Course Management Sytems

Hi Readers,
This week I took a look at course management systems. Thejournal.com gives the following definition;

"A CMS (Course Management System) is Internet-based software that manages student enrollment, tracks student performance, and creates and distributes course content." (http://thejournal.com/Articles/2004/10/01/Course-Management-Systems-and-the-Reinvention-of-Instruction.aspx?Page=1, retrieved 8/12/09)

A CMS consists of three elements; publishing tools, a virtual community, and data management.

PUBLISHING TOOLS
The publishing tools of a CMS allow the intsructor, and sometimes the student, to upload or hyperlink files. It is used to deliver class content, be it audio, visual or text. It can also be used for the creation of and administering of online tests. All of thee could be handled by tools we have worked with this semester. A Wiki could handle all of these functions. Some external software may be neccessary to support some functions, like aqui.com for the tests. But all of these are available without the cost of a CMS.
VIRTUAL CLASSROOM
The virtual classroom refers to online communication. This includes email, sychronus chat, asynchronus threaded discussions, and realtime classroom interactions on the internet. Each of these could also be attained at a far lower cost thatn a CMS. Turbomeeting.com could fulfill the realtime needs, and standard email groups and threaded discussions could be set up on a wiki already put together for the publishing tools.
DATA MANAGEMENT
The data mangement functions enable alot of the administrative uses. With these tools the instructor can create classes, and record the grades. The students can register for classes and in some instances even pay for them online. Some of these can be handled by the software we have looked at this semester. Agian aqia.com can create classs and keep all the grading functionalities. Registering for classes and the payment of classes may be harder to handle though, but many CMS don't offer these advantages anyway.

In conclussion I think that most of the functionality of a CMS could be pieced together with other software available on the internet. But just because you can doesn't mean you should. Todays long distance learner is a customer first, and a student second. If the students do not have a choice where to go, then peicing together a workable system may be a good option. If your students are not tied to your institution then the lack of an established CSM had better be made up for by the cost of the education. I would not want the NLC to stop using blackboard unless they had someone who was a fulltime administrator and IT professional to handle issues. In addition, with how many problems we have had with blackboard this semester, at least the NLC could point their finger at blackboard. If the system was run internally then these disruptions would reflect directly on the school itself. I am sure the CMS comes with technical assistance when problems arise, and if problems occur the school has a scapegoat. Also the CMS products out there are not dependant on the competence, and continued employment, of a single person creating a new system. There are also training considerations in regards to the instructors themselves. I personally think that if a CMS is finacially within the reach of an institution, then it is probably the best option.