Future of LMS/PLE

in the past month, i've been overwhelmed with new information that has been at my fingertips for years, and yet, so distant from my thought process. the virtual realm of education continues to be groundbreaking forum for learning to occur. discoveries seem to happen over night and new methods are formed simultaneously. after a long month of academic writing, research, and experimentation in course authoring, i thought i would use this forum to communicate some of the metacognitive agendas i feel need be addressed as a result of my experience in Learming Management Systems and Organization. i chose to blog about this experience because i feel it is a reflection of the future of learning at many different levels of e-learning. furthermore, as i did research into the future of learning management systems, i found that most profundity was being conveyed on blogs and less in academic research areas. perhaps, this is due to the rapid learning transaction occuring in the e-learning setting or due the fact that blogs are a reflection of the emergence of e-learning happening in the virtual learning environment. whatever the cause, this is my forum and part of my portfolio, so someone will eventually read it.

i will start with a graphic from Scott Wilson's Flickr presentation about the need for an e-portfolio:



in week one of our studies in Dr. Gibson's class, i was particularly drawn to this notion of an e-portfolio for a number of reasons. first, an e-portfolio builds evidence of learning. whether it is planning individually or collaboratively, reflecting, or posting academically, a virtual space where work in kept and maintained allows others to view what productivity you've accomplished over time. it could be a professor checking in on your work or it could be a potential employer looking at things you've done over a period of time, the e-portfolio gives a more constructivist perspective to e-learning. it's not to say that objectivist pursuits are not met in the mean time, but they are not the end. they are just the means.

secondly, an e-portfolio solicits collaboration, another sign of the future of LMS. it gives me great confidence to know that my academic writing is part of a group of writers/researchers and that writing has built something over time in the form of wiki. blogs serve a similar function by allowing rss feed members to contribute to ongoing dialogue of points. furthermore, it opens the doors of opportunity to learn from others by contributing or asking questions of contemporaries. the environment of e-learning is unique because this phenomenon of collaboration to occur in some of the most pure forms; without competition, individualization, and ridicule, but with open-mindedness, skepticism, and questioning.

third, the realm of possibilities in the future of LMS seem to be endless. there are new technologies and mediums being developed daily that accommodate pursuits that students have. Web 2.0 is the most current and blossoming example of tools that make the notion of building an e-portfolio easier, as well as more productive. Karl Kapp makes an amazing assertion that parallels the music industry to the future of LMS. the future of LMS should be "that the content within the LMS can no longer live in the LMS trap" (Kapp, 2009). with emerging technologies and media, there is no trap and constraint because all information is available at all times. this helps the e-portfolio flourish because it enables the learner to work without hinderances that might have plagued him/her when taking a traditional e-learning class in the past. the more information and media that is available, the more productivity can occur that helps learners succeed in this particular learning environment.

fourth, in the future, an LMS will interact with multiple tools and applications without impeding the progress of the learner. currently, any particular LMS "doesn’t interact with Flickr, Google Maps, Amazon, WikiPedia, Yahoo, 43, Plazes, GTalk, LiveJournal etc." (Gunter, 2005). Most LMS do not have a live chat function either. learners in the e-learning environment have to rely heavily on the ability to connect with others at a rapid instant. a Virtual Learning Environment accommodates this, but only with a separate applications. in the future, all of the tools should be able to be utilized in the forum.

lastly, Personal and Virtual Learning Environments offer flexibility that caters to the needs of today's student who is probably a working professional or an "on-the-go" student. when a platform in open sourced, the ability to maneuver and manipulate courses and design happens instantaneously. recently, Dayton University adopted Sakai as their choice of LMS because of the ability to "provide(s) the flexibility for form‐creation and customization increasingly required
by academic programs" (2008). at the same time, the Dayton University LMS Advisory Panel found that "Sakai provides a strong electronic portfolio built‐in that can be highly customized to the
academic needs of individual programs" (2008).

the LMS of the future will rely heavily on the need to have learner-­centered approach. in his YouTube post, "dlnorman" articulates why this is so valuable:



for years, we've valued the institution of learning more than the individual. the rapid influx of technology has required us to change this mindset because learners become the center of their own world, their own reality, their own agendas, their own learning as soon as they sit at a computer. by shifting this paradigm, the institution then values the learner more so than itself. it may take more generations, more tools, and a better understanding of the world where learning occurs, but the shift is definitely happening. this is why Full Sail is so successful in any avenue of learning that occurs. there is attention to detail from the onset, but with specific dedication to the learner and his/her personal development. it does not happen overnight, but occurs when productivity is sought and collaboration manifests.

in the future, learners will be more mobile and have access to newer and more innovative mediums. their Personal Learning Environments will be administered through headsets while they are out on the town or in a movie. there will be a constant flow of information that occurs without barriers of a platform. information will be organized using metadata (as it already is), so students can access topics freely by referencing tags or keywords. their phones will be blossoming with attempts to collaborate and problem-solve using unique methods they could have only found through productivity in the Virtual Learning Environment. it is quite exciting to be apart of a field that seems infinite and entirely attractive to present learner, as well as tomorrow's steward...

References

Beumer, K., Soguttekin, M., Beyer, M., & Cooperman, M. (2005). LMS of the future [Electronic version]. Retrieved May 31, 2009 from http://www.msoguttekin.com/LMS_of_the_Future_Group_A__Master_11_28.pdf

LMS Advisory Panel - Recommendations. (2008, January 28). Dayton University. Retrieved May 31, 2009 from http://learn.udayton.edu/manuals/LMS%20Advisory%20Panel%20Recommendations.pdf

Wilson, S. (2005, May 23). e-Portfolio presentation. Message posted to Flickr, archived at http://www.flickr.com/photos/vanishing/15379885/in/set-370240/

Gunter, W. (2005, November 17). Insight into the future of LMS. Message posted to Blogspot, archived at http://wageneder.blogspot.com/2005/11/insight-into-future-of-lms.html

Kapp, K. (2009, March 30). Future of digital music - future of CMS content. Message posted to Blogspot, archived at http://karlkapp.blogspot.com/2009/03/future-of-digital-music-future-of-lms.html

Norman, D. (2008, September 26). Open mindedness. Message posted to YouTube, archived at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_abKE5N-Px0