itself is facilitated by features of the LCMS.

The CMS (content management system), briefly, is a system geared toward storing and displaying content on a website. The CMS is built to accommodate and make content available in a wide variety of image, document, and audio formats. Another strength of the CMS is that administrators can choose to show or hide content based on viewer or user level or credentials, or simply make items private or public. 

So, the three terms are not interchangeable, though there is some overlap. For this article click here.

 

I researched #33, Customizable Branding.  While I have experience in developing civic and operational branding in my professional life, this piqued my interest and I discovered new things that I found valuable.

  After reading “Should you brand or white label your LMS?” (6/21/16 https://www.learnupon.com/brand-white-label-lms/)  I discovered the importance of the decision-making process when determining whether to use company logos and colors, etc., in the effort to make the LMS have the “feel” of an internally produced LMS.  Decisions should be made regarding this use in areas like; login page, user portals, and client portals.  This decision is also influenced by any flexibility to customize which will vary depending on whether you use an internally developed LMS (which generally has more flexibility in customization), or if the LMS is one purchased and already in use.  Many LMS that are designed to be used in organizations who purchase the system find that as the original developer or organization wishes for their branding to take precedent over yours.  This can lead to limits on adding or changing any LMS purchased from outside your organization.  A risk involved with custom branding is making sure to re-evaluate your branding on a regular basis to make sure it still fits the image the organization wishes to project.  It is important to assign a specific person(s) to be responsible for keeping the custom effort in branding current and up-to-date.  While this sounds inflexible there are LMS’s available that offer a “white label” option which refers to those LMS that can and will remove all references or identifiers that indicate the LMS was developed anywhere other than in-house.  Additional white label benefits can include; custom domains, personalized emails, and client portals.  When planning your development or purchase of a customizable LMS it is important to determine what the needed customizable features are so that you can deliver a proper branded LMS that meets the organization’s needs.~

Tin Can API – this was mentioned during the first collaborate session and was on the list of 99 LMS features and it’s something I know nothing about.  

Tin Can API is the next generation of SCORM.  To understand Tin Can I think it is important to know a little bit about SCORM. SCORM has been the language used to capture information regarding a user’s learning experience and actions in an eLearning course.  SCORM is very limited in what information it is able to capture.  Tin Can, also known as xAP or Experience API attempts to capture a greater level of detail across multiple platforms.  API, Application Programing Interface, is a way for different software’s to talk to each.  Tin Can requires an LRS to gain the full benefits from the API.  LRS is the next step in further development of LMS’s.  The complexity of Tin Can requires greater planning and structure to see the full benefits of the language.  I’m excited about the possibility of Tin Can but also see the potential for data overload.  As a student, I’ll be able to better demonstrate my skills and knowledge, but as an instructor, I’ll receive a lot more information that will need to be digested.  

 

Nielson, Bryant. (2012, November 1). Top 10 Training Metrics. Retrieved September 5, 2017 from http://www.yourtrainingedge.com/top-10-training-metrics 

Pappas, Christoforos. (2013, June 10). Learning Management Systems Comparison Checklist of Features. Retrieved September 1, 2017 from https://elearningindustry.com/learning-management-systems-comparison-checklist-of-features 

This system has some great features .  Among them is the exam engine feature, and Moodle.  Moodle is being used presently in the dept. where I work, but I have not used it personally.  I had to research Exam Engine for a better understanding.  Based on my research, I found out that Exam Engine is completely HTML and JavaScript.  It allows users to review questions at the end of an exam.  Unlike other programs where I have to be tied to the interface until I finish the test, with this program, I can start the module I am on, then stop, and I come back it remembers where I left off at.  Questions are locked but show how the student answered. Any media associated with the question will play. All templates use Responsive Web Design to adapt to different screen sizes from mobile devices to desktops. It has an enhanced Reporter application with new and redesigned reports that show data by exam, use, and question. If you know of anyone who have used this system, please comment. I am trying to find whether there is much difference between this feature and SCORM feature, or if  it communicates.
 (http://www.examengine.net).

Gaby

Throughout my studies and use of various LMS, I have come across the acronym, SCORM. SCORM stands for, Shareable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM). The below article that I have attached outlines that, “Basically, the different versions of SCORM all govern the same two things: packaging content an exchanging data at run-time. Packaging is the information of the content in the system. The documents used are structured to be launched without human intervention. Run-time is the delivery and tracking of content. This is how the LMS interact with the experience of the LMS. 

