exploring different routes from lms towards ple: a dialectical perspective

ICALT 2015, Hualien, Taiwan 1

Exploring Different Routes from LMS towards PLE: a Dialectical PerspectiveVladimir Tomberg

Mart Laanpere

Hans Põldoja


LMS vs. PLE, or LMS & PLE?Topic:

A modern TEL system as a synthesis of LMS and PLE

Research Question:

How can we generalize various attempts to provide an alternative to LMS as the mainstream software platform in TEL?


PLE as Antithesis to LMSMainstream technological regime in TEL has been

clearly associated with the dominance of LMS

Innovators’ attempts to replace LMS with an alternative can be explained from the perspective of the dialectical logic, interpreting open Personal Learning Environments as a radical antithesis to the mainstream socio-technical regime (LMS)


Our Classification of PLE

1. Desktop-based PLE

The first steps in an evolution of PLE. Aimed a connection of

the personal desktop software to several LMSs

simultaneously.

Manchester Framework Project and desktop version of PLEX


Our Classification of PLE (2)

2. Social media as PLE

Connecting social software tools into a hub by means of RSS

threads help a learner to organize their learning flow

Wiki-based PLE (Google sites)

social-network-based PLE (Facebook)

social-aggregator-based PLE (e.g. Netvibes)

browser-based PLE (e.g. Flock)

3. Widget-based PLE


Our Classification of PLE (3)

3. Widget-based PLE

Service providers offer small applications that can be

embedded into a container application. A learner builds the

own PLE by combining these widgets in the appropriate

manner.

Widgets are packaged according to the W3C Widgets

specification and can be hosted in a container application

such as Drupal, WordPress, Moodle, Elgg, etc.

TENCompetence, Palette and ROLE


Pedagogical perspective: PLE as an approachFiedler and Väljataga [2011] argued that PLE

should not be understood at all as a certain type of software application, rather is should be seen as a pedagogical approach to organizing learning

Learners and groups should be able to: ◦ Set their personal learning goals, ◦ Design an appropriate learning environment◦ Take control over the learning activities


Design experimentsThree design experiments exploring alternative

approaches to PLE as a replacement for institutional LMS:

1. LePress

2. EduFeedr

3. Dippler

We have started in 2006 with LePress and finished in 2013 with Dippler


LePressTrying to find how to transfer into a blog-based PLE

formal learning workflows that are used in traditional LMS

Typical assessment workflow was implemented into WordPress using LePress plug-in

LePress allows the teachers to keep the control over the assessment without a need to leave social media based PLE


LePress: connecting publishing workflow with learning semantics


Teachers’ Gradebook


LePress widgets of Student and Teacher


Easy deployment of one-time courses "in the field"

Possibility to support teacher control over assessment workflow

Implementation of lightweight course coordination space

Easy to use and easy to learn (confirmed by study)

Does not support any connections between the students, which is highly demanded

Requirement to install plug-in in a blog

Impossibility of use with platforms like Wordpress.com, Edublogs.org. etc.

Advantages vs. disadvantages

EduFeedrCoordination and awareness tool for open online

courses with blogs

Course enrollment, aggregating blog posts and comments, managing assignments, visualizing the progress and social network

Plugin-free architecture enables learners to use free blogging services (WordPress.com, Blogger)

Example use cases: higher education courses with informal participants, small open online courses

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EduFeedr UI and Analytics

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No plug-ins needed; The learners can self-enroll to

the course, thus limiting the workload of the facilitator;

Enhancing the discussions by displaying most recent comments from learners’ blogs;

Simple learning analytics visualizations (progress chart, social network);

Focus on openness: almost all information (except learners’ e-mail addresses) is public for any visitor

There is no simple way for private grading of learners’ blog posts;

Learners’ blog post is connected with the assignment only if the learner included a link to the assignment in her post;

There is no way to keep private blogs that are visible only for the participants of the course


Dippler as DLE Core services (digital specimen): BackOffice (BOS wsdl),

Wordpress as PLE, Learning Object Repository, online testing service Questr, institutional client, mobile clients

Secondary services: social media (SlideShare, YouTube), identity management (to come: concept mapping, 6 thinking hats)

User communities: learners, facilitators, administrative staff, software developers

Adaptive: institutions and users can expand and adapt the ecosystem

Self-regulation: users can change affiliation, design learning paths

Learning analytics: annotating with domain-specific categories

Software implementation


Better integration with other information systems used in the university

Potential for advanced learning analytics

Availability of many features common to LMS that reduce the workload of teachers

Middleware component (BOS service) is under control of academia

Setting up a PLE is more complex procedure;

Further development and administration of BOS service requires efforts



Conclusion The new software development projects in the TEL domain

are initiated due to low satisfaction with existing socio-technical paradigm. This paper demonstrated how such initiatives can be analysed from the dialectical perspective

Dialectical analysis helps us to understand oppositional nature of driving forces (emotions, preferences, perceived needs, concepts) behind the software project

Dialectical analysis lead the developers towards overcoming a binary opposition and seek the dialectical synthesis that makes use of the best from both sides: an existing, mature socio-technical regime and its innovative challenger

exploring different routes from lms towards ple: a dialectical perspective

Education

ple icalt

lms ple

classification of ple

evolution of ple

desktopbased ple

netvibes browserbased

ple research question

learning semantics icalt