Looking over the recent EDUCAUSE report on the future of the learning management system (LMS) and the trend towards the personalized learning environment (PLE) as shown in one of the references, I had to note some comments about current generations of LMSes (or virtual learning environments to get in another acronym). They are derided as confining, creativity-stifling, professor controlled and too tightly bound to the basic "X students will take Y course in Z semester" model. They're mostly used for basic course logistics like posting syllabi and class notes, doing basic practice testing, collecting and redistributing student work and other routine, boring operations. Not so the new, sexy PLE, made up of a conglomerate of free Web 2.0 tools like blogs, wikis and photo/video sharing sites that will allow students to collaborate, share and innovate, free from the artificial structures embedded in current LMSs like Blackboard or Moodle.
Umm, yeah. LMSes *are* primarily used as course coordination tools, usually in large lecture classes. They aren't used very much in small seminars since they are confining and not great tools for open discussion and collaboration unless you have special needs like geographically scattered students. Now, why is this bad?
Perhaps it's my background in physical science. Basic low level physical science courses like Chem101 generally are pretty similar everywhere- larger lecture based classes with grades based on tests, quizzes and homework. Collaboration? Innovation? Not so much- at this level students are busy with learning Things They Need to Know. There's a huge number of students per faculty member, so the kind of personal contact needed for serious project work simply isn't available. (Well, it is: it's called lab. This is something that will *never* be replaced by any form of virtual environment. Students need to learn that experiments fail and that things can hurt if you don't pay attention.) Perhaps your class is small enough you can do a few simple things -Teaching summer community college Chem 101 courses actually allowed this since the class size was small- but for the most part there's not a lot of discussion around PV=nRT. And yes, there is an asymmetry in the power structure of an LMS: that's because there's a knowledge asymmetry in the course in the first place. The students aren't there to discuss the meaning of the second law of thermodynamics-they are there because the professor understands it and they don't. By the end of the course hopefully that knowledge asymmetry is gone, but until then the best input students can give in this process is by asking intelligent questions. (And believe me, any decent professor *loves* getting a question that shows the student is actually interested in the material rather than "Is it going to be on the test?") The LMS can make this whole process easier- skip copying hundreds of random homework sets, give better tools to contact your class, provide a place for common discussion questions and virtual help.
And yes, the classical LMS is tied to the structure of the college: people, courses, semesters, enrollment, etc. But then again, most schools in the US (and world) use this model-if you're in the minority such as the authors of the white paper you should expect that standard tools won't fit. Can students take work from course to course over semesters? In most modern LMSes they can through various portfolio tools, so if students want they still can keep their electronic trail.
For smaller seminar courses? Perhaps a PLE is the way to go, but most people I know teaching these sorts of things don't bother since they'd rather be discussing things in class. And of course now you have the issue of "Do you have an account on X?" "What's my password- I forgot" and of course training people how to use six separate tools that all have different interfaces. Good luck with that- changing to Office 2007 has been enough campus trauma for right now. Oh, and you did clear permissions to post all that info up on Flickr and YouTube and have restricted access to your class, right? Really? Without some sort of way to deal with identity management and security you're well into pipe dream territory, and hands up everyone who's seen a good solution for those issues that is supported by Flickr, Youtube, LiveJournal, Wikidot and the dozens of other 2.0 sites out there.
The overarching concept of a PLE is a great idea. Everybody can agree that enhancing collaboration, reflection and innovation is a great idea, and existing LMSes aren't great in the 2.0 feature area like wikis and blogs. But PLE's are just a dream right now, and the VLE/LMS as it stands today is a useful tool. I don't have a fancy nailgun in my garage- perhaps I'll just use a hammer instead to stick these boards together.
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