Abstract
LMSs are constantly changing; they have transformed the lives of teachers and students. In this chapter, the authors propose a comparative study of free LMSs, from a methodical and systemic approach, that identifies the dimensions, the specifications, and the essential criteria for evaluating LMSs. They evaluate the most recognized LMSs to measure the matching degree between technological possibilities that they offer and the pedagogical assumptions to facilitate the choice of the most suitable LMS to help the users in their choice to benefit the potential offered by technologies in pedagogy.
TopIntroduction
In the digital age, universities and companies are increasingly concerned about the quality of the training they offer their students or employers to ensure their integration into the labor market or in the company. Moreover, distance learning helps students and teachers in their research, in the exploration, and the deepening knowledge content. Thus, it helps to communicate and interact without taking the spatial or temporal constraints between tutors and learners into consideration. Universities contribute widely to ensure the quality of courses, and help to solve the problem of overcrowding in terraces. Especially, Moroccan and international universities suffer from overpopulation between student ranks, and this is due to the schooling high rate in recent years. In this respect, national and international reflections are looking for a new smart LMS that can diffuse innovative training in the context of teaching and learning where a large place is given to the distance and hybrid learning, mobile learning, to using the web tools and social networks.
Any LMS choice must meet specific requirements. This is both to present courses on the web, do homework, provide communication interfaces and be able to follow the learners through scheduled pedagogical tasks.
In such a proliferation context of the LMSs, the choice becomes difficult. Therefore, we conducted a comparative study of the existing free LMSs in use in teaching and learning to choose the most suitable LMS.
On the one hand, the process of choosing a free LMS is linked to the benefit it can bring to the training of learners. It is at the level of the quality of medialization of the didactic and educational resources and of the access to distance training which was only possible in face-to-face. On the other hand, it should be noted that if the technology is supposed to respond to the spatial and temporal constraints between tutors and learners, it should not hinder the learning process. This double constraint pushed us to issue the following questions:
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On one hand, how can we choose an LMS that meets the norms and standards as they are acknowledged in the distance education system?
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On the other hand, what norms and standards do the requirements meet in the evaluation of these LMSs? Which approach in terms of pedagogical multimedia engineering should we use to assess these LMSs?
These issues are the subject of the investigations as part of our study, to put the item on the question of the provisions. What we are proposing is an approach that allows us to make the right choice of the LMS from an evaluative comparative study, technical and pedagogical of its LMSs. To our knowledge, there is no kind of study that has been conducted. What makes this important for the educational community, which works for the development of approaches, methods, and tools, to advance research in the education context. This chapter mainly consists of five sections:
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In the first section, we present a general introduction to our chapter.
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The second section presents the definition and benefits of LMSs.
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The third section presents the selected LMSs and the approach used for the evaluation. Then, it specifies the chosen rating method and describes each rating score.
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In the fourth section, we put the selected LMSs in comparison.
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In the fifth section, we are putting the obtained results in contribution.
Key Terms in this Chapter
SCORM: The SCORM® (Sharable Content Object Reference Model) was created to address these interoperability, reusability, and durability challenges. As a reference model, it was intentionally designed to leverage standard web technologies as well as existing learning technology specifications that already existed. SCORM® is comprised of a collection of interrelated technical specifications and guidelines designed to meet the DoD’s high-level requirements for creating interoperable, plug-n-play, browser-based e-learning content. It consists of three different technical specifications “books” that collectively address challenges associated with interoperability, portability, reusability, and the instructional sequencing of self-paced e-learning content (Available at https://www.adlnet.gov/adl-research/scorm ).
LMS: Learning management system.
Traditional Pedagogy: Is that of the transmissive model. This pedagogy privileges the relationship between the teacher and the knowledge. In other words, the teacher exposes a knowledge in the form of lecturing, usually followed by exercises and/or lessons to be learned. The learner must integrate and apply the exposed knowledge by the teacher.
Social Constructivism: Is centered on the learner. The learner learns through its representations. The construction of knowledge although personal is carried out in a social setting. The context and come from both what we think and what others bring as interactions.
THOT CURSUS: Is a directory of LMSs, LCMSs, and other systems for content and learning management.
OVAREP: Observatoire des Ressources Multimédias.
Constructivism: Is a learning pedagogy based on the idea that the learner himself builds knowledge based on mental activity. Constructivism is based on the assumption that, by reflecting on our experiences, we construct our vision of the world in which we live.