Proposed Lmscriterion

Proposed LMSCriterion

November, 2015

AStateLMSEvaluation–KeyRequirements

Giventhateachlearningmanagementsystem(LMS)doesthingsdifferently,oftenachievingthesamehigherlevelgoal,achecklistofrequiredfeatures/functionalityisnotnecessarilyhelpful.Therefore,thisisnotintendedtobeacomprehensivelistingofallthefeaturesandfunctionsrequiredinthenextLMSbutratheralistofhighlevelcategoriesagainstwhichfutureLMSsshouldbeevaluated.

Whereappropriate,examplesofthetypesoffeatures/functionalitythatexemplifythehigherlevelcategoryareprovidedandshouldbeviewedasillustrative,butnot

exhaustiveofthetypesofthingsthesystemorcompanyneedstobeabletodoinordertomeetthehigherlevelrequirement.ActualdetailsoffeaturesandhowfunctionstakeplacewilllikelyvarybasedonthespecificLMSbeingevaluated.

Therearethreegeneraltypesofrequirements:thefirstpertainsspecificallytoLMStoolsandfunctionality;thesecondrelatestoLMSaccessibilityandusability;and,thethirdrelatesmorebroadlytoAState’sgrowthandadministrativeneeds.

LMSRequirements:

TheLMSshould:

1.Provide a robust environment for content authoring.

2.Support AState’s teaching and learning needs.

3.Support social presence, interaction, collaboration, and group work.

4.Provide a wide variety of grading, assessment, and grade management tools.

5.Possess an intuitive interface with a contemporary look and feel.

6.Be mobile optimized, device compatible, and work on all major browsers.

7.Be ADA compliant and meet accessibility needs.

8.Allow for labor scalability and efficiency in administrative setup.

9.Support learning and administrative analytics and outcomes.

10.Be “future proof” and able to evolve with educational and technological developments.

11.Support IMS Global standards.

12.Be available as close to 24/7/365 in order to meet the needs of AState’s increasing distance learning audience.

(1)TheLMSshouldprovidearobustenvironmentforcontentauthoring.

TheLMSenvironmentshouldenablefaculty,designstaff,andotherstocreatehighqualitylearningexperiences.Thisincludesthecreationoflearningobjectslikecoursecontent,assignments,andlearningandevaluationtools.TheseobjectsmightbecreatednativetotheLMS,uploadedfromanothersource,orlinkedinfromthird-partytools.

Thesystemshould(listofexamplesillustrativenotexhaustive):

•Havesufficientnativetoolsthatallowforthecreationofnecessaryteachingandlearningtools:e.g.amechanismforstudentstouploadworkproducts;amechanismtocreateforumsforstudentstointeract;awaytocreateassessmentsofstudentlearningthatincludequantitativeandqualitativetypequestions

•Berelativelyeasytouseandintuitive–interfaceandthenumberofclickstheuserhastojumpthrough

•Allowintegrationwiththird-partycontentmanagementsystems

•Allowintegrationwiththird-partylearningtools

•Supportmultiplecontentandmediaformattypes:e.g.audio,video,images,text

•Allowtheimport/exportofcontentfromotherlearningmanagementsystems

•Alloweasyandintuitivemobileuseonallpopulardevices

•Provideenoughspaceineachsectionforallcoursecontentandstudentwork

(2)TheLMSshouldsupportAState’steachingandlearningneeds.

AStateoffersavarietyofcourseformats—includingfullyonline,blended,andresidentialinstructionthattheLMSneedstosupport.AdditionallyaprimarydistinctionbetweenanLMS(learningmanagementsystem)andaCMS(contentmanagementsystem)isthataCMShousesand(possibly)displayscontentwhereasanLMSisbuiltwiththeprimarypurposeofenablingeffectiveteachingandlearning.Giventhatthereisalegitimaterangeoflearnerpreferencesandpedagogicalapproaches,theLMSshouldhaveflexibilityforhowteachingandlearningtakesplace.Accordingly,theLMSshouldbeabletoadapttoneweducationalapproaches,forexample,badgingandcompetency-basedlearning.

