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Learning Management System Assessment Project

Learning Management System Assessment Project Overview

UCSC LMS Assessment Opportunity Description

Over the past seven years the ITS Instructional Computing unit has been providing Learning Management System (LMS) services utilizing WebCT Campus Edition. Over this time usage of this service has continued to grow; currently hundreds of courses and 8,000 students utilize the LMS per quarter.

Thus far, the LMS service has been provided much like other software applications, with a campus unit (Instructional Computing) providing the application and related support to the campus community. While this model worked well when LMSs were new and not yet widely adopted, it is time to formally assess what UCSC's LMS needs are and implement a broader-scope service that fills these needs as we define what an enterprise application means as a service.

The purpose of an LMS is to create opportunities to teach in ways faculty find most valuable, and for students to learn. This project will engage the campus community and governance groups in an assessment process that helps us improve the ways we support current teaching-learning practices and define a future vision of our Learning Managment System. Our goal is to use the findings to provide the kinds of training, support and technology that result in the best possible courses at UCSc. We must determine the scale to which these technologies are important to our students and faculty and map needs to create a requirements document. Based on our findings, a second phase would create a service definition and initiate an implementation plan, including a review of available LMS products against our requirement criteria. We expect this project to take 1-2 years to complete with utilizing our existing Campus Edition license continuing to service the LMS needs in the interim.

  • Background: Currently, our LMS services are significantly under-invested relative to other UC campuses and other higher education institutions (including some community colleges). Improving the scope and caliber of our LMS service will enable improvements in UCSC's teaching an dresearch environment by enabling faculty to easily use technology for collaboration and easing the burden of course administration and classroom logistics. Additionally, there may be opportunities to reduce redundancy to the extent that the needs currently fulfilled by separate systems such as the Library's Eres and UCCP's BlackBoard installation can be satisfied via an enterprise LMS service. Administrative needs are not part of the project scope.

  • Educational Activities that can be supported with an LMS
    • Adaptive Instruction
    • Accessibility regarding issues of distance and schedule
    • Course activities designed for diver talents and ways of knowing
    • Self-pacing
    • Differences that spark learning
    • Library of materials developed over several quarters/years
    • Tools for research, collaboration and creative work
    • Faculty-student interaction
    • Student discussion; collaboration
    • Peer tutoring
    • High quality assessment
    • Student Support - integrate institutional support services and resources on an enterprise level (portal, library, study skills, etc.)
    • Institutional reporting

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    Benefits

    • Assessment and understanding of current and future needs for a campus LMS service through engagement of campus leadership, faculty and students resulting in a campus LMS strategy.

    •  With a defined campus LMS strategy we will reduce risk of outdated software usage and instabilities, independent and unsupported application installations, and vulnerability of insecure student data.

    • Appropriately defined benchmark categories for ongoing assessment of LMS service outcomes.  Ability to assess the LMS’s impact on learning, student recruitment and retention, advising, and strategic campus goals.
    • Ability to select best fit LMS for campus requirements and scaled to budget priority.
    • Improved integration of LMS with other campus systems (IDM, AIS, etc) for increased efficiencies and reduction of manual processes.
    • Possible reductions in redundancy of similar services.
    • Understanding the needed improvements in access to and ease of use for learning tools provided by the LMS.
    • Improved access and support for faculty integrating technology into their curriculum to support learning objectives.

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    Goals

    • Phase I: Assess LMS needs
      • Through a broadly collaborative process, determine and document UCSC’s needs for a leaning management system and service. Artifacts may include survey and focus group reports.
      • Determine the value and priority a learning management system has to UCSC and its educational mission.
    • Phase II: Create LMS service definition required to fulfill needs
      • Define attributes, service levels, and boundaries of future LMS service
      • Define resource needs and funding for LMS service and its components.
      • Identify governance process for LMS service stewardship
    • Future related project: Implement LMS service changes to bring service level in line with definition from phase 2
      • Select, brand, and implement an LMS system and service that satisfies the needs assessment.
      • Secure ongoing funding for LMS service.

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    Deliverables

    Phase I
    Objective 1 – Assess campus LMS system and service needs, report findings, create vision.

    Project Deliverable

    Work Products/Description

    Create LMS Assessment Team and Sponsorship to include ITS staff and faculty

    Engage Academic Senate committees (COT, CEP, CCT) for assignment of team members or recommendations, request upcoming agendas to include LMS status updates at regular meetings, other broad campus constituencies to be represented including Divisional Liaison, Library, UUCP and UNEX.

    Create UCSC "LMS" Vision

    Vision document and description for future state and campus strategy

    Findings Report

    Capture and summarize findings

    Create requirements document

    Based on findings report, draft recommended requirements for LMS to match vision


    Phase II
    Objective 1 – Create LMS service definition.

    Project Deliverable

    Work Products/Description

    Refine service feature set based on assessment’s service requirements

    Solicit and engage conversation and feedback from partners to create the Service Definition document

    Secure on-going budget

    Via the ITS budgetary process, define and increment funding resources for a sustainable campus application.

    Objective 2 – Establish LMS governance model.

    Project Deliverable

    Work Products/Description

    Establish or identify LMS governance group and annual assessment processes

    Via ITC and/or LTC, Academic Senate

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    Project Timeline

    ID

    Task Name

    Start

    Finish

    Duration

    1

    Phase I:  Create LMS Assessment Team

    ASAP

    Fall 2007

     

    2

    Phase I: Develop process to assess campus LMS system and service needs, report findings, create vision.

     

     

    3-6 months

    3

    Phase II: Objective 1 – Create LMS service definition and branding.

     

     

    2 month

    4

    Phase II: Objective 3 – Establish LMS governance model.

     

     

    3 months

    5

    Future Project – Select and implement an LMS product that best meets needs outlined requirements document and service definition.

     

     

    12-18 months

     

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    UCSC Faculty Instructional Technology Center
    2006-2008
    Last updated 6/24/2008