IN THIS ISSUE

VIEWPOINT

• Open System and Open Source LMS: Settling the debate for the benefit of higher education

NEWS & PRODUCT UPDATES

• Blackboard Teams Up with Edubox
• Idaho State University’s WebCT Gets Hacked
• Oral Roberts U. to Offer Comprehensive Assessment with ePortfolio System
• Digital Exchange Using CampusEAI Consortium
• Web Resource On Accessibility in Distance Education
• Gartner Announces Meridian a “Visionary” LMS and eLearning
• CyberLearning Labs Signs Agreement with Virginia Tech

CASE STUDY

• Training Future EMTs Online While Covering Traditional College Curricula

READER RESPONSE

• Submit Your Case Study

Sponsors

• eLearning Objects and Systems Workshop: June 3-4, 2004, Orlando, Florida
  
• Cognitively Informed Online Course Design

Open System and Open Source LMS: Settling the debate for the benefit of higher education

Chris Vento Research and Development, WebCT

In this provocative rejoinder to Scott Siddall's earlier Viewpoint on Open Source, Chris Vento argues for the virtues of both commercially-developed LMS based on open systems and community-developed LMS based on an open source development model. He concludes that a blending of the strengths of each leads to the solid infrastructure and pedagogical flexibility required to sustain a mission-critical LMS on campus.

Over the past year, there has developed an increasingly polarized debate between those who support community-developed Open Source LMS solutions and those who support commercially-developed LMS Open Systems. The "battle" consists of opposing and competitive viewpoints, with many substantiating pros and cons for each. Many papers and presentations enumerate and compare these pros and cons in the process of defending and recommending one, and only one, alternative. However, it is possible to examine Open Source and Open Systems and discover that they are actually more complementary than you might imagine. Open Source and Open Systems may in fact not be mutually exclusive. We should highlight and focus on each alternative in relation to the other in a more synergistic and holistic way.

Blackboard Teams Up with Edubox

Blackboard Inc. and the Open Universiteit Nederland (OUNL), an open university in specializing in self-tuition and technology enabled learning, have signed a strategic alliance to integrate OUNL's eLearning player, Edubox, with the Blackboard Learning System and the Blackboard Portal System.

Idaho State University’s WebCT Gets Hacked

Idaho State University's course management system, which holds student work, professor work, online tests and some student grades, has fallen victim to a hacker.
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Oral Roberts U. to Offer Comprehensive Assessment with ePortfolio System

Oral Roberts University is developing a university-wide electronic portfolio assessment system that will evaluate the students and the schools programs. With an interactive platform, the students document their progress—all helping to archive and organize valuable documents and projects.

Digital Exchange Using CampusEAI Consortium

The CampusEAI Consortium includes 25 universities and K-12 school districts representing over 500,000 students, staff, and faculty. The collaboration will offer those who join an opportunity to exchange, develop, and share resources on the Campuseai Consortium portal.
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Web Resource On Accessibility in Distance Education

The University of Maryland University College (UMUC) Accessibility in Distance Education (ADE) Web site targets faculty who teach students with disabilities in the online environment. The ADE site addresses accessibility issues that students with disabilities are likely to encounter in navigating Web-based resources. The site also provides information about different types of disabilities, relevant laws, and best accessibility practices.
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Gartner Announces Meridian a “Visionary” LMS and eLearning Provider

Meridian KSI has been named a Visionary company by Gartner, Inc. in two new Magic Quadrant reports for “sustained profitable growth and success” based on customer satisfaction and support, management, vendor viability, and installed base.

CyberLearning Labs Signs Agreement with Virginia Tech

Any state college or university, state agency, independent non-profit college, or university, or K-12 school system in the Commonwealth of Virginia can license ANGEL under this new agreement.

Training Future EMTs Online While Covering Traditional College Curricula

By Thomas A. Hennigan, Ph.D.
Lewis-Clark State College

Lewis-Clark State College (LCSC), U.S. News & World Report's third-ranked public college in the West, offers a broad range of distance learning courses covering the traditional subjects. The institution, however, is taking eLearning further than many other institutions with programs that directly address the region's shortage of health professionals.

Nearly 800 high school students in Idaho and Montana take LCSC's "Fundamentals For Health Professions" course, gaining exposure to careers as nursing assistants, first responders and EMTs. These health professions are critical in a region of the country where miles of barren land often separate the sick and injured from doctors, hospitals, and emergency services. The school also offers online certification courses.

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