LMS Choice
When selecting and LMS there some things to consider.
- “Do not allow the LMS to define your learning processes.
- nor to make its selection the starting point of your strategy development .
- nor to assume that any LMS is adequate to manage the totality of the learning that might take place. (Parkin, 2005) “
The decision of which LMS to use should be made by a team of stakeholders from different arenas of users. This team should consist of the It department which will oversee deployment, the instructors who will manage it and if possible an objective outsider. This team will decide on the strategic and operational processes to manage the learning. This process will follow the objectives that have already been determined. These objectives should be determined by the goals that are need to be accomplished by the learner. “In term of process decide on what do you want to do, who is going to do it, how is it going to work (Parkin, 2005).” Then create a list of requirements the system must satisfy and critical success factors. Other considerations would be can the system be customized or will it be used “out of the box” -as packaged. Decide whether the system will be hosted “in-house” on your infrastructure which will require more IT involvement or third-part hosting. Reports are another big part of the selection process. “Vendors impress you with all the features that house the architecture; however, one of the biggest problems is data out, i.e. reporting (eLearning Guild, 2006, p.5).” Will these reports supply your needs and are they easy to access and read?
Next would be Request for Proposal or RFP. Wikipedia defines a RFP as “an early stage in a procurement process, issuing an invitation for suppliers, often through a bidding process, to submit a proposal on a specific commodity or service.” This will allow for risks and benefits to identified upfront. Other factors besides price are included in a RFP:
- Basic corporate information and history
- Financial stability of the corporation
- Technical capability
- Product information
- Customer references
The more detailed the RFP the better the chances the product or supplier will be put on the approved vendor or supplier list. These list can they be examined by the team to determine which product best achieves its objectives.
The team proposing the acquisition of an LMS, CMS or LCMS should determine standards to judge all systems by. Learn from others. There are many templates to help the team in the decision making process. These templates can be customized to meet the objectives of the organization. A brief overview would include the following:
Learner – Usability
Manager – Usability
Administrator – Usability
Designers/Developers – Usability
Support (i.e., customer service, technical,
hosting) – Usability
Cost
eLearning Guild. (2006) 382 tips for selection of an LMS or LCMS. The e-Learning Guild. www.eLearningGuild.com.
Parkin, G. (2005). The LMS selection process in a nutshell. Retrieved June 19, 2010 from http://parkinslot.blogspot.com/2005/04/lms-selection-process-in-nutshell.html
Wikipedia. (2010). Request for proposal. Retrieved June 19, 2010 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RFP
2 comments:
You are absolutely correct, course development need to be driven by the audience, the stakeholders and managers. All their needs has to be considered before determining how to develop, delploy and deliver a course. There are several processes that can be used to determine this.
What I like about the choice to choose LMS is that you have to be organized in your thought processes and in the overall concept you plan to present. This is truly a process of checks and balances and you can quickly recognize when you are off track. There is some flexibility in the design but the limited choices keeps one on task. Good Reading...
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