Wk_9 To LMS or Not to LMS

The idea of not needing a Learning Management System never dawned on me until I saw these three discussions. Tony Karrer (2006) has several posts on his blog about the use of LMS and LCMS in the business world. He responds to a post by Dennis Coxe that alleges that LMS “places toll booths inbetween the learner and the knowledge”’ and that he himself describe the LMS as a “barrier to learning that provides management and reporting that corporate training functions want.” In this sense, schools are a lot like the corporate world. They have begun to use statistics as their basis for being, as the measure of their success. Teachers are the offline LCMS that gives the schools the data needed to function. The online system should not and does not need to function this way. I never thought of a blackboard system as a hindrance to learning, but as a structure that helps guide students through the process. In some cases, however, it seems that it can be used as a sort of watchdog that boxes students in to a certain learning style and format and reports their every move to the higher ups.

I found two other interesting sites on LMS opinions. I have not read all of the blog posts on these pages, but I thought the statement by Stephen Powell April 1st, 2008 was interesting on this site http://www.pontydysgu.org/2008/03/do-we-need-learing-management-systems/ and that the list of bloggers was intriguing here http://wordpress.com/tag/learning-management-systems/

References:

Karrer, T. (2006, October, 24). Informal learning and learning mangagement systems: eLearning technology. Available at: http://elearningtech.blogspot.com/2006/10/informal-learning-and-learning.html

Karrer, T. (2007, September 20). LMS satisfaction features and barriers: eLearning technology. Available at: http://elearningtech.blogspot.com/2007/09/lms-satisfaction-features-and-barriers.html