Course Management Systems for Learning: Future Designs

Abstract

Author Barbara Ross, co-founder and Chief Operating Office of WebCT, Inc., posits that in the future the “course” will become a decreasingly important construct in the “course management system.” Building on a personal reflection on teaching and learning in higher education, she predicts an evolving focus on effective pedagogy will drive academic enterprise systems to support learning outcomes and assessment, a proliferation of digital learning objects, commercial and open source tool integration and an increasing focus on the student. In conclusion, she reminds skeptics of the changes in the last five years and looks forward to a bright, dynamic future.