While I don't have the final say on which system to use, I think that cost & ease of use (both for student & staff) would be at the top of the list for me.
We have not gotten to the point where online courses are used but I believe we will need to be there soon to compete.
I would like to see others input on this.
Should be cost effective, user friendly and with a good technical support staff.
The first important criteria for me in the selection criteria would be if the product is user friendly not only for the students but also for the faculty and the development of classes. The second component would be the ability to audit classes and look for specific componets such as grade books up to date, participation of instructor, chat times being maintained and the availability to look at these components in a report rather than going into each class individually to audit the class.
We do not have any on-line courses yet, so I feel that cost would be the foremost consideration.
Second, the available options of a LMS system in comparison to other LMS systems which potentially increase the attractiveness of your school over other schools to prospective students.
Although new to online courses myself, I am gaining a wealth of information about on-line learning from the experiences of co-workers and friends. Their personal experiences are the best or worst advertisement a LMS system can have. These personal comparisons are having an impact on choices by prospective students.
Instructor imput / ease of management and the total cost for the system. I want to make sure that all my instructors can easily maintain grades and online curriculum as well as not breaking the bank for the corporate decision makers.
Personally, I like Adobe Connect / Breeze. Due to the fact of the grade book, student roster and Student Assignment section where you can actually see who has turned in assignments or not.
IT support and hardware installation and knowledgeable faculty in online based teaching methodology.
To me there are three... Ease, flow and cost.
#1 the CMS has to be easy to use. If I have people in place that are good educators and are not the best at computer usage neither are doing the company any good.
#2 It has to be affordable. I know most of the time...you get what you pay for...but now a days you can pay less for the same quality or in some cases less for better...(not just paying for name)If the price is not good it would be hsrd to keep the program going.
I also agree with ease of use and cost. Being a very small school this will be the main topic in the board meeting(s).
Second will be user friendly. The last thing you want is a student not understanding how to navigate around your site. I personally would like to see something that is well adapted for someone that has basic knowledge of a computer. Like I have stated before, adult learners/students are not usually as savy as younger adults.
Cost and user friendliness. Short learning curve for instructors and students.
It should be easy to use for both students and instructors. The other factor is cost...
I would first easy of working with CMS, second cost and support and upgrade cirteria.
What else should I be looking for?
As Faculty Coordinator and also have worked as an online instructor, I think 2 important selection criteria are/is:
1.) What tools the instructor has access to "behind the scenes" i.e., grade book(s), statistical data, exam/quiz creation.
2.) And of course if this were a new implementation at my campus, budget and costs $$$$.
Hi Mark!
I agree. Moodle has many possibilities. I am not sure on the cost of this system but from my experience you can navigate with ease and it is very user friendly, which is a big plus for students getting into an online program for the first time.
Cost, ease and expansion. I think these are surely the top two and three here. Certainly a school needs to consider what the cost will be. For a small school this is ideal. Also students need to be able to navigate with ease on a system. The more user friendly the more comfortable the student feels navigating within the LMS.
For our school, cost would be first since this is groundbreaking in our area, then ease of use for the students. Some of our students have no computer experience so the program must be easy for a beginner to follow.
User friendly and excellent technical support.
I agree that easy to use and cost are important drivers; but because each institution has different needs it is also important to consider the "must have" features into the selection process.
Two selection criteria for choosing a course management system:
1. Ease of implementation & use
2. Cost
