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A Learning
Management System (LMS) Solution Contents
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Glossary of terms
e-learning – Any formal learning
material delivered electronically. Whether an online course or a tutorial
distributed on CD-ROM, e-learning teaches students what they need to
know when and where it is most convenient. Users need a desktop computer
and/or Internet appliance (such as the Oracle NIC) and, for Web-based
training, access to the Internet.
LMS - Learning management system.
A software application that uses a computer to organize courseware and
track student records and progress. WBT is often combined with LMS.
CMI (Computer Managed Instruction) is another name for LMS.
WBT – Web-based training. Training delivered over the Internet using the World Wide Web (WWW). (Also referred to as e-learning and IBT – Internet-based training.)
Overview
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The market for Internet-based education commerce is growing rapidly. According to International Data Corporation in Framingham, Massachusetts, the U.S. market will grow from $600 million in 2000 to $5 billion in 2002.
An effective Web enabled learning management system (LMS) is critical to the successful delivery of training over the Internet. TraineeTracker, a new LMS software application from SofTrain Inc., delivers a feature-rich, cost-effective solution for managing WBT.
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The Internet and World Wide Web as a conduit for e-learning
The explosive growth of the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW) is transforming teaching and learning at all levels of education, both corporate and K-12. The electronic learning (e-learning) environment is significantly different from traditional training delivery. Training and education organizations that understand the issues surrounding e-learning and implement effective solutions will achieve the greatest success in the 21st century.
The Web and Web browsers, like Internet
Explorer and Netscape, have made the Internet a more user-friendly environment.
The ability to integrate graphics, animation, text, and sound into a
single tool means that novice users do not have to struggle with a steep
learning curve. The Web also provides a mechanism for adding value to
existing courseware, including pre- and post-assessments, personalized
learning plans, online registration, and competency and performance
modeling.
e-Learning highlights
- Learning in the Internet age – real-time, 24/7, anywhere, anytime.
- Learner-centered – personalized to the individual and customized to the organization.
- Network-assisted – often assembling learning experiences real time, "on the fly."
- A mix of learning methods – including virtual classroom, simulation, collaboration, community and more.
- The whole learning experience – from assessment through testing and, optionally, certification.
- Online administration – learning management
systems (LMS) handle administrative tasks like security, registration,
payment, and monitoring learner progress.
Figure
1 – e-Learning Environment
3 LMS: A universal requirement for WBT delivery
There is a universal requirement for all companies that implement WBT: an online system to house, organize, and manage it. No matter what authoring tool or platform is used, there must be a tool to perform key functions, such as course administration and student tracking. These applications are known as learning management systems (LMS).
What is an LMS?
An LMS is the umbrella over all of a company’s
authoring tools and courses. It is the organizer that performs critical
administrative tasks: managing, delivering, and tracking a company’s
training over the external Internet or internal intranet. The LMS is
a strategic e-learning tool that must work seamlessly with the courses
and the databases that hold the training records.
Traditional LMS pricing: sticker shock
Traditional LMS systems run from $11 to $50 per user, per year plus approximately the same amount for setup and installation (source: Online Learning Magazine, September, 2000). For example, a company with 1,000 employees can expect to pay $11,000 for installation and another $11,000 for user fees.
Effective training for all
The typically large investment necessary for effective training and development has been a limiting factor for small- to medium-size organizations. Traditionally, small businesses have been unable to afford more than a single trainer or occasional off-site workshop or conference. They were priced out of most broad-based training solutions essential to long-term success. The advent of Web-based training and low-cost LMS tools, such as TraineeTracker, changes the landscape of learning, offering reasonably priced training strategies most smaller groups can now afford.
4
TraineeTracker: an effective, low-cost LMS solution
SofTrain Inc., a Phoenix-based Internet consulting company (www.softrain.com), has created an efficient, cost-effective e-learning LMS software tool. TraineeTracker (www.traineetracker.com) provides an Internet-based solution for housing and managing customers’ training material and content delivery. It facilitates online distributed learning activities across a variety of platforms and provides key functions, such as locating and accessing courses, tracking learner progress, and reporting learner performance – all for a fraction of the cost of competing products. TraineeTracker can be used by any organization to manage their electronic training deliverables in an asynchronous, Web-based environment (corporate training and K–12).
SofTrain offers
two TraineeTracker products to support the needs of a variety of organizations.:
- TraineeTracker
Enterprise -- A fully functional WBT LMS for organizations with
more than 100 students.
- TraineeTracker
Express -- A "light" version of the full TraineeTracker
Enterprise software which can be used by a limited number of simultaneous
users. Express offers most of the Enterprise product functionality,
yet costs a fraction of the price. It is designed for small businesses
with up to 100 employees and for organizations who want to run TraineeTracker
on stand-alone laptops for demonstrations.
TraineeTracker Features
- Login for registered users.
