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| Product Name | Pearson LearningStudio |
|---|---|
| Developer Name | |
| URL | Pearson LearningStudio |
| Review Date | February 09, 2010 |
| Forums | Pearson LearningStudio Discussions |
| Reviewer | Gwyn Corso email bio |
| Communication Tools | |
| Discussion Forum |
Instructors can enable or disable editing of posts by students. Students can be emailed directly from discussion. Discussions can be set to read only. All topic titles will display at once in the "Topics" section at the top of the main threaded discussion page. Students have access to a visual editor when responding. When responding to a thread, users will be able to post response, cancel or preview posting. Date and time stamp will display in the time zone of the current viewer. All discussions are archived in perpetuity for admin or faculty access after a course is complete. Discuss |
| Discussion Management |
Faculty can add any content elemeent to discussion topics including outside URLs, graphics, Flash animations, text, etc. Faculty may create separate discussion environments for small groups. Faculty can limit discussions to specific time periods by locking all thread posts so that there are no responses or edits made after that certain date. Threaded discussions are integrated directly with gradebook, allowing faculty to view all posts made by an individual student in the gradebook. Can be added anywhere into the content flow of the course; therefore, making them part of the sequential nature of the course content. Discuss |
| File Exchange |
The dropbox is a central repository for content/assignment/file exchange, which can be viewed by individual baskets, a specific student or the entire inbox. Within an individual basket, one can send email, download attachments, move submissions to another basket or view all students who have not yet made any submissions. Dropbox baskets can be created independently or in the association with the creation of a content item. Files do not have to be documents;they can be almost any file type including .html, .swf, .mov, .doc and so on. Instructors can grade student submissions, enter comments and upload files back to the student for review. Any grade that is entered in the dropbox is displayed automatically in the gradebook. Virus detection technology also is used throughout the file upload/download process. Discuss |
| Internal Email |
Faculty can use e-mail to address student questions, concerns and issues in a one-to-one private email or faculty can send messages and files to groups of students. Students use this tool in a similar way - they can send private messages to faculty or use e-mail to communicate with class members on collaborative projects. Users can add multiple attachments to an email. After sending, users will be taken to a confirmation page that lists who the email was sent to and whether it was successful. Discuss |
| Online Journal/Notes |
The Journal is a place where students can make notes and record thoughts. Faculty can also use the Journal as an assignment area. Students have the option to share their Journal entries with faculty or keep them private. Posts can include .html tags to enhance style. Faculty can read and modify entries that students choose to share. The Journal is fully integrated with the gradebook. A cross-platform/browser visual editor is available to students and faculty when composing their journal entries or responding to student's entries. Discuss |
| Real-time Chat |
The Chat tool supports private rooms, group rooms, private messages, the ability to ignore specific participants, various color identification schemes determined by the user and profile options set by each participant. The platform automatically creates archive logs for all chat rooms; however, faculty can set a non-archived chat if desired. Chat is integrated with the gradebook and is Section 508 compliant. Discuss |
| Whiteboard |
All elements of the whiteboard are layered so that faculty members have full control to move or remove from the whiteboard at any time. The software automatically archives all whiteboard sessions for future viewing although recording can be paused. Faculty members also have the ability to see which student has posted, drawn, typed or created any element at any time. Faculty have full control of the whiteboard and can allow any participant to moderate, chat, offer audio and so on. Two-way voice over the internet (VoIP)is also supported. System also supports remote control so faculty can give control of applications or desktop to others, enabling true hands-on training and support. Discuss |
| Productivity Tools | |
| Bookmarks |
Reviewer Comments This feature is presently not supported. Discuss |
| Calendar/Progress Review |
The Course Checklist allows students access to the list of course activities with check-boxes attached as well as lists of any due dates for the items. Students can keep track of which course elements they have participated in, read, viewed and so on. Exams are automatically checked off after the student completes. The Course Scheduler functions as the centralized scheduling point for start and end dates of course content and activities. All dates can be set from one page. Discuss |
| Searching Within Course |
Threaded discussions: If the thread is unread, the contracted listing will be displayed in bold and with a closed envelope icon next to it. If a thread was posted by an instructor, the contracted listing will be displayed as both bold and green. The instructor name will have a prefix (i.e. Professor) to easily distinguish instructor postings from student postings. The software for both chat and virtual classroom sessions are automatically archived for future viewing. Discuss |
| Work Offline/Synchronize |
Reviewer Comments This feature is currently not supported. Discuss |
| Orientation/Help |
eCollege provides an internal 24/7/365 Help Desk to support students, instructors and administrators, ensuring that someone will always be there to offer users support even after regular school hours, weekends and holidays. There are several resources available to prepare end users to use the eCollege solution. All students are automatically enrolled in the Student Orientation Tutorial course, which walks them through all features of the courseware and provides tips on taking an online course. Likewise, instructors are enrolled in a self-directed tutorial, the Instructional Design Tutorial, which provides them with instructional design and course development guidance. Other resources that are available to users include: · Online Tutorials: Walks user through course system and quick overview of the course creation process. · Online Help Manual: Accessible from every page of the LMS. Opens context-sensitive help for the specific task users want to accomplish, and links out to the eCollege Help Desk if the answer that a user is looking for is not provided. · Design Tips: Offers suggestions for how to create and use specific elements of the course (i.e., examples of what to include on the Course Home Page or in the Syllabus). · Browser Test: Provides guidance to users on minimum hardware and system requirements; found on the login page of your online campus. · ID/Password Reminder: Provides help if users forget their login ID or password. Discuss |
