Navigate: Tools for Deciding on an LMS 3.2.1

3.2.1 Tools for deciding on an LMS

Canvas is a great open source LMS platform that it has even whittled the questions that one must ask of oneself and of ones collegial group members down to three "simple" questions:
Will it get used?
Is it reliable?
Will it adapt to your needs?

Needless to say, this is a widely used marketing strategy.  Canvas compares itself in these three major categories with D2L, Moodle and MoodleRooms, Sakai RS mart, and one "off the shelf" LMS, Blackboard. Of course Canvas receives amazing scores in all three areas.  These charts are quite detailed and compare accessibility features such as language.  It is worth taking a look at. The full comaprison chart can be found here: www.instructure.com/compare-higher-education

Moodle did their own version of comparison between Blackboard, D2L, Moodle, and Sakai.  Here is their findings in bar graph foramt: www.moodlenews.com/2013/a-comparison-of-lms-accessibility-d2l-blackboard-sakai/

For section 508 compliance, this is the most detailed and transparent comparison between LMS platforms that I could find: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/3486333/csun2013/lms_compared_paper_2013.html

What has been the leading resource for educational tools in the past decade has now closed down.  EduTools, however, still maintains a web presence and their comprehensive guide and checklist for evaluating and LMS can still be used today.  Click on the BLUE UNDERLINED link in the last sentence at the bottom left of this page: (well worth your time)  http://wcet.wiche.edu/learn/edutools

It is easy to see that the evaluation of LMS providers is a complex task requiring a team of experts, a complete needs assessment, demonstrations, and proven track records of satisfied customers and technical support.

For me as an instructional designer, I like to keep it simple.  The three questions that are posed by Canvas are probably the best questions of all.

For the K-12 learner, if the provision of textbooks would occur through the LMS, then I would recommend Pearson OpenClass as the top commercial LMS provider, followed by Desire2Learn Learning suite, the system of choice for The University System of Georgia.  I rank D2L over Blackboard in the useability and ease of customizing the appearance of your class. Also, I am wary of Blackboard's ravenous acquisitions of MoodleRoom, Wimba, and Elluminate in the past few years.

For free LMS providers, I would rank Canvas above Moodle- not because of its features, but because of the ease of use of its features.  Moodle can do more- but it is more complicated to set up and less flexible for the instructor and learner.

For the University System of Georgia- D2L was the LMS of choice.  I wonder how effective it would be for all of the k-12 systems to move to D2L as an LMS as well.  The time it takes for a learner to learn how to navigate the new LMS when they switch schools can be quite distracting and it would make sense to have a single LMS that evolves with us as we grow from K to 12 - to PhD!