Hi All
Apologies for the use of the word 'free'. Nothing in life comes for free!
The challenges to deploying open source VLEs are large and varied, the
point to consider is that theses barriers continue to exist for commercial
products licensed in the market place for products which require huge
capital investment:
Blackboard
WebCT
Granada Learnwise..
I like the idea of disaagredated modular systems, these become difficult to
implement as the function of a system becomes more specific. To
interoperate at a low level becomes more difficult as the standards do not
exist to support the platforms. If we look at how open source systems grow
they mimic commercial organisations, consuming other products to offer new
functionality for example PLONE WYSIWIG ipoz or Macromedia Pathware with
became Lotus Learning Space 5 VLE. It is a slippery slope where ever we
stand. What we share is a passion for technology to move forward, for it to
be deployable and used by learners.
Luke Bennett
The Guardian, Learnthings
Production Manager
www.learnpremium.co.uk
5th Floor, 79 Farringdon Road
London EC1M 3JU
Mobile: 07977 059 183
WatkinsR
<[log in to unmask] To: [log in to unmask]
BS.SCH.UK> cc: (bcc: Luke Bennett/Learn/GNL)
Sent by: Virtual Subject: Re: [VLES] MOODLE with LAMS
Learning
Environments
<[log in to unmask]
.UK>
08/06/2005 12:30
Please respond
to Virtual
Learning
Environments
<[log in to unmask]
.UK>
Although I totally agree with your comment about open source software not
being "Free", I can also see why people are comfortable using the word. If
you have the right resources (people/hardware) in place already, there
could
potentially be no cash outlay to get a Moodle or LAMS system set up.
I found Moodle easy enough to install and it is has been working with no
intervention from me for months. I installed MySQL, Apache and PHP on a
windows machine with a single application (EasyPHP). I've also found the
support from Moodle forums excellent. You often get an answer to your query
within an hour or so of posting.
As for getting guaranteed maintenance, there are a number of Moodle
partners
( http://moodle.com/partners/list/ )that can provide you with maintenance
contracts and training (for a fee of course).
Richard.
-----Original Message-----
From: Harrison Tim (Staff) [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
Sent: 08 June 2005 12:14
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VLES] MOODLE with LAMS
Could we please stop referring to moodle as a 'free' system. It is not
and never will be. As has been mentioned dozens of times before, the
cost of implementing a vle is not just the software, it includes the
training and all the other bits that go into it. The same is true of
LAMS.
I found moodle very difficult to install not because of moodle itself
but because of the other software it required, php and mysql. Getting
the right versions to talk with the software can be very fiddly,
particularly if you want to use Windows. I was very much left with the
impression that upgrades etc would be totally dependant on other factors
that I am simply not prepared to use it. I am also very concerned that,
for a mission critical system, not having any redress against the
writers or guaranteed maintenance is not acceptable.
Tim Harrison
Colchester SFC
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