- Routing tool that manages course availability
and selection for registered users.
- Add/Edit/Delete Users page (for the
TraineeTracker Administrator).
- Administrator can add/edit special accounts
for groups of lessons and students.
- Managers can view/modify Manager and
Student records (not Administrator records).
- Survey results in a database can be
accessed and viewed by an Administrator.
- Search Lessons feature (from Reference
button).
- Personalized Web pages – Call variables
from within the database to customize Web pages.
- Logout and security – Logout button
resets variables; book marked pages within a course force the user
to login again.
- Quiz scores are posted to the database,
which Administrators/Managers can view.
- Administrator Reporting Function – Includes
ability to view student data using a password-protected area with
a Web browser. All data is stored in the database. Reports include
Student History. Developers have control over history reports pages.
- Interactive conferencing system available
for students/instructors communication.
- Can run from SofTrain servers, customer
servers, and ISP (Internet Service Providers) servers that support
ColdFusion and SQL Server and/or MySQL.
- Supports unlimited user base growth
and 24/7 up time using a clustered environment with multiple servers.
- Functions, as well as look and feel,
are fully customizable.
- Runs on multiple platforms, including:
- Windows NT with ColdFusion and Access or SQL Server
- UNIX with ColdFusion and Oracle, Sybase, DB2
- Linux with ColdFusion and MySQL (2001)
- Linux with PHP and MySQL (2001, 2002)
- Technical support -- Purchase price
includes telephone and/or email support.
TraineeTracker Benefits
- Low cost
- First-year license (unlimited users and courseware) includes installation support.
- Initial purchase price includes updates and technical support.
- Purchase includes source code for use within TraineeTracker.
- Subsequent annual update/maintenance
fees = 20% of the purchase price.
- A variety of hosting options
- Hosting by SofTrain Inc. is available (SofTrain acts as the ISP, hosting courseware on their servers and performing all maintenance.)
- Can be hosted by any ISP that supports ColdFusion and SQL Server or MySQL (maintained by ISP or SofTrain).
- Can be purchased with one server
license, which covers up to five servers (for example, for use
on intranets behind firewalls).
- Not tied to a single platform vendor
- Developed using standard tools that
run on a variety of platforms.
- Developed using standard tools that
run on a variety of platforms.
- Works with popular WBT content authoring
software
- Dreamweaver with Coursebuilder from
Macromedia is recommended. However, TraineeTracker supports
other authoring applications, such as Authorware.
- Dreamweaver with Coursebuilder from
Macromedia is recommended. However, TraineeTracker supports
other authoring applications, such as Authorware.
- Fully customizable
- Can be modified/enhanced by customers
or value added resellers (VARs).
- Can be modified/enhanced by customers
or value added resellers (VARs).
- Supports unlimited growth
- Organizations can purchase TraineeTracker Express for use with a small number of simultaneous users, then upgrade to the Enterprise version as their needs grow.
- TraineeTracker Enterprise can be run in a clustered environment, with several servers acting as one virtual machine. This provides 24/7 uptime and "load balance" across machines (requests for server access is balanced across all machines). This robust architecture means that customers preserve the value of their content investment as their needs and number of active learners increase.
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How TraineeTracker compares to other LMS products
- TraineeTracker contains key LMS
functionality for a fraction of the price of competing products.
- Unlike other LMS products that have
been "retrofitted" for use on the Internet, TraineeTracker
has been designed "from the ground up" for Internet/Web
use. The development language used – ColdFusion – is a standard scripting
language designed strictly for use on the Internet. ColdFusion development
time is approximately one-third of the time required using other tools.
- TraineeTracker includes source
code, so it is completely customizable – from design to functionality.
There are no modification restrictions. (Most competing products do
not include source code in the purchase price.)
- To reduce cost, companies can use up
to five servers with one TraineeTracker license. Other LMS
applications require the purchase of a license for each server.
- TraineeTracker runs on multiple database platforms: Linux, UNIX, Windows NT, SQL Server, Oracle, and MYSQL. (Other LMS tools that incorporate Active Server Pages run primarily on Windows NT.)
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Summary
Education as we know it is changing before our very eyes. The Internet offers tremendous potential as a ubiquitous training delivery mechanism. In the new millennium, the power of technology and the Internet will drive an enormous implementation of e-learning content, infrastructure, and services.
e-learning is one of the fastest growing and most promising markets in the education industry, as emerging platforms offer effective solutions for WBT with price tags that allow even small businesses to compete in the global marketplace.
TraineeTracker, from SofTrain Inc.,
is a robust, scalable e-learning management system that contains key
LMS functionality for one half or less the price of competing products.
References
Kiser, Kim. "House Call – Words of
advice for building your WBT dream house," Online Learning Magazine,
September, 2000.
Wagner, Ellen D., Ph.D. "Emerging Technology Trends in eLearning,"
LiNE Zine, Fall, 2000.
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