| Student Involvement Tools | |
| Groupwork |
The Group Manager automatically generates an e-mail alias, private chat room and document sharing area for each group. All course content, such as threaded discussion, also can be assigned to a specific group at any time. Discuss |
| Community Networking |
The Chat tool supports unlimited simultaneous group discussions. The Chat tool supports a structured way for students to ask questions and faculty to provide answers. Within a course, users have the ability to participate in multiple chats at the same time. This can take place within a course or across courses.Users are also able to keep the chat rooms open while they work in other areas of the course. Discuss |
| Student Portfolios |
eCollege has formed a partnership to integrate Foliotek within the eCollege system. The online portfolio solution enables institutions to define portfolio templates and align those templates to desired learning outcomes. Students align digital files from their personal storage repository to the defined templates and use convenient communication tools to reflect on their learning and personal development. Students also can share their personal portfolio, either internally to constituencies within the institution, such as career counselors, advisors or classmates, or externally with potential employers and other interested parties. Specific schools or programs can assign and create ePortfolios to students within that program. These assessment portfolios can be tied to standards or outcomes and defined by administration or faculty. Students can also create a personal portfolio that may house materials relevant to employment, licensing boards, etc. Additionally, the portfolio tool allows faculty to assess student work, provides students with the ability to upload a repository of personal files, and gives students the capacity to grant "access" to any person for any amount of time. The portfolio can be taken with the student after graduation, if desired. Discuss |
| Administration Tools | |
| Authentication |
With eCollege’s hosted solution there are no servers or software applications to buy or deploy. All the hardware, software, networking and archiving capabilities needed are provided. The APIs allow eCollege modules to integrate seamlessly with each other. The CMS also supports back office systems, leverages licensed content and integrates with additional third-party applications. Discuss |
| Course Authorization |
Which course tools display in the eCollege system can be controlled by utilizing the integrated system of roles and permissions. Each role contains a collection of rights. Rights are usually granular to the course feature level (threads, Dropbox and so on) and can be set up to allow visibility, participation, administration or no access. Roles can be assigned to users at a campus or course level. The course developer can turn on or off any course tool in a course at any time. For example, an Educational Partner may choose to turn off the e-mail tool for a specific course, or group of courses, by using a specific role. Course access levels, branding requirements and reporting needs will vary within one institution; therefore, the system supports flexible, customizable course and program structures. eCollege allows institutions to create roles and rights to be assigned to each user when accessing different courses, to have separate branding for separate entities within an institution, and to organize reports based on the various entities and sub-entities within the hierarchy. Benefits include consistency with an institution’s on-campus structure and flexibility around the node structure. Access for roles is granted and restricted as each user is assigned rights in a specific node. Discuss |
| Registration Integration |
Discuss |
| Hosted Services |
As a true .asp outsource solution, every user is on the latest version of eCollege. Customers never have to upgrade to newer versions as all upgrades are made available to everyone automatically. Discuss |
| Course Delivery Tools | |
| Test Types |
Discuss |
| Automated Testing Management |
Discuss |
| Automated Testing Support |
Test analysis data includes mean, median, mode, range, SIQR, Standard Deviation, Difficulty (P Value), as well as both exam and question level statistics. Discuss |
| Online Marking Tools |
Discuss |
| Online Gradebook |
Gradebook supports weighting and / or point based assessment. All course tools associate with the gradebook allowing the instructor to see only the student's work they are interested in at the time. Discuss |
| Course Management |
Discuss |
| Student Tracking |
Discuss |
| Content Development Tools | |
| Accessibility Compliance |
Discuss |
| Content Sharing/Reuse |
Discuss |
| Course Templates |
Discuss |
| Customized Look and Feel |
Look and feel elements and rights are determined by the institution at setup. Discuss |
| Instructional Design Tools |
Discuss |
| Instructional Standards Compliance |
SCORM 1.2 ADL Certified Discuss |
| Hardware/Software | |
| Client Browser Required |
Reviewer Comments Standard browsers are acceptable including Firefox Safari and IE. Discuss |
| Database Requirements |
Discuss |
| UNIX Server |
Discuss |
| Windows Server |
Discuss |
| Company Details/Licensing | |
| Company Profile |
Reviewer Comments eCollege, a true .asp provider of eLearning since 1996, provides a comprehensive outsource solution to support the growth of online distance programs for K-12, colleges, and universities. As a provider with all of the hardware, software and support services under one roof, eCollege offers single-point accountability to assure programs provide a high-quality experience for students, which translates into strong program retention and enrollment growth for the institution. Discuss |
| Costs / Licensing |
Reviewer Comments eCollege cost is based on a student technology fee - per student / per course. Institutions pay only for what they use with no licensing fee. As well, the more the instituion grows, typically the more the individual student cost goes down. eCollege's success is based on the institution's success. Discuss |
| Open Source |
Discuss |
| Optional Extras |
Reviewer Comments Program Intelligence Manager - allows for "data-mining" to assess and correlate activity, grades, etc. Portfolios - allows student and / or institutions to "showcase" work for accreditation, assessment, or potential employment opportunities. ExamGuard - integrates with Questionmark's product to "lock down" browsers during system exams. Content Manager - allows instructors or groups to hold content in a central repository for easy updating and sharing of content. Discuss |