Ready, Set, Train! - Sims Latham's Blog
Thinking Cap LMS version 4: Better than Ever
(Sat, 14 Jan 2012 18:00:53 +0000)
This past month I’ve finally had time to play around with the latest version of Thinking Cap LMS and I have been pleasantly surprised with the improvements made in the latest release. It was like Christmas came really early this year.
User Experience Changes
I love the new minimalist design. This release is a massive reorganization of the tools features into a 2 panel layout. The left side of the page shows the hierarchical list of all of your domains (previously called programs). On the right side of the page is everything you need to know about the domain:
- overview of the domain settings,
- list of your users
- list of all elearning courses
- list of all instructor-led courses
- list of all learning paths
- list of all activities
- links to add all of the above, including new sub-domains
- links to create a customized learner view
- links to manage the social learning tools
New Learner View Options
I didn’t have the opportunity before, as my clients had mostly used the XML webservices to integration their courses in the LMS into their websites, but my next project will be delving into the learner view features extensively. And they have really changed since last I looked. New features include:
- New cleaner layout
- Custom URL (i.e. http://mydomain.com or http://mydomain.company.com)
- Hide/show each menu item
- Rename each menu item
- Customize the login page text
- New logo options: login page, masthead and footer
- Many, many branding options that customize everything, including the fonts and colours of tables, tabs, forms, menus, buttons…
Forums Improvements
It looks like they have taken everything they learned about discussion forums from their Thinking Cap Lab tool and brought it into the LMS. Forums are now available for every course (elearning or instructor-led) or learning path, domain or sub domain and they have extended the features to include tracking of page views and post and comment votes. This is a great tool for people trying to integrate social learning programs with traditional online courseware.
Reporting
This new version of the LMS comes with a complete revamping of their reporting tools. There are now 12 different types of reports, each of which can be filtered to generate a comprehensive set of reports. All of these new reports can be run immediately, or scheduled to run automatically. You can also select a distribution list.
Webex Integration
Instructor-led course support has now increased with the integration of WebEx sessions. This will be key for those trying to merge face-to-face sessions and elearning content.
Looking forward to finding out more about this release and what’s to come in the next release.
The Value of Scenario-Based Questions
(Tue, 06 Dec 2011 02:50:38 +0000)
It is all too easy to get caught up in the technology of online-learning and forget the learners it is designed for.
It is also easy to forget the most important stage of learning – MOTIVATION – which is not just a first stage pre-requisite for learning, but also a condition that needs to be considered through all the subsequent learning stages, right up to the last – APPLICATION.
Most learners, especially in the workplace, are busy and have instrumental reasons for investing in a course, so the content and presentation must be:
- Correct
- Practical
- Relevant, and
- Concise (busy people just skip unnecessary verbiage)
Scenario-based questions can be all those things, as well as combining testing with continued and enriched learning. Effective SBQs will contain the following elements:
- A relevant situation (based on real-life problems and/or opportunities) that requires a decision on how best to react;
- A set of options (ideally 5) that are nuanced in approach (that is, they incorporate different courses of action that will result in different (but realistic) consequences;
- Detailed feedback for each option that explains why or why not it was the best choice and the likely consequences of pursuing it.
These elements allow learners to apply what they think they have learned to meaningful, life-based situations and receive instant feedback. SBQs also help to demonstrate the relevance of the course to the learner’s needs.
Ten good reasons why I can’t wait to get back to using Thinking Cap
(Wed, 14 Sep 2011 17:05:36 +0000)
After having the luxury, for the past few years, of being able to author in Thinking Cap and export into Thinking Cap LMS, I have just been thrust back into the Stone Age of creating online courses.
Unable to persuade a client that their end product would be superior and their time line much shorter using Thinking Cap, we have just spent several frustrating weeks entering client-provided content via their own authoring system into a third-party LMS.
I can only describe the process as being akin to trying to produce a quality oil painting using only children’s crayons and poor quality paper. Here are just a few of the drawbacks we encountered:
- Unlike TC, there was no easy drag and drop system for changing the order of content folders and sub-units
- Unlike TC, the list of content folders and sub-units did not automatically display quickly and easily and often had to be coaxed to appear.
- Unlike TC, content could not be copied and pasted from MS Word documents, which had to be first re-saved into plain text format.
- Unlike TC, formatted text did not always retain its format as each “lesson” was saved – odd line spacing would appear and text would be mysteriously transformed from one colour to another or from plain text to bold or vice versa. So careful formatting to increase readability went out the window.
- Unlike TC, one could not apply glossary mouseovers, weblinks or callouts to the text.
- Unlike TC, there was a very restricted range of available learning types, so the content could not be as interactive and engaging.
- Unlike TC, the review function did not really display the content as the learner would see it because the formatting was not always retained.
- Unlike TC, the “Undo” button did not always undo only the last action performed but, on many occasions, deleted the whole content and the “Redo” button seemed not to function at all, so you had to start again from scratch.
- Unlike TC, there were no roll backs, so any earlier versions were deleted and un-recoverable.
- Unlike TC, there was no system for leaving notes for other team members that would be invisible to learners, so teamwork was not well-supported by the system.
The overall result was to force the content to conform to a pattern largely pre-determined by technologists, who most probably had scant regard for the needs of the learners. My team and I can’t wait to get back to using Thinking Cap and reduce our stress levels and blood pressure.
