I have been working in Desire2Learn (VIULearn) for over a year and a half through my position at the Centre for Innovation and Excellence in Learning (CIEL) at Vancouver Island University (VIU). I have spent a lot of time replying to support emails and phone calls and built or helped to develop parts of many courses. I am currently working on building a course on using VIULearn with another member of CIEL, under the direction of the Director of CIEL, Liesel Knaack.
Given my relatively unique position, I have a few thoughts about strengths and weaknesses of VIULearn.
The Weaknesses
Image “Overwhelmed” by Walt Stoneburner under license CC BY 2.0
VIULearn is an extremely robust system. There are very few things instructors want to do in the system that we have not been able to figure out how to do yet. That is a huge strength – but for entry-level instructors it is a massive weakness. The system seems too big, overwhelming and complicated for someone who just wants to dip their toe in the water. To try and combat that feeling, CIEL offers introduction workshops (or “get up and run” workshops), which offer just enough of the system to get comfortable, without any of the bells and whistles that can be overwhelming.
For more intermediate and advanced instructors who are used to other Learning Management Systems (LMSs) VIULearn doesn’t allow for a lot of customization. We are using a very specific Course Home layout, and the look and feel is the same for all courses and all programs across VIU. This was done, in part, for students: once they know where to find something it is in the same place in all of their classes.
Finally, there is a bit of a gaping hole in VIULearn when it comes to student collaboration. Students cannot easily “get together” using VIULearn without instructor help. We are hoping that Wiggo (recently acquired by Desire2Learn and being integrated into the LMS) will help to alleviate that issue. (Wiggio is also available for free outside of Desire2Learn here: http://wiggio.com/). I have written a blog post about Wiggio in the past here: http://wordpress.viu.ca/ciel/2013/08/02/wiggio/ as well.
The Strengths
Image taken from http://www.desire2learn.com/products/.
Again, VIULearn is an extremely robust system, especially with the other products CIEL has integrated into the system. There are capabilities for most types of assessment and evaluation, synchronous and asynchronous discussions, file management, media integration, and a plethora of small, easily managed tools like Checklists, Glossary and FAQs.
Most tools can also be divided into introductory, intermediate and advanced use. I can tell you there is more to most tools then meets the eye – I am still learning about them after working with them for over a year – but an entry-level instructor can still use most tools relatively easily.
I believe that this system offers a lot of solutions for instructors who are able to invest the up-front time into it. A crowd favorite tool right now is “User Progress”. This allows the instructor to see how often a student logs into the system, what content items they have looked at, and for about how long they viewed those files. Some instructors find that information extremely helpful – it allows them to pick up on the students who may need some additional support without the student having to ask for it. Another tool many instructors like is “Rubrics”. After taking the time to build a rubric in the system, it can be attached to assignments so students can view them before submitting, and help to speed up marking as well.
I could go on and on about why I like using VIULearn, but I would rather hear from instructors and students of the system. What are your top likes and dislikes of the system?
You make me wish that this course was long enough for us all to explore in D2l, Moodle, and Canvas. I used D2L when I first started in DL. Unfortunately, I was thrown in it and didn’t have any training. Although I feel that I am fairly technically savvy, I didn’t find the program all that intuitive. We did have someone on staff at the time who helped us out, but there always seemed to be so many steps for me to do what I wanted to do and there was never enough time. I’ve heard with recent upgrades D2L has gotten better and I certainly have not minded using it within our VIU courses as a student.
I actually think it is a benefit for institutions to have a consistent lay out and look. Once students figure out how to maneuver within the platform, they can move seamlessly from one course to the next. I see this as a benefit as when I started teaching online classes, I spent a significant amount of time helping students figure out the system. For some students, this was extremely frustrating. I even provided written step by step instruction on where to look on the screen and which button to click (of course not all students read through these sorts of instructions thoroughly). This took away from time I had available to teach and make improvements to my courses. These days students have either become more technically savvy or the learning management systems have improved and are easier to figure out. I think it is probably a bit of both.
For the most part, I don’t think the LMS matters that much (as long as they are fairly intuitive and easy to move around in). For me, one of the important things is that they present themselves in an organized manner and make it easy for the student to find the content they are looking for. I think D2L, Moodle and Canvas all do that. I do not like Edmodo so much as the students have to scroll through a lot if they’ve missed something and it is not easy to find. There is no side bar with labels of the assignments or lessons. That was one of my complaints when the company asked me for feedback…that and the fact that teachers can’t go into the system beforehand and develop their courses and lessons. As soon as it is put in, it is visible to the students…making it difficult to plan ahead or prepare beforehand.