[MUSIC] In this episode, we look at the pros and cons of two different types of learning environments. The first is a learning management system, this is also known as a virtual learning environment. And this is very much a centralized secure environment. It can only be accessed by students and staff from the University using a login. The second is free open-access environment. These include Web 2.0 technologies, mobile technologies, and so forth. And these can be used by anyone. In this episode, we look at the key benefits of using each of these. And we also offer some key considerations that you need to bear in mind when using these technologies. >> There are things which a learning management system does, particularly around guaranteed flows of information to inform students. And the handling of assignments for example. Which no kind of stand alone software can do as well. >> It has that authentication. It has those protected walls, which provide an environment which is safe enough for a student to feel like they can actually post work, be identified, without any pressure from the public. >> It has the the statistical analysis to assess participation. Previously I had to go through myself and tick off when people were logging on. However this provides a bit more of a holistic learning experience. >> With Blackboard I can, I can go and see people who know Blackboard and so, there's a certain amount of support, that I'm not sure I would get with something I was just choosing for myself. >> Blackboard of course, you pay. You pay a license for it. It's clearly not free. And you, often is the case that you gotta have people in your institution, supporting the technology. >> You know a system that, that I might not be familiar with, or I might not like, I might not feel comfortable using. >> A learning management system is at the end of the day a very artificial piece of software. It gathers together into one little box, a lot of facilities that you can find and use online, in a, in a normal way. >> The ability to collaborate and innovate is much stronger now than it was before pre-existing web to collaboration technologies. >> This is stuff that I can implement easily and quickly myself. >> It's how students are already familiar with, and so, if I can package that as part of the online learning, I usually find that the transition is much smoother. And it's a more lively experience. >> It's engaging with students in spaces that they feel comfortable in, and are already using has to bring some kind of benefits. >> We are the generation that kind of grew on internet. With Facebook, with YouTube, with MySpace. I think we're really used to the structure of all these websites and how they all work. >> There is a huge cloud of computing possibilities out there, that don't have to go through a university system. That's fine. It's great to take those opportunities, particularly for communication. The difficulty comes when you start to engage in assessment, and when you have things that have to be tracked by the University, that have to be kept as a record, that have to be there in case there's a dispute. >> If the software is free, you might still find there's, there's a hidden cost to running it, and running it properly. >> Staff, will need to understand that, that what is seen as being innovative today, in a year's time, won't be. How we broker and work with external web-tour environments, to allow our universities to interface readily to the digital world of the population. >> Is to blend together the basics of what you would do with a learning management system. And the critical use, at the right time and place in our curriculum, of the, the real software which makes the Internet work. >> I go back to the idea of an environment that's a safe, structured environment, which has lots of scope for creativity and for, for options within it. >> So we throw wikis, blogging, online conferences, the use of real time video interaction into the mix, but we don't just rely on the LMS. We can't afford to continue to develop and shift out technology at the rate that a company like Google can, for example. We're far better to interface with what they're developing. [BLANK_AUDIO]