Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
email interactions are automatically grouped for
easy search and indexing. Email is outgoing only
since COSE is designed to work with each user's
default email system.
Another distinguished example is Moodle
(http://moodle.org). Moodle is an open-source
platform that is widely used by educational insti-
tutions worldwide both for its open architecture
and the many components available free on the
web. The philosophy behind Moodle has its roots
in Social Constructionism (Dougiamas & Taylor,
2003).
Moodle offers its users a series of communica-
tion services; like instant messaging, forums and
chat rooms that are easily configurable and adjust-
able to course planning. Communication tools can
be used while in a course or as an independent part
of the platform. Moodle uses a combined method
of email and instant messaging. A conversation
between two users in Moodle is conducted in the
messenger window and is send as an email so that
both users have a copy of the conversation. Email
is also used to inform forum members about new
posts. This is very useful for large installations of
the platform where instructors need to keep track
of posts in a forum.
level of difficulty for performing a specific task.
(Britain & Liber, 1999)
Extensibility is a term that refers to the technical
level of the platform. New and updated compo-
nents can be incorporated into the platform and
provide learners with new functions and services.
These components can be obtained from third
party developers or can be created by the instructor
itself. This kind of adaptation is mostly wanted
since the learning environment can be transformed
to fit the learner's needs.
A good example of adaptation offered by an
LMS is E-class. This LMS was adopted by the
Greek Universities' Network (GUnet) for the sup-
port of asynchronous blended learning in Greek
Higher Education. It was constructed based on the
open source software Claroline (http://www.claro-
line.net/) with the addition of new features, such
as adaptation into Greek (Papastergiou, 2007).
Moodle introduces users with a state-of-the-art
role management system. Each user is assigned
a role in the system or in a course. Each role has
access to specific services and modules. Instructors
can edit or override learners' role so that learners
can only access and interact with certain portions
of a course. Besides the role system, another option
is given to course designers, to hide and publish
modules in a course. A hidden object can only
be seen by instructors or course creators. This is
useful for hiding unwanted modules from learners
with a click of the mouse.
Platform Adaptation
and Extensibility
Adaptation is a term that addresses to both the
educational and the technical level of the plat-
form. An e-learning course should be designed
to match learners' needs and desires as closely
as possible, and adapt during course progression
(Graf & List, 2005).
Adaptability is a term used to address the easi-
ness of customizing the platform to learners and
institutions needs. Each learner or group should
have access to learning content designed or modi-
fied for their special needs. The adaptability of
the learning environment user interface is also
desirable. Not all learners need to have access
to all LMS services, as this would increase the
People Grouping and General
Course Coordination
Teaching is best organized when learners are
organized in small flexible structures. That is the
definition of a class or group. Instructors have
fewer learners to manage so more attention is
given to each member of the group. Most LMSs
support class or group formation.
Coordination in a LMS is interpreted as
scheduling for good resource allocation in the
platform. Resources include classes, courses, us-
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