Thesystemshould(listofexamplesillustrative,notexhaustive):

•Providescaffoldingtoolsthathelpthestudentknowwheretheyareandwhattheyneedtodonext

•Progressindicators

•Automatedguidedinstruction(feedbackmechanisms)

•Syllabus

•Calendarthatintegrateswiththird-partycalendars

•Providestudentpublishingtools

•E-portfolio

•Blog

•Supportavarietyofpedagogicalapproaches

•Competency-based learning

•Self-pacedlearning

•Self-directedlearning

•Group/Collaborative learning

•Supportavarietyofcoursedeliverymethods

•Face-to-face

•Blended/Hybrid

•Online

(3)TheLMSshouldsupportsocialpresence,interaction,andcollaboration.

AStateencouragesanactivelearningcommunityandfacultyandstudentsareaccustomedtoawidevarietyofsocialmediaandcollaborativeweb-basedtoolsthatenableauthenticconnection,communication,andgroupworkwithothers.Giventheimportanceofthesetypesofexchangestoteachingandlearning,theLMSneedstosupportavarietyofhighqualitysocialpresence,interaction,collaboration,andgroupworktools.

TheLMSshould(listofexamplesillustrative,notexhaustive):

•Enablesocialpresenceintheonlinespace(withinandacrosscourses)sothatstudentsandfacultyhavetheexperienceofbeing“real”peopleconnectingwithotherrealpeopleinanactivelearningcommunity

•Throughtheeffectiveuseofvisualstoreflectwho’sactiveinthecourse(facebook,twitter,yammer)

•Throughtheuseofanactivitystreamsothatitfeelslikethecourseisanactivecommunityandnotjustaflatfilestructurefromwhichstudentsdownloadstaticdocuments

•Enableauthenticandefficientmeansofinteractingwithinandacrosscourses

•Througharobustmailtoolthatallowsuserstosendandreceivemail,includingattachments,seewhohasreadmail,etc.

•Includerobusttoolsandintuitiveinterfacesforonlinesynchronousandasynchronousdiscussions

•Asynchronouschatfunctionalitythatindicateswho’sonline

•Asynchronousdiscussionspacethathasanintuitivelookandfeelandpromotesauthenticeducationaldialogue

•Provideoreasilyintegratewithtoolsstudentscanusetocollaborativelycreateandsharecontentaswellasinteractinvirtualmeetingspaces

(4)TheLMSshouldprovideawidevarietyofgrading,assessment,andgrademanagementtools.

Assessmentandgradingneedsandrequirementsvarysignificantlyacrossindividualfaculty,courses,programs,andcolleges.Therefore,theLMSassessment optionsshouldsupportthecomplexrealityofAStatecourses—includingtheabilitytodobothformativeandsummativeassessment—andberelativelyintuitivetosetupanduse.TheLMSshouldenableprofessorstoconductaroleplaysimulationtolearnexactlywhatwillhappenasstudentsgothrough.Thissimulationor“preview”shouldbeeasyand100%accurate.

TheLMSshould(listofexamplesillustrative,notexhaustive):

•Includeavarietyofassessmenttoolsthatallowsformultipleassignmentsubmissionformats,questionformats,andmultipleresponseandfeedbackoptions(audio,video,textual)

•Allowforavarietyofwaysofgradingstudentworkproducts

•Bystudent,assignment,orteam

•Auto-gradedormanually

•Basedonrubrics

•Providearobustandconfigurablegradebookthatcanhandleavarietyoffunctions

•PullingradesfromassessmentactivitiesoutsidetheLMS

•Allowforextracreditassignments

•Beexportabletoalternativefileformats

•Enableinstructorstosubmitgradestoregistrar

•Allowforformulasandweighting

•Allowforselectionofpointsorpercentages

(5)TheLMSshouldpossessanintuitiveinterfacewithacontemporarylookandfeel.

