The End of the LMS? Oy vey!
Recent talks and presentations by Google engineers on Google Wave stirred up quite a bit of anxious chatter in training and education circles. Google Wave is a novel and thought-provoking development project that addresses the question “what would email be if it were invented today?” Naturally, the Google answer is a web-based application that (maybe not so naturally) resembles a chat server on caffeinated steroids. Its strengths at threaded media-rich multi-user communication is so impressive that comments on education sites started popping almost immediately on whether the LMS is doomed and if Blackboard and Moodle have finally met their matches.
Frankly, not being a big fan of the LMS, I proffer a view more like that of Godrey Parkin:
“To corporate decision-makers, the treasure map of e-learning has an island in the centre, seductively illuminated by those clever marketing folks of the learning software industry, with a big X over the Learning Management System (LMS) right in the middle. Outside of that island is blank space populated only by ‘here be dragons’ warnings.”
And Parkin continues:
“… an LMS, as available today, is not a universal solution for a corporation’s e-learning problems. In fact, an LMS is often the albatross around the neck of progress in technology-enhanced learning.”
Indeed, the biggest problem confronted by many teachers, instructional designers and trainers is how to work within the confines of the LMS. It’s a classic tale of man serving technology rather than the other way around. Parkin feels the pain as well:
“When your concept of learning is LMS-centric, you look for opportunities to implement ‘a solution’ that conforms to that concept, and ignore or marginalize all else. An LMS is, of course, a relevant tool for certain applications. If you want to track learner activities, you need some kind of system. And if you want to make use of much of the available e-course content, you have no choice but to use an LMS – not because the learning requires it, but because the established architecture of the ‘learning supply chain’ requires it.”
When all you have is a hammer, you treat everything like it’s a nail.
George Siemens at elearnspace.org puts it another way:
“Learning Management Systems (LMS) are often viewed as being the starting point (or critical component) of any elearning or blended learning program. This perspective is valid from a management and control standpoint, but antithetical to the way in which most people learn today.”
I would add that not only is it “antithetical to the way in which most people learn today” but also antithetical to the way in which most people teach. Neither side of the educational equation is true.
Meanwhile back at the issue, it takes quite a bit of effort to slog your way through the one hour twenty minute presentation on Wave and its features. It is impressive nonetheless. As noted on bavatuesdays:
“In fact, it goes a step further and makes online conference/meeting tools like Eluminate, Adobe Connect, etc. all but irrelevant, for live video and voice can’t be far behind the instantaneous chat, document editing, map embedding, video watching, presentation sharing, and on and on and on.”
Is Google to be the next international online University? Maybe. The problem though is that this is all being orchestrated by an advertising agency. The open web, with it potential for open learning, might very well be the Google version of the open web. Jim Groom at bavatuesdays goes on:
“I still have no doubt that David Wiley’s assessment is right on, especially given the API will soon be unleashed upon an open web full of developers. I know that Google didn’t re-invent the LMS quite as I joked, but what they did is actually make it all but irrelevant by re-imagining email and integrating just about every functionality you could possibly need to communicate and manage a series of course conversations through an application as familiar and intimate as email. Genius, horrifying, but genius.”
A glimmer of hope remains however. Google promises to release the software into the public domain so that anyone will be able to operate their own Wave server. The API will also be published for developers to expand upon. And, hopefully, someone will attend to the matter of content which is where all too often the process breaks down anyway.
Just caught wind of a Google Wave – GMail competitor over at http://www.zenbe.com.
ShareFlow – “Create Focused Conversations with People that Matter.”
http://www.zenbe.com/shareflow
Michael Feldstein at http://mfeldstein.com/the-state-of-the-lms-an-institutional-perspective/ has just posted an interesting review of the history of the LMS from 1997 to present. It omits some of the recent entries into the field but covers on the most popular players like Blackboard and Moodle.
A few choice points from the presentation:
* Virtually all of these LMSs were started at universities.
* Innovation has all but flatlined (my word, not his) since 2004.
* At the same time, prices have gone up anywhere from 250% to 1,000% in the last decade.
Copies of the talk can be gotten here:
http://www.deltainitiative.com/picts/pdf/deltainitiativelmswebinar09-2.pdf
Google Wave moves closer to its official debut. LifeHacker has a nice close-up of Wave and its many features:
“If you’re not one of the 100,000 lucky users who gets an invitation to Google Wave today, don’t fret. You can check out Google Wave right here.”
http://lifehacker.com/5370738/google-wave-first-look
Early reviews in from the beta test are not too positive:
“Impressive” But “Useless”
Read more:
http://www.businessinsider.com/google-waves-early-reviews-impressive-but-useless-2009-10#dont-miss-12
Hype and beta software aside, is Google Wave a solution looking for a problem? Read on.
