This document discusses pilots of learning management system (LMS) environments in higher education. It provides an overview of NetSpot, a company that supports open source LMS platforms. It then discusses NetSpot's experiences with LMS pilots in 2009, including different types of pilots and considerations for pilots. Finally, it outlines critical success factors for successful LMS pilots, including clear governance, a sound evaluation framework, and stakeholder representation.

1. Piloting LMS
environments in the
Higher Education sector
Mark Drechsler
Professional Services Manager
NetSpot Pty Ltd
© 2009 NetSpot Pty Ltd

2. Today’s Presentation
• A bit about NetSpot
• Open Source pilot experiences in
the last year
• Supporting the case for change
• Critical success factors for LMS
pilots
© 2009 NetSpot Pty Ltd

3. About NetSpot
© 2009 NetSpot Pty Ltd

4. Sakai Commercial Affiliate
Mahara Partner
Moodle Partner
Wimba Authorised Reseller
Partner
© 2009 NetSpot Pty Ltd

5. Pilot experiences
in 2009
© 2009 NetSpot Pty Ltd

6. 2009: Increased interest in piloting Open
Source learning technologies.
© 2009 NetSpot Pty Ltd

7. What do we classify as a „Pilot‟?
“...small scale preliminary study conducted
before the main research in order to check
the feasibility or to improve the design of
the research”
- Wikipedia
© 2009 NetSpot Pty Ltd

8. Different kinds of pilots
Evaluation focus
• to support LMS selection process
Pre-implementation focus
• to help plan production deployment
© 2009 NetSpot Pty Ltd

9. Integration
Functional Content
evaluation migration
Pilot
considerations Technical
Support
evaluation
Hosting
Stakeholders
© 2009 NetSpot Pty Ltd
environment

10. Common trade off
Increased:
• Scope
• Stakeholder participation
• Integration
• Configuration
• t, $
• Evaluation data
© 2009 NetSpot Pty Ltd

11. Open Source vs Proprietary:
The flexibility of Open Source
means that far more options
are available for a pilot
© 2009 NetSpot Pty Ltd

12. A note on Sakai
In our experience, some
technical configuration
effort is required to
showcase its true potential
© 2009 NetSpot Pty Ltd

13. The value of partnering
Partnering with an experienced services
provider can:
• Reduce implementation time
• Avoid common mistakes
• Utilise existing knowledge
• Assist evaluation of partner services such as
managed hosting and technical support
© 2009 NetSpot Pty Ltd

14. Supporting the case for
change
© 2009 NetSpot Pty Ltd

15. An Open Source LMS can lead to...
... a re-think of teaching practice
© 2009 NetSpot Pty Ltd

16. An Open Source LMS can lead to...
... the use of the LMS for more than just
teaching and learning
• Research
• Collaboration
• Networking
© 2009 NetSpot Pty Ltd

17. An Open Source LMS can lead to...
... an alignment of
institutional culture to a
community-driven product
© 2009 NetSpot Pty Ltd

18. Critical success factors
© 2009 NetSpot Pty Ltd

19. 1. Clear governance
Including
• a Business Owner
• a project definition
• clearly defined roles and responsibilities
• Executive buy-in
© 2009 NetSpot Pty Ltd

20. 2. Sound evaluation framework
Consider
• Pedagogical
• Support
• Integration
• Financial
• Strategic
Instruments such as surveys, observations,
interviews, feature lists, TCO estimates
© 2009 NetSpot Pty Ltd

21. 3. Stakeholder representation
Including
• Teaching and learning
• Technology
• Support staff
• Administrative staff
© 2009 NetSpot Pty Ltd

22. The biggest challenge?
Simple pilot that
focuses on key
Complex pilot that aspects, but that
closely resembles may leave gaps in
the production the evaluation
environment, but process
that takes longer
and costs more
© 2009 NetSpot Pty Ltd

23. Questions?
© 2009 NetSpot Pty Ltd