PARt 5: Evaluation of LMS systems: Blackboard course sites and
Desire to learn(D2L)
INTRODUCTION
This review will consider specific aspects of both LMS Systems. These include:
1 Creating a New Course Homepage;
2 Adding "Start Here" activities;
3 Adding "Start Here" link to News;
4 Create Instructor Profile Section;
5 Add an Audio "Welcome" message;
6 View all items as a Demo student to ensure completion.
The two systems being reviewed are D2L and Blackboard Course Sites.
This review will consider specific aspects of both LMS Systems. These include:
1 Creating a New Course Homepage;
2 Adding "Start Here" activities;
3 Adding "Start Here" link to News;
4 Create Instructor Profile Section;
5 Add an Audio "Welcome" message;
6 View all items as a Demo student to ensure completion.
The two systems being reviewed are D2L and Blackboard Course Sites.
Evaluation of Blackboard
Course Sites
Strengths:
Blackboard course sites LMS proved to be a user friendly system with most of this week's areas for review. Creating a customized homepage was the first step. This process was simply pointing and clicking the widgets you wanted to include. This LMS already has template widgets available to select from or edit. Editing in a widget was also just a matter of moving things to where you want them or deleting/adding what you were missing.
Blackboard course sites LMS proved to be a user friendly system with most of this week's areas for review. Creating a customized homepage was the first step. This process was simply pointing and clicking the widgets you wanted to include. This LMS already has template widgets available to select from or edit. Editing in a widget was also just a matter of moving things to where you want them or deleting/adding what you were missing.
Adding the "Getting Started" information to a content module was also a simple process, one that we used in week 2 in adding other content. The next step was to add a link to this information so that it would appear on the homepage. This process was completed by adding a new announcement. Again, the process was fairly simple and intuitive in adding this component. Blackboard has made these processes user friendly and easy for new learners to utilize.
The next task was to add instructor contact information and photo on the homepage. Blackboard Course sites has a complete homepage editor for the instructor. It was easy to upload a photo and add contact information. The audio message task will be addressed in the weakness section below.
Weaknesses:
While adding the instructor information and picture was easy to do, it was not located within the course I created. It was built in a separate page. There was not an easy way to create a link from the course page to the instructor page. Therefore, a student has to click on the My CourseSites tab and look at it in a different window. While this is not a big deal, it is not as user friendly as other aspects. A clear set of directions has to be added to give students the information on where to look.
In trying to add an audio message, I was unable to successfully complete this in Blackboard Course sites. I tried adding new announcements, new content page and even recording the message as a separate file to upload but was not able to get it to work. This LMS seems to have some limitations in this particular area.
While adding the instructor information and picture was easy to do, it was not located within the course I created. It was built in a separate page. There was not an easy way to create a link from the course page to the instructor page. Therefore, a student has to click on the My CourseSites tab and look at it in a different window. While this is not a big deal, it is not as user friendly as other aspects. A clear set of directions has to be added to give students the information on where to look.
In trying to add an audio message, I was unable to successfully complete this in Blackboard Course sites. I tried adding new announcements, new content page and even recording the message as a separate file to upload but was not able to get it to work. This LMS seems to have some limitations in this particular area.
Evaluation of Desire to Learn (D2L)
Strengths:
The D2L LMS system was fairly easy to manipulate and maneuver in, when reviewing the tasks for this week. Adding a customized homepage required a few steps but the help videos were very good at explaining the steps. I would recommend a new creator review the tutorial videos prior to creating the homepage. D2L has made it easy to add other items to the homepage, such as atomic learning and library resources. Simply point and click and it will move to the page.
The D2L LMS system was fairly easy to manipulate and maneuver in, when reviewing the tasks for this week. Adding a customized homepage required a few steps but the help videos were very good at explaining the steps. I would recommend a new creator review the tutorial videos prior to creating the homepage. D2L has made it easy to add other items to the homepage, such as atomic learning and library resources. Simply point and click and it will move to the page.
Adding "Getting Started" content was again a concept that we have already completed. It was a basic process including an upload of a Word Document. Next, connecting this new content to a news widget was nearly as easy. The process was a few short steps that created an item on the homepage. Adding a picture to emphasize this area was a simple upload also.
By adding a small picture to the Start area, it really draws the readers attention to the link. D2L was very adaptable to adding this type of extra. The next area reviewed was an instructor's profile page. In D2L, this was a new widget. So, the creator needed to select and create a new widget, then simply add the information for the instructor and upload a picture. Once that was completed, a link was created to add the new widget to the homepage. The key here is to remember what you called the widget when you named it!
The final aspect for the weeks review was to add an audio recording to welcome students to the class. D2L has a very easy process for this. In the news section, a couple of clicks will get you ready to record and publish your message. This process was extremely easy to follow and again, to add emphasis, a picture can easily be imported to the item to show students where to begin. In the second picture for D2L above, a student logging in for the first time is drawn to this area and will start the course off with a positive set of interactions.
Negatives:
The only real negative for D2L in this review goes back to the creation of the homepage. The steps are easy to follow if you have a listing or watch the help videos, however one step is to create a copy of the homepage. This is not intuitive or expected by a creator. Without some assistance in this area, it would be a challenge to complete this series of steps.
Negatives:
The only real negative for D2L in this review goes back to the creation of the homepage. The steps are easy to follow if you have a listing or watch the help videos, however one step is to create a copy of the homepage. This is not intuitive or expected by a creator. Without some assistance in this area, it would be a challenge to complete this series of steps.
LMS recommendation: Week 5
Both systems had very good process and tools available to meet the demands of this week's reviewed components. Blackboard Course Sites made creating a homepage very easy and offered many choices for the creator to select. It also had a specific page already designed for the instructor's contact information and picture.
D2L has perfected the use of widgets within its own LMS. Adding, modifying and creating new widgets is simply a few clicks away for the creator. The ease of uploading documents, pictures or "stuff", as D2L calls it, makes this system very user friendly and will be less stressful for teachers that have little background using LMS systems. The options that are available within the homepage of the D2L system are superior to that offered in Blackboard. A prime example is the ease with which one can add an audio/visual message. There are no special uploads or linking required.
As with some of previous weeks, both systems were fairly easy to work with - in terms of the requirements. D2L was a little easier. Therefore, my recommendation for this week is D2L. In making this decision, I am heavily factoring in the readiness of our K -12 staff and the ease of transitioning to this style of LMS. D2L presents more opportunities for teachers to be successful and make connections to our current system. That experience will help make the overall transition easier.
D2L has perfected the use of widgets within its own LMS. Adding, modifying and creating new widgets is simply a few clicks away for the creator. The ease of uploading documents, pictures or "stuff", as D2L calls it, makes this system very user friendly and will be less stressful for teachers that have little background using LMS systems. The options that are available within the homepage of the D2L system are superior to that offered in Blackboard. A prime example is the ease with which one can add an audio/visual message. There are no special uploads or linking required.
As with some of previous weeks, both systems were fairly easy to work with - in terms of the requirements. D2L was a little easier. Therefore, my recommendation for this week is D2L. In making this decision, I am heavily factoring in the readiness of our K -12 staff and the ease of transitioning to this style of LMS. D2L presents more opportunities for teachers to be successful and make connections to our current system. That experience will help make the overall transition easier.