Comparison of Open Source Learning Management Systems Ivan Stojiljkovic, Ivan Milentijevic Faculty of Electronic Engineering University of Nis Serbia and

Comparison ofOpen Source Learning Management Systems

Ivan Stojiljkovic, Ivan Milentijevic

Faculty of Electronic EngineeringUniversity of Nis

Serbia and Montenegro

TEMPUS project SCM-C015A05-SCG, Seminar on ECTS Implementation, Friday, March 24th, 2006

Outline

Terminology Applications Functions Systems available Open source systems Comparison Conclusion


Terminology

Learning Management System (LMS)

Course Management System (CMS) Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)


Where LMS is used?

Primary and secondary schools Universities and colleges Corporate training programmes


How LMS is used?

Distance learning Supplement to classroom-based

learning

Ivan Stojiljković

Many people associate LMSs with distance learning, but in practice...


Basic Functions of LMS

Management of educational material

Management of participants Synchronised (chat, instant

messaging) and unsynchronised (mail, forum) communication

Ivan Stojiljković

Management of educational material: - creating, modifying and organising content in various formats: text, web pagesManagement of participants: - adding new users - enroling students in different courses - assigning teachers to courses


Available Systems

Open source Commercial On-demand services


Why Open Source?

Free Customisable Reduced dependence on software

vendors Always available support GNU General Public License


Open Source Systems

ATutor Claroline Dokeos ILIAS Interact Moodle Site@School Worldcircle


Current versionsCurrent version

Last release

ATutor 1.5.2 2005-12-15

Claroline 1.7.4 2006-03-20

Dokeos 1.6.3 2006-02-21

ILIAS 3.5.6 2006-03-15

Interact 2.1.1 2006-03-14

Moodle 1.5.3 2006-03-17

Site@School

2.3 2005-05-29

Worldcircle 2.17 2004-09-29


Current versionsCurrent version

Last release

ATutor 1.5.2 2005-12-15

Claroline 1.7.4 2006-03-20

Dokeos 1.6.3 2006-02-21

ILIAS 3.5.6 2006-03-15

Interact 2.1.1 2006-03-14

Moodle 1.5.3 2006-03-17

Site@School

2.3 2005-05-29

Worldcircle 2.17 2004-09-29


Platform


Translation

Languages Serbian

ATutor 15 No

Claroline 33 No

Dokeos 34 Yes

ILIAS 19 Yes

Interact 5 No

Moodle 73 Yes


Translation

Languages Serbian

ATutor 15 No

Claroline 33 No

Dokeos 34 Yes

ILIAS 19 Yes

Interact 5 No

Moodle 73 Yes


Help system

ATutor Yes

Claroline No

Dokeos Yes

ILIAS No

Interact Yes

Moodle Yes


Interoperability: SCORM

ATutor Full support

Claroline Import only

Dokeos Import only

ILIAS Import only

Interact Import only

Moodle Import only


Common features

Documents and links Tests / Quizzes Assignments Polls / Surveys Forum


ATutor

Developed at University of Toronto, Canada

Accessibility and adaptability Lacks Serbian translation


Claroline

Initially started at University of Louvain, Belgium

Students can be organised in classes

Incomplete support for non-western languages (does not use Unicode)


Dokeos

Started as a clone of Claroline in 2004

Supported by a private company named Dokeos

Incomplete support for non-western languages (does not use Unicode)


ILIAS

Originated at University of Cologne, Germany

Powerful system with a lot of options

User-defined roles Desktop-like user interface


Interact

Developed by the Christchurch College of Education, New Zealand

Accent on “interaction” between participants

Used mainly at New Zealand universities


Moodle

Development was started by Martin Dougiamas, Curtin University, Australia

Pedagogy based on social constructionism

Easy to use Modular architecture allows easy

customisation


Community

The most popular LMS Used in 150 countries 10300 registered sites Translated in 73 languages Large user community guarantees

continuous software development


Moodle in Serbia and neighbourhood

University of Banja Luka (Jun 2004) School of Medicine, Belgrade (Jan 2005) Technical Faculty, Čačak (Feb 2006) Faculty of Philosophy, Belgrade Faculty of Civil Engineering, Subotica Institute of Informatics, Skopje


Conclusion: Moodle

Large user community Simple, but functional user

interface Easy customisable


Implementation

Dedicated Linux server Complete open source solution

(Apache, PHP, MySQL, Moodle) Administrator Examining full capabilities of the

system during test period with several courses


Thank you!