LAMS The Learning Activity Management System James Dalziel

LAMS: The Learning Activity Management System James Dalziel Professor of Learning Technology & Director, Macquarie University E-learning Centre of Excellence (MELCOE) james@melcoe. mq. edu. au www. melcoe. mq. edu. au Presentation for London Knowledge Lab, 14 th, October, 2005

The Problem: E-learning Content Today • Most assumes single learner, self-paced learning • Often little more than textbooks online? • Content-centric, transmission model of education – What is the implied pedagogy?

ICT ? Information and Communication Technologies

Introducing Learning Design • Learning Design is a name given to a new field of e-learning technology • Learning Design = Sequence of Collaborative Learning Activities • Learning Designs can incorporate single learner content, but also collaborative tasks such as discussion, voting, small group debate, etc • Potential to “wrap” a single-learner Learning Objects with a sequence of collaborative tasks • **Learning Designs can be stored, re-used, customised

Demonstration Example: LAMS • LAMS illustrates the Learning Design approach • In trials for over two years in Australia and UK – Strong positive response from both teachers and learners – State school trials in New Zealand, NSW, SA, Tas, others • Applicable to all education sectors (schools, VET, HE, corporate training, adult and community learning, etc) – Eg, UK Df. ES/SST & JISC trials; Oxford, Cambridge, ANU, New Zealand Ministry of Education/National Library, etc • LAMS released as freely available open source software by the LAMS Foundation, commercial support services provided by LAMS International Pty Ltd – Both supported by Macquarie University

LAMS Live Demonstration (For a screenshot walkthrough of a demonstration similar to the one shown live, see the “What is Greatness? ” example on slides 9 -20 at http: //lamsfoundation. org/CD/html/resources/summaries/LAMS. Launch. Workshop. ppt ) Case Study: LAMS UK School Implementation - JISC Video http: //www. jisc. ac. uk/uploaded_documents/kemnal. wmv

The LAMS Community • We have just launched the “LAMS Community” – a global website for communities of LAMS users to: – Discuss the use of LAMS, new features, tech issues – **Share sequences, search for sequences, comment on and rate sequences, and get statistics on downloads – Find colleagues with similar interests, form sub-communities • We use Creative Commons “open content” licensing of LAMS sequences • Is this the birth of “Open Source Teaching”?

LAMS Community example – Community view (K-12)

LAMS Community example – Sequence Repository