LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (LMS) & QUALITY MATTERS EVALUATION
Learning Management System (LMS) & Quality Matters (QM) Evaluation Introduction
Welcome to you, the Executive Board Members. I am Kim Luke, VP of Distance Learning, and have been working on from the past 7 weeks on the Learning Management System (LMS) Evaluation. As you recall, our current LMS is plagued with problems. One problem is the significant downtime and the second problem is that are students often complained their online courses are unorganized and lack quality. Therefore, during the last 7 weeks I have examined two different LMS systems, Desire2Learn (D2L) and Blackboard against a set of functionalities. capabilities, and behind the scenes issues. I have created an online LMS review to aid the executive board members in the future decision making of the LMS. I am included my final recommendation here for you to review. All supporting materials and greater details can be found on the webpages within this section if needed.
LMS Final Recommendation
For the past seven weeks, I have compared two LMS against a variety of tools and functionalities. The two LMS were D2L (Desire to Learn) and Blackboard. The tools addressed were: LMS Set-Up and Content Upload, Interaction, Assessment, Accessibility, and behind the scenes issue. I have found that both systems allow for the same functionalities and tools. However, I find the navigation of the D2L system is clearer and the ease of use of the overall system is better. In addition, I find the technical support for help and the external resources available for help is superb with D2L. They offer a Technical Account Manager, who acts as a direct force within technical support for our institution at an extra cost but it is well worth it. It also allows for integration with third parties (e.g., Blackboard Collaborate, Atomic Learning) with great ease and it allows for integration into our student information system (SIS). The only slight drawback would be that D2L offers analytics but our SIS may not work well with this component. This would be something to address prior to implementation. In conclusion, I strongly recommend D2L to the executive board members for consideration.
Quality Matters Recommendation
I recommend the board considers adopting Quality Matters at our organization. Quality Matters is a set of standards that need to be met in order to assure the quality of the online and blended course being offered. There is a subscription fee involved for Quality Matters (currently $1800) and we should quickly see the return on investment as the quality standards will be applied across our various courses. This will provide a standardized quality among our various programs, regardless of discipline.
I believe the course designers and faculty would benefit from the Quality Matters training. The training would benefit the course designers. They could create and provide worksheets to faculty members to help adhere to the standards in their online and blended applications. The faculty members would benefit from the training by understanding how the standards could be met in the online and blended courses created. In addition, since both course designers and faculty have taken the training it could lead to better collaboration and conversation between the two parties for better online and blended courses. In addition, it could provide a core set of individuals to act as "internal reviewers" for our own courses.
To ensure a certain level of quality among our courses and programs, I recommend that the board mandate that all courses should meet the Quality Matter standards. An internal review should be conducted initially at our organization. This should be a three person committee that consists of at least 1 subject matter expertise in the discipline, and 2 others trained as Peer Reviewers in Quality Matters. We should alternate the committee so no one is too tasked in this endeavor. If any course does not meet the standards then helpful recommendations should be provided by the committee and mentoring with the faculty member should occur.
Once the courses have been well-developed, according to the Quality Matter standards, and have met (pass) the internal review then I would recommend having an official review done through Quality Matters. This would provide a standardized level of quality across the programs and courses we offer. If any course does not meet the score needed to achieve the certification, then recommendations are provided and the course can be reviewed again. The costs is $1000 per course review for QM subscribers ($1400 for non QM subscribers). The fee is often paid by the organization seeking the certification (the actual department may vary from institution to institution). It should be noted that if you join a consortium that allows for bartering than the cost for the review would be $0.00 since one review conducted from your institution would gain you a review to be conducted by another institution. This is truly one avenue to explore for our institution. The average time frame for an official review is 4-6 weeks with 3 weeks allocated for the actual review. However, since our institution is an unionized environment, there may need to be some dialogue before trying to implement the official review process down the road.
I believe the course designers and faculty would benefit from the Quality Matters training. The training would benefit the course designers. They could create and provide worksheets to faculty members to help adhere to the standards in their online and blended applications. The faculty members would benefit from the training by understanding how the standards could be met in the online and blended courses created. In addition, since both course designers and faculty have taken the training it could lead to better collaboration and conversation between the two parties for better online and blended courses. In addition, it could provide a core set of individuals to act as "internal reviewers" for our own courses.
To ensure a certain level of quality among our courses and programs, I recommend that the board mandate that all courses should meet the Quality Matter standards. An internal review should be conducted initially at our organization. This should be a three person committee that consists of at least 1 subject matter expertise in the discipline, and 2 others trained as Peer Reviewers in Quality Matters. We should alternate the committee so no one is too tasked in this endeavor. If any course does not meet the standards then helpful recommendations should be provided by the committee and mentoring with the faculty member should occur.
Once the courses have been well-developed, according to the Quality Matter standards, and have met (pass) the internal review then I would recommend having an official review done through Quality Matters. This would provide a standardized level of quality across the programs and courses we offer. If any course does not meet the score needed to achieve the certification, then recommendations are provided and the course can be reviewed again. The costs is $1000 per course review for QM subscribers ($1400 for non QM subscribers). The fee is often paid by the organization seeking the certification (the actual department may vary from institution to institution). It should be noted that if you join a consortium that allows for bartering than the cost for the review would be $0.00 since one review conducted from your institution would gain you a review to be conducted by another institution. This is truly one avenue to explore for our institution. The average time frame for an official review is 4-6 weeks with 3 weeks allocated for the actual review. However, since our institution is an unionized environment, there may need to be some dialogue before trying to implement the official review process down the road.
Evaluator Background
I have been an educator for 15 years and have been teaching online and hybrid courses for the last 2 years. I have a MBA and a Ph. D. During my MBA in Human Resource information Systems, I was responsible for conducting a vendor analysis. Recently, I have completed a certificate in Instructional Design and Digital Learning and my certification in Quality Matters.