1	Planning for our next CMS Scott E. Siddall Denison University siddall@denison.edu
2	Presentation Outline What is a CMS and what can it do? To build or buy or rent or adapt? Open Knowledge Initiative CourseWork
3	What is a CMS? Generalized framework versus discipline-specific courseware Personalized portal for courses One of many tools for teaching Many names: CMS = LMS = VLE More than a system to manage content Digital asset management LCMS Electronic reserves
4	What is a CMS? Distance learning versus proximity learning Depends on mission The most successful enterprise-wide academic systems Increasing popularity, complexity, capability and COST
5	What is a CMS? Content management and presentation Within and outside the classroom, on and off campus Classroom management Authentication, course portal, workflow tools, announcements, official and ad hoc student groupings Communication and collaboration E-mail lists, groups, discussion forums, digital drop boxes, student portfolios Assessment Quizzing, surveys, timed activities, gradebooks These are basic functions
6	Faculty perspective Relatively easy to customize course content and design Lower administrative overhead Recycle and revise course materials Want to use their pedagogical approaches Fair use compliance Use textbook contents, assessment pools Use as presentation tool in class Don’t add work: substitute CMS methods for traditional methods (e.g., word processed and printed syllabi) Concerns about licensing costs, dependency on one vendor Something new to learn
7	Student perspective Consistent and easy access through course portal 7 X 24 access, on and off campus Unified contact point for instructor, other students Unified “place” for course materials CMS as presentation tool, portfolio Has potential to save costs of printing, coursepacks
8	What can a CMS do? Extend learning beyond class time Encourage students to prepare for class discussion New channels of communication Accommodate multiple styles of learning …and more…but Today’s proprietary CMS are inherently constraining
9	CMS in higher ed – part of a much larger market $6-8 billion market Mostly corporate “e-learning” E-learning software Top Class, IBM’s Learning Space, Embanet’s integration services…. E-learning services Element K, Smartforce, Saba Software….
10	Higher Ed CMS Market WebCT Standard Edition Campus Edition Vistas Blackboard Learning Systems Community Portal Building Blocks
11	Blackboard Version 6 release Multiple language support New assessment and gradebook tools Building blocks from third parties Equation editor
12	Blackboard and WebCT Strong competitors Tiered products Are either profitable? Recent licensing fee increases Pressure to move to more expensive levels
13	New pricing models Entry-level “Basic Learning System” is $7,500 per year Other levels based on student FTE Learning System <2,000 students: $25,000 per year 2,000-3,999 students: $32.500 per year 4,000-7,999 students: $40,000 per year Community Portal <2,000 students: $15,000 per year 2,000-3,999 students: $17,500 per year 4,000-7,999 students: $20,000 per year WebCT following similar pricing scheme, except support for entry-level “standard edition” ended in 2002
14	Alternatives? CMS have become mission critical How can our institutions afford them? What are the alternatives? Buy License (annual) Build (and rebuild) Rent (ASP model) Adapt (open source installation)
15	To license or build? Good commercial software meets 80% of your needs You have less control Licensing and support are expensive Homegrown software can meet 90% of your needs You have full control You have full responsibility Support costs can be large and unpredictable
16	To license or build? About managing costs License? Share in development and support costs with other customers Pay corporate profit Inflexibility leads to high long-term costs Build and rebuild? Pay for all development and support costs Sell/share later? Core competency of our institutions?
17	What’s involved in building? Development (“the price”) Design – usability, pedagogy Programming – hiring, replacing, training, SDKs Testing – iterative Documentation – different skill set Support (“the cost”) Software maintenance – bugs, new features, new technologies Ongoing user support Distribution and licensing Training
18	Licensing versus building “There is much ground between being a passive buyer and a do-it-yourselfer” – Richard Katz, VP of EDUCAUSE
19	Proprietary versus Open Source Proprietary programming standards Leveraged to make a profit Restricted development Open source software Collaboratively developed programs Freely available source code can be extended Publicly accessible source code has fewer flaws Enduring if enough developers commit to it Visit http://opensource.org for more
20	Open Knowledge Initiative Project supported by Mellon Foundation http://web.mit.edu/oki/ An open source framework Based on open technical standards for Common services – such as secure access, or document management, etc. APIs – application programming interfaces to connect the services Platform independent Java based but accommodates tools written in other languages Non-technical brief on the OKI
21
22	Open Knowledge Initiative Initial educational services contributed by collaborating institutions MIT’s Stellar U Michigan’s Chef Stanford’s CourseWork WebCT and Blackboard are contributing Will Bb’s Building blocks become OKI compliant? What will be the Bb/WebCT business strategy in 2005?
23	CourseWork Stanford University’s CMS based on the OKI specifications Visit http://aboutcoursework.stanford.edu In 2001-2, 7,000 students In 2002-3 12,000 students Pilot programs at Cambridge, Dartmouth, UC Berkeley, Penn and Denison
24
25
26
27
28	Some Advantages of Open Source CMS No licensing costs; relatively low cost system requirements Enhancements from higher education community Teaching is our core competency; why should we buy corporate teaching frameworks? Flexibility and support for diverse pedagogical methods Different support models Skilled staff gather solutions from developers’ community Partnership with larger institutions for support Outside support under contract
29	Comparative costs Blackboard Release 6 Basic Learning System on Solaris with Oracle $27,000 for first year $ 7,500+? for subsequent yrs CourseWork on existing Linux server, existing staff support $ ? depending on your commitment of staff CourseWork on Linux with PostgreSQL $ 6,000 one-time setup charge $ 6,000 annual support contract CourseWork hosted $ 6,500 one-time setup charge $11,500 per year hosting and support
30	What next? Depends on goals, campus culture Look at other institution’s implementations Involve faculty in evaluation and selection Gain experience now with a basic CMS – at least a pilot Renewing your CMS or licensing courseware? require OKI compliance Watch OKI announcements at http://web.mit.edu/oki/ Subscribe to EDUCAUSE’s Center for Applied Research (research bulletin on CMS)
31	Related Resources CMS planning to be compliant with OKI: MIT’s Stellar project University of Michigan’s CHEF Stanford’s CourseWork .LRN Project from MIT’s Sloan School of Management Comparisons (be careful of biases): EDUCAUSE library Reviews from SUNY 20 CMS from the Consortium for IT in Education http://www.c2t2.ca/landonline/ Open standards groups: The IMS Project: define standards for interoperability of CMS and related programs SCORM Initiative: Shareable Content Object Reference Model (another standards group for media)
32	Return to home