Course management systems (CMSs) are online systems that were designed to support classroom learning in academic settings, such as universities and high schools. CMSs provide instructors with the ability to perform the following tasks (Carliner, 2005):

• Place course materials online. Most CMSs provide pre-programmed buttons for the course syllabus, course schedule, and course materials linked to specific lessons, such as copies of readings and PowerPoint slides from lectures.

• Track student progress through assessment features, which enable instructors to give quizzes and tests online, and an online gradebook, where instructors can post student grades.

• Discussion board, where instructors and students can discuss readings and continue class discussions between formal class sessions.

• Other communications tools, which let instructors send announcements to classes and communicate individually with students

• Lock box for students, where students can store class materials in a safe place—either a presentation to give later in class or backing up class assignments in a safe place.

• Course statistics,which provide informatrion on the useof the course site, inlcuding who used the course site and when.
  

How the CMS is implemented usually is left to the individual instructor. The CMS can be utilised as either a supplement to a course or as organising the course. In supplementing a course the lecture and teacher-led activity remain the organising principle. The instructor uses the CMS as an add-on to the course. For example (Ruiz, 2005):

• publishing their syllabi and class assignments.

• creating PowerPoint presentations of their lecture notes that they can upload or provide Web hyperlinks to.

• posting links to Word or PDF files for reading materials or links to online references.

• test-authoring tool, to generate a series of multiple-choice questions that can be graded automatically.

• student feedback to a number of comments on threaded discussions.

Carliner, S. (2005). Course Management Systems Versus Learning Management Systems.   Retrieved 28 June, 2009, from http://www.astd.org/LC/2005/1105_carliner.htm

Ruiz, J. (2005). Course Management Systems In  B. Hoffman (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Educational Technology. Retrieved July 15, 2009, from http://edweb.sdsu.edu/EET/articles/cms/start.htm

Links to Resources

Moodle (www.moodle.org)

Moodle is a software package for producing Internet-based courses and web sites. It is a global development project designed to support a social constructionist framework of education. Moodle is provided freely as Open Source software (under the GNU Public License). Basically this means Moodle is copyrighted, but that you have additional freedoms. You are allowed to copy, use and modify Moodle provided that you agree to: provide the source to others; not modify or remove the original license and copyrights, and apply this same license to any derivative work. The word Moodle was originally an acronym for Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment, which is mostly useful to programmers and education theorists. It's also a verb that describes the process of lazily meandering through something, doing things as it occurs to you to do them, an enjoyable tinkering that often leads to insight and creativity. As such it applies both to the way Moodle was developed, and to the way a student or teacher might approach studying or teaching an online course. Anyone who uses Moodle is a Moodler.

Here is a product profile of Moodle: http://www.edutools.info/compare.jsp?pj=4&i=616 

Wagga Wagga High School is committed to excellence in education.  As a extension to normal classroom teaching, Wagga Wagga High School is in the process of providing online learning activities available to students 24/7.  To enable them to deliver this content Wagga Wagga High School has established a Moodle server which provides students with access to links to relevant web sites, online activities including subject specific wikis, assignments, learning activities, forums and chat, course outlines, online tests with instant marking and feedback. etc. Their moodle system is here: http://web1.waggawagga-h.schools.nsw.edu.au/moodle 

Besides, Wagga Wagga High School, there are many other schools using Moodle, for example: Hampton Senior High School, Adelaide German School, Westmeadows Primary, Liverpool Girls High School, Belmont City College, etc.

Mr. Tomaz Lasic at Belmont City College in Perth demonstrates how the school has implemented and used Moodle and community building software application: http://www.edublogs.tv/play.php?vid=374

The Deputy Head of St Ives School made a presentation illustrating how they used Moodle and articulating the effectiveness of Moodle in primary education. It is conluded that the introduction of Moodle as a VLE appears to result in a more social constructionist approach to learning, and strategic use of the VLE seems to be most beneficial for pupils: http://www.eduspaces.net/mberry/files/520/1528/primarymoodle.pdf

Ayse Kok conducted a study on the Moodling experience within a secondary school. The study reveals that secondary school teachers are willing to participate in a virtual learning environment in addition to the traditional methods of teaching despite the lack of infrastructure and the inadequate ICT literacy skills of the teachers. Based on a focus discussion group with the foreign language teachers, Ayse depicts the critical points that need to be taken into consideration so that an effective collaborative online platform for both teachers and students to learn together can exist: http://ijedict.dec.uwi.edu/viewarticle.php?id=498

Blackboard (www.blackboard.com)

The Blackboard Learning System is a Web-based server software platform. Features include course management, a customizable open architecture, and a scalable design that allows for integration with student information systems and authentication protocols. It may be installed on local servers or hosted by Blackboard ASP Solutions. Its main purposes are to add online elements to courses traditionally delivered face-to-face and to develop completely online courses with few or no face-to-face meetings. Watch a video on its Release 9: http://www.blackboard.com/release9/default.aspx

Blackboard Learn™ is a comprehensive online solution that empowers K-12 districts to deliver a powered learning experience. We’ll help you transform education from individual closed-door classrooms to connected communities where relevant, personalized instruction enhances every student’s success. Blackboard Learn™ was designed to meet all of your online learning, content management and community building needs. Find out more about Blackboard Learn™: http://www.blackboard.com/getdoc/3d0f9fe2-5a69-4b2f-a896-603dc45996a3/Benefits.aspx And here is the link to Blackboard’s K-12 brochure which outlines the four most popular and effective uses of Blackboard in the K-12 environment: http://library.blackboard.com/docs/as/Bb_K12_Brochure.pdf.

Strathcona Girls School is bolstering its long tradition of developing critical thinkers in Victoria, Australia with the Blackboard Academic suite™, providing tailored sites for each student and staff member. Additionally, learn how the school extends offerings to Alumni using the Blackboard Community System™: http://www.blackboard.com/resources/k12/Bb_Academic_Suite_Casestudy_Strathcona.pdf

Blackboard vs Moodle: Machado & Tao (2007) compared the user experience between the leading proprietary solution, Blackboard, and the leading open source solution, Moodle. They established a control group that only used the proprietary solution and two study groups, a faculty group and a student group that used the open source solution, but had previous experience with the proprietary solution. They used online surveys to compare the user experience of the basic functionality of each system such as communication tools, student-student interaction tools, student-instructor interaction tools. They found that participants in the pilot project rated Moodle’s course material organization and communication functionality higher, but in other functional areas the data was not definitive enough to reach a solid conclusion. There was no clear winner when the systems were compared on functionality. The students in the pilot project preferred the Moodle learning management system over the Blackboard learning management system. Find out more at http://ieeexplore.ieee.org.ezproxy1.library.usyd.edu.au/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=4417910&isnumber=4417795

Quarless (2007) discussed Blackboard's design problems and user errors. Quarless points out that some design redundancies particularly with regard to navigation in the Blackboard LMS may be unwarranted, given student preferences for hyperlinked text. In the case of the course page/course catalog page the duality of hyperlinked course name and enroll control button creates an erroneously “perceived redundancy”. Although students demonstrate their preference for embedded links that permit access to course materials from the course entry point, the creation of such may adversely affect the instructor’s ability to properly assess student activity within the course areas. Find out more at http://portal.acm.org.ezproxy1.library.usyd.edu.au/citation.cfm?id=1272904&coll=ACM&dl=ACM&CFID=44021873&CFTOKEN=39934997&ret=1#Fulltext

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