Surprised the term “Blackboard” has not been Googlewashed to Moodle or Sakai. Or Blackboard doing the same to Instructure. P.S. I am too scared of using the other term and getting more visitors here from the CIA and NSA.
Tag: Moodle
Apples to Oranges
My web hosting service, Dreamhost, happens to have a one-click-installer for Moodle. So I installed one for my own personal sandbox. In looking at the available roles, it suddenly occurred to me…. Comparing any LMS to another is like comparing an apple to an orange. The industry is like the Tower of Babel. Each product… Continue reading Apples to Oranges
Computer Metaphors
An effective way to explain something is to use a metaphor. This can be especially effective by picking an metaphorical object or behavior with which the audience is already familiar. The one I see most often is comparing computers to a car. This morning I saw this on an email list describing a person’s experience… Continue reading Computer Metaphors
No Hiding From Blackboard
Some former WebCT (bought by Blackboard) customers switched to ANGEL rather than move to Blackboard products. PDF Apr 14, 2009 Today, Blackboard announced it is buying ANGEL. You can run, but you cannot hide from Blackboard. Some light reading for you… Learning, Together ANGEL Learning and Blackboard® have decided to join forces. Blackboard Plans to Buy Another Rival, Angel Learning… Continue reading No Hiding From Blackboard
Course Management Systems are Dead!
Heh. Blackboard Vista is headed for a brick wall? Who knew? 7. Course Management Systems are Dead! Long Live Course Management Systems! Proprietary course management systems are heading for a brick wall. The combination of economic pressures combined with saturated markets and the maturing stage of the life cycle of these once innovative platforms means… Continue reading Course Management Systems are Dead!
Monopoly Fears
Something brought up my abandoned Friendster blog, which had a link to fiftymillimeter which used to be my favorite photography site by people in Athens prior to me even moving here. Why “used to be”? Well over a year ago, they stopped posting to the site. Sad, I know. Still, I was curious, Where are… Continue reading Monopoly Fears
If a Learning Management System Was a Boat…
I saw a CompSci.ca blog post for If a programming language was a boat… (through WIRED) and laughed at the descriptions of C, ColdFusion, Java, Perl, PHP, and Ruby. Java is a cargo ship. It’s very bulky. It’s very enterprise~y. Though it can also carry a lot of weight. Will carry a project, but not… Continue reading If a Learning Management System Was a Boat…
Programmers
Gave a former coworker, Stu, from my Valdosta State days a heads up about a complaint my brother heard from a close friend of his. Stu is working with Sakai these days at Georgia Institute of Technology. He made an interesting comment: It would be great to have all the energy your team puts into… Continue reading Programmers
Blackboard and WebCT Merger
The threats to switch to Moodle are a little premature over the announcment of the Blackboard and WebCT merger. Moodle seems more like a content management system than a learning management system. Some thoughts Support for WebCT’s existing products is not going away in the near term. Products currently in development probably will finish. Blackboard… Continue reading Blackboard and WebCT Merger