The article also outlined that SCORM is becoming widely adopted and an industry standard. As I understand SCORM is for interoperability with the content. The article states, “the primary goal of adopting SCORM is generally to create and interoperable system that will work well with other systems”. The article is a short and informative one. 

https://scorm.com/scorm-explained/one-minute-scorm-overview/

Certification Tracking Systems are an online organization system to collect and track multiple people’s certifications and arrange them in a meaningful way. Some provide a way to teach, and offer a way to actually become certified. After doing research on these systems I realized that I was more familiar with them than I had previously though. I have actually used them in my current job. New employees are required to get Certs in things like Ferpa law before they can work. The system we use allows the new hires to learn the information they need, take tests to become certified, and then saves the certifications in a database. These systems aren’t just used as archives but also have practical uses. For instance, if we needed to look up what employees had a certain type of certification that was required for a team we were putting together we could pull this information from the tracking system. 

http://www.digitaltimecapture.com/blog/6-essential-certification-tracking-system-features

The structure of an LMS can be hosted or server based.  LMS’s can vary in their functionality and not all LMS’s do the same thing.  The variation in LMS is comparable to looking at a menu.  You have a number of options to choose from just like a menu.  An LMS may have built-in eLearning content development, another may provide web-conferencing, others will allow the hosting of not only online courses, but videos, eBooks, and custom course material.  Some LMS’s can be very complex and require a staff of many while others may only require one person to administer it.  

I would describe a Learning Management System (LMS) as a system used by educational institutions, private and government organizations and people looking to learn various topics through a computer based platform. Depending on the LMS and the needs of the administrator the LMS platform can manage the delivery of curriculum and activities to provide a learning opportunity to the user. The LMS has multiple features as has been outlined in the readings. An LMS should be user friendly and intuitive for all users (students and faculty) to maximize the learning opportunity. I have used multiple LMS’s during my studies and professional responsibilities at LAFD and UNM. My experience for the best way to describe an LMS is by its ease of use. It is counterproductive as a user (student and faculty) to have to spend an excessive amount of time learning the system and not the course content. 

There are several LMS’ software companies on the market that provide fully integrated compliance and tracking systems however I discovered the following two companies simply because their website home pages listed three main points I would look for in a compliance and tracking LMS: reporting, security, and integration with current systems. 

Litmos by CallidusCloud: https://www.litmos.com/solutions/compliance-training/ 

Accord LMS: https://www.accordlms.com/learning-solutions/compliance-learning 

Licensing is the equivalent to copyright laws.  Copyright is defined as “the exclusive legal right, given to an originator or an assignee to print, publish, perform, film, or record literary, artistic, or musical material, and to authorize others to do the same.” (Per the online dictionary in Google.)  We have all seen the Licensing agreement that we must “Accept” before we can use something.  These are serious documents that need to be reviewed.

Note that:

According to GNU.org, “Under the Berne Convention, which most countries have signed, anything written down is automatically copyrighted. This includes programs. Therefore, if you want a program you have written to be in the public domain, you must take some legal steps to disclaim the copyright on it; otherwise, the program is copyrighted.”  The Convention was signed in Berne, Switzerland on September 9, 1886. (What is free software?, n.d.)

The types of software licensing on the list are: Free, Trial, Open Source and Paid.  Here is a brief explanation of each as well as some other pertinent terms:

Source Code:  These are the computer instructions which are written so that humans can read them, usually as ordinary text.  Computer code is source code that has been assembled or compiled into binary code that is then understood by the computer.

Free software:  This is software that can be used any way you want – copy, use, change or distribute to anyone, modified or not, free or for a fee.  The source code must be accessible.  This is not monetarily free, but affords freedom of usage.

Trial Software:  This is software that you can try for a limited time and then are required to pay for after the trial period. 

Open Source Software (OSS): Software that meets these criteria (adapted and shortened from (Open Source Initiative, n.d.)):  Allows free distribution, includes source code, allows modification, and other criteria.

Paid Software:  This is non-free software.  You must ask for permission to use it, cannot modify or redistribute it, source code is not available.

So, basically what I have learned from this research is that Administrators must choose the type of software for their application carefully and read the Licensing Agreements thoroughly.  Copyright is no joke – it is illegal to claim someone else’s work without permission.  It is our responsibility to ensure our employers do not break the law.  We need to understand what is needed and how to legally obtain it.  

Links to good information: http://www.gnu.org/licenses/licenses.html and https://opensource.org/licenses.  There is a lot of information on licensing online.