A week using Google Wave: the early verdict
Google’s new IM and email hybrid is all about the platform
By Dan Grabham
Google Wave is only in a Preview version at the moment
“We’ve spent seven days using Google’s new great hope for online communication – Google Wave. But even after a couple of days attempting to use it, one question was prominent in our mind – what exactly is Google Wave for?”
http://www.techradar.com/news/internet/a-week-using-google-wave-the-early-verdict-642324?src=rss&attr=all
Once again the press on Google Wave is a little negative at present, but what a great title:
Google Wave And The Dawn Of Passive-Aggressive Communication
by MG Siegler on October 12, 2009
“We’re now a little over a week into the extended roll-out of the preview build of Google Wave. This is an important time for the service because many people can now finally start using it as they eventually may — which is to say, with their friends and colleagues. Of course, the backlash is also already in full-swing, as expected. But I can’t help but wonder if this backlash and the hype that it is a byproduct of, is blinding some to the larger picture. Google Wave is not just a service, it is perhaps the most complete example yet of a desire to shift the way we communicate once again.”
More at:
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/10/12/google-wave-and-the-dawn-of-passive-aggressive-communication/
This is a little more insightful than most of what is circulating about the Google Wave beta test. Certainly worth a read as it addresses the core strengths of Wave and what it attempts to solve:
What problems does Google Wave solve?
A matter of perspective
“There are countless pundits and other tech gurus describing Google Wave as a disappointment, lately. Most of that seems to come from the fact that nobody seems to get what Wave is for. So they compare it to social media.
Is Wave the next Twitter? Nope. Is it the next Facebook? Nope. Is it going to replace Instant Messengers? Possibly, in some circumstances, but not any time soon.
I believe this is partly Google’s fault: they released Wave to geeks and hackers and social media folks first. But Wave is not a geek/hacker tool, or a social media tool, it’s a corporate tool that solves work problems (more on that later). On the other hand, they never claimed it would be a Facebook replacement or a Twitter killer. Google calls wave an “online tool for real-time communication and collaboration”. The way Google should have advertised Wave is: “it solves the problems with email”.
At Woobius, we’ve been working at resolving the problems with email for some time. Woobius is a solution to some of the problems of email within the construction industry. We’ve blogged and given talks about it. Perhaps that’s why it was immediately obvious to me and my team why Google Wave is awesome.
What’s the problem with email, anyway?”
http://danieltenner.com/posts/0012-google-wave.html
Wave in Class
“After searching some public ‘waves,’ we came across an educational wave. Entitled ‘Wave in Class,’ this wave was started by Loren Baum (a self-described “collaborative learning enthusiast” and graduate student at Ben Gurion University) and Sam Boland (a Politics student and “Tech Enthusiast” at Occidental College, Los Angeles).
The wave was started to explore concepts like “Collaborative Note Taking” and “Wave as a Debate Host.” Nearly 100 people are included in the wave, ranging from teachers to PhD students to IT professionals to high school students.”
Conclusion
“Overall, it is clear that Google Wave has potential to be very useful in the education system, particularly as a real-time collaborative note-taking tool. Three students experimented with just that in a lecture; the resulting notes were said to be “more complete” than if Wave hadn’t been used.”
http://www.readwriteweb.com/archives/google_wave_use_cases_education.php
Confused About Google Wave? Now There’s A Book To Explain It
“If you’re an early, unimpressed, or confused, Google Wave user, this will help you out.
Gina Trapani and Adam Pash, of Lifehacker fame, have written a book, “The Complete Guide To Google Wave.” It’s just eight short chapters, and it’s available online”
http://www.businessinsider.com/confused-about-google-wave-now-theres-a-book-to-explain-it-2009-11
Why Google Wave Sucks, And Why You Will Use It Anyway
http://www.techcrunch.com/2009/11/26/why-google-wave-sucks/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Techcrunch+%28TechCrunch%29
Robert Scoble put it this way: “This service is way overhyped and as people start to use it they will realize it brings the worst of email and IM together: unproductivity.”
http://scobleizer.com/2009/10/01/google-wave-crashes-on-beach-of-overhype/