TheLMSwechooseneedstohaveaninterfacewithamodern,contemporarylookandfeel.Giventhatdesignandusabilitystandardsevolve,theLMSshouldbeskinnablesuchthatitdoesn’tlook“dated”andisabletoadapttocontemporarydesignstandardsandthecompanyshouldinvestininterfacedesignasanimportantcomponentoftheLMS.

Theinterfaceshould(listofexamplesillustrative,notexhaustive):

•Notrequiresignificanttrainingfortheaverageendusertofindandusemostofthefeaturesandfunctionalitytheyrequire

•Notgetinthewayofthelearning;

•Reflectcontemporarydesignstandards

(6)Bemobileoptimized,devicecompatible,andworkonallmajorbrowsers.

InordertomeettheneedsofAStatefaculty,staff,andstudentstheLMSneedstobeusercenteredregardingdevicesandbrowsers.Inmostcases,usersshouldbeabletoworkusingtheirpreferredmethodforaccessingtheircoursewithlittletonohindrance.

TheLMSshould(listofexamplesillustrative,notexhaustive):

•Beresponsivetoauser’sdevice

•Haveanapp(s)thatallowsforcontentgenerationandcontentconsumption

•Haveanapp(s)thattakesintoaccountnecessaryfunctionalityforstudents,instructors,anddesignstaff

•Workonallcurrentversionsofthemajorbrowsers

(7)TheLMSshouldbecompliantwithfederallawsandregulationsprotectingpeoplewithdisabilities.

TheLMSshouldmeetADA standardswhichincludescompliancewithWCAG2.0LevelAAstandards.IftheLMSincludesnativeappsonmobiledeviceplatforms,thoseappsmustconformtotheabovestandardsevenifdataexchangedoesnotuseOpenWebTechnologies.

Thevendorwillberesponsivetoreportsofaccessibilityissues,includingproblemsthatmayoccurasaresultofcodechangesrelatedtonewfeatures,majorandminorversionupdates,andpatches.Thevendoragreestofixaccessibilityissuesinatimelymanner.

AStatestaffwill,attheirdiscretion,testclaimsofaccessibilitymadebythevendoroftheLMS.

TheLMSshould:

•ConformtoWebContentAccessibilityGuidelines(WCAG2.0AA)

•GeneratewebpagesthatcomplywithHTMLcodestandardsandbestpractices

•Possessaccessiblecontentcreationtoolswithfunctionalityto

•Befullyoperableusingonlyakeyboard

•Bereadableandoperableusingcommonlyusedscreenreaders(JAWS,VoiceOver,NVDA)

•Addalttexttoimagesoaddheadingstotextcontent

•Addlabelstoformfields

•Addheaderstotables

•PasteblocksofHTMLcodeinanHTMLviewofcontent,includinglanguageextensionslikeMathML

•Allowpersistent,userpersonalizationtomodifypresentationstyle(e.g.,highcontrast,colorinversion,colormodifications)

•Includeanaccessible,keyboardoperablemediaplayerallowingclosedcaptioning

•Beaccessibleonmobileandsmallscreendevices

•Alertthescreenreaderuseroferrormessagesandchangesindynamiccontent

(8)TheLMSshouldallowforlaborscalabilityandefficiencyinadministrativesetup.

AStateisaninstitutioncomprisedofmultiplecampus locations,colleges,departments,andprogramssometimesoperatingindependentlyofeachotherinwaysthathaveimplicationsforLMSadministrationregardingroles,rightsandpermissions.Additionally,asAStatecontinuestogrowtheLMSneedstosupportcourseandprogramsetupsuchthatitcan,whenappropriate,bedoneatscale.

Thesystemshould(listofexamplesillustrative,notexhaustive):

•Providedelegatedandgranularadministrationsuchthattheassignmentofdifferentpermissionlevelscanbedonespecifictoworkgroups,departments,collegesandcampuses

•Aspecificlookandfeelcouldbedesignatedforallcoursesinacollege,department,orprogram

•Multipleroles,likeinstructor,ID,TA,etc.,couldbeassignedbasedonaccessandeditingrequirements

•LTItoolscouldbeadministereddifferentlyacrosstheUniversitybasedoncontractualagreements

•Appropriateunitsshouldbeabletorunreportsasneeded,forexample,theOfficeof Financial Aidshouldbeabletorunactivity/loginreportsforstudents

•Ifcollaborativetools areused,allusersshouldbeabletocreate,modify,administertheirowncollaborativespaces

•Enableefficiencieswithinandacrosscoursesections

•Workw/multiplecoursesectionssimultaneously

•Withinasinglesection,utilizefunctionalitieslikedraganddrop,autopopulate,andgrideditthatallowforbulksetup

•Allowsforpersistentcontentwithinacourseacrosssemestersthatdoesn’trequireupdatingeachsemester

•Workw/otherapplicationssuchasregistration,grading,advising,andcourseselectionsystems

(9)TheLMSshouldsupportlearningandadministrativeanalyticsandoutcomes.

AnLMSshould provide learning-analyticstoolsthatcanbeappliedinboththeresidentialandtheonlinelearningcontext to meet accreditation requirements.

(10)TheLMSshouldbe“futureproof”andabletoevolve.

WhilenoexistingLMScanpredictthefuture,therearesomemodelsthataremoreadaptableandabletoevolvewithtechnologyandusertrends.AStateshouldbeinvestinginanLMSthatisabletorespondtoourneeds“tomorrow,”notjust“today.”

TheLMSvendororconsortiumcompanyshould(listofexamplesillustrative,notexhaustive):

•EmbraceandpracticeaphilosophyinvolvedinlookingforwaystoimprovehowweuseLMSsineducation(e.g.educationalstandards;retentioncenter)

•Haveaplanforrespondingtousertrends,forexample,MOOCs,badges,workingonlineandoffline,etc.

•Haveaphilosophythatdemonstratesinnovationandsupportofstandards

•Haveaprocessforinnovatingontheedge–testingnewideasandincorporatingthemintoexistingplatform

•HaveaprocessforR&Dthatallowsforexperimentation,innovation,andthesystematicvettingofnewideas

(11)SupportIMSGlobalstandards.

•LearningToolsInteroperability(LTI)

•LearningInformationsystems(LIS)

•CommonCartridge(CC)

•EduPub

(12)TheLMSshouldbeavailableascloseto24/7/365inordertomeettheneedsofAState’sincreasingglobaldistanceaudience.

AStateisincreasinglyoperatinginaglobalenvironmentsuchthatitiscriticalthatourLMS(andallthirdpartytoolsusedinconjunctionwiththeLMS)beavailableatalltimeswhenthestudentsandfacultyneedthem.Thismeansoperatingascloseto24/7/365aspossible.Evenbeingofflineafewhourscanbean inconvenienceforfaculty,studentsorstaffdependingontimezones,workcommitments,andfamilyobligations.

TheLMSshould(listofexamplesillustrative,notexhaustive):

•Haveadequatesystemarchitectureinplacetoallowforbackups,testing,andstagingsotheproduction(live)instanceisnotimpacted

•Haveadynamicanddistributedinfrastructurewheretheoutageofoneserverdoesnotimpacttheproductionenvironment

•Beelasticsothatchangesandupdatesareeasytoinstallwithminimalserviceinterruption

•Beresilientsuchthatthesystemreactsintelligentlytospikesinusage

•EnsurethatAStatewouldalwaysbecurrentwiththelatestversion

Sourceforthisdocument:

Thisdocumentwascreatedbasedon draft documents obtained from The Penn State University.