Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Precis
In 1974, the University of British Columbia (UBC) began its Rural Family Practice
underserviced areas of BC, allowing them to participate in one-on-one training with a rural
physician (UBC, 2014). So successful was the program that in 1997 it became a curriculum
requirement, and in 2014 was fully incorporated into third-year medical school training.
medical care that looks after patients from birth to death and from home to hospital and
Our task is to find an appropriate LMS to accommodate videos of specific clinical skills.
and that video will be viewed by two clinical faculty members and four peers. The reviewers
need to be able to provide feedback on the video and annotate their comments in some way. The
four peers will be in the same area as the video subject, as well one of the faculty members.
Other faculty will either be at UBC, or one of the cooperating universities, University of Victoria
or University of Northern BC; the learning shell needs to accommodate some distance. Thus, the
LMS needs to support high video functionality, while preserving privacy and minimizing
expense. It must support other multimedia artefacts, a clinical reasoning framework, and
divided our rubric into two main sections: Essential Elements and Preferred Elements. Each
section is further broken down into categories, including functional requirements, technical
requirements, data management, and costs. Proposed learning management systems that do not
meet the minimum essential elements score are not considered further.
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Rubric
Each criterion in the Essential section must achieve a minimum rating of 2 in order for the LMS to be considered further.
Where the rubric has multiple points under one criteria (e.g. Interaction) score 3 only if it addresses ALL points. Where the same
criteria are found under Acceptable and Recommended (e.g. Data Privacy) score 3.
Interface is functional but not intuitively Interface is obvious, self-explanatory, Interface is obvious, self-explanatory,
designed and aesthetically bland. aesthetically interesting. Content intuitive, aesthetically interesting and
Contains distracting elements, visually presented in a simple and straightforward inviting. Content presented in a simple
Design and Layout busy. Little use of design elements (text, manner. Good use of design elements and straightforward manner. Design
colour, font size) to create focal points. (text, colour, font size) to create focal elements (text, colour, font size) well
Media redundancy (visual + narration + points. Some evidence of media utilized to create focal points. No
text) evident. redundancy. redundancy of media.
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Offers only quantitative assessment Offers quantitative assessment Offers a diversity of qualitative and
opportunities. Basic database-generated opportunities as well as limited quantitative assessment opportunities.
quiz and assessment tool to evaluate qualitative assessment opportunities. Interactive assessment tools that allow
Testing and
students previous knowledge. Limited Multimedia enabled assessment tool students to reflect to previous knowledge.
Assessment Tools
range of questions types (multiple choice, (picture or attachments) to customize Separate tests to allow students to reflect
true/false, short answer and essay students reflection to previous to previous knowledge and enhance
questions). knowledge. skills. Has immediate feedback capability.
Testing and Reporting features limited to numerical Offers limited reporting features. Offers sophisticated reporting features,
Assessment - scores. Student progress is poorly Presentation of student progress is not presenting student progress in various,
Reporting Features communicated. customizable. customizable ways.
Instructor: LMS is difficult to use and Instructor LMS is moderately intuitive Instructor LMS is highly intuitive and
Ease of Use -Instructor requires considerable time investment to and requires a reasonable time requires limited time investment to
become proficient. investment to become proficient. become proficient.
Student: LMS is difficult to use and Student: LMS has an intuitive design
requires heavy time investment for Student: LMS has a functional design layout requiring little to no training in
Ease of Use - Student
proficiency. Appearance is bland and navigable with limited training. order to use. Appearance is inviting to
distracting. Appearance is appealing to user. user.
Available during business hours via email, Available with extended hours via email,
Available during business hours via email
telephone and live chat. Central IT support telephone and live chat. Both central IT
Technical Support with long response times. No central IT
is available but no department specific IT support and department specific IT support
support is available.
support is available. are available.
Allows for export of data (with personally Allows for export of data ((with personally
Data Management identifiable information removed) to external identifiable information removed) to external
Data is not exportable.
- Exportability data warehouse for use with external data warehouse for use with external
analytics programs. analytics programs.
Basic Learning The LMS can create a Basic LTI link within
The LMS can access a video editing
Tools The LMS can create an external link to a content page of the LMS so
application within a content page of the
Interoperability access a video editing application. authenticated users can access a full-
LMS.
(LTI) fledged video editing application smoothly.
Does not comply fully with BC Freedom Full compliance with BC Freedom of Full compliance with BC Freedom of
Privacy Law of Information and Protection of Privacy Information and Protection of Privacy Act Information and Protection of Privacy Act
Compliance Act (FIPPA) and/or UBC Information (FIPPA) and UBC Information Security (FIPPA) and UBC Information Security
Security Standards. Standards. Standards.
Personally identifiable information (PII) and Personally identifiable information (PII) and
other sensitive information (personal health other sensitive information (personal health
Personally identifiable information
Data Security - information) is held on UBC servers behind information) is held on UBC servers behind
(PII) is housed in the cloud or on a
Storage UBC firewalls, in UBC data centres in UBC firewalls, in UBC data centres in
server outside of UBC.
compliance with UBC information security compliance with UBC information security
standards. standards.
Automatic Backup No automatic backup system and/or Automatic backup system and disaster Automatic backup system and disaster
and Recovery disaster recovery plan recovery plan recovery plan
LMS must score a minimum of two points on each assessment criteria to be considered further
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Clinical faculty members and Clinical faculty members and students can
Clinical faculty members and students can
Advanced Search students can search uploaded search by keywords and metadata from
search by keywords or metadata from
Option students videos by title or author clinical faculty members uploaded students
uploaded students videos.
name. videos.as well as by comments
LMS is able to host third party interactive LMS supports interactive tools that can
Interactive
LMS does not support interactive tools. tools. Faculty can create an interactive be created easily within the LMS and
Functionality
clinical reasoning framework. seamlessly disseminated to the students.
Training modules are included with LMS Training materials are included with LMS
Training Limited training materials available and
and include printed materials and online and include print, online tutorials, and
Materials not provided with LMS.
tutorials. face-to-face training sessions.
The LMS manages small to medium The LMS manages medium to large The LMS manages large throughput of
System Performance
throughput of users not affecting client throughput of users not affecting client users not affecting client to server
to server responses. to server responses. responses.
Minimum standards met? (Did every criterion in the Essential section score two or higher?)
Yes No
If YES, proceed; If NO, LMS should be rejected
Preferred Subtotal
Criteria Score /54
FINAL LMS
TOTAL /138
SCORE
Evaluation Analysis
Rationale
Learning management systems (LMS) are an indispensable technology for today's higher
education institutions and each institution has unique requirements to consider when selecting
one. Essential in the LMS is the functionality to support the teaching and learning needs of the
institutions students and faculty (Cavanaugh, 2014; Abdullateef, Elias, Mohamed, & Zaidan,
2016), as well as ensuring the institution is compliant with data privacy and security legislation.
Incorporated into the above rubric are Bates (2014) SECTIONS framework and
Chickering and Ehrmanns (1996) Seven Principles of Technology as Lever. The following
technologies and requires a sound pedagogical foundation where teachers can select content and
In conjunction with a sound pedagogical foundation is a design and layout that facilitates
learning and teaching. Mayer (in Bates 2014) identified twelve principles of multimedia design.
The essence of these principles is that well-designed e-learning content is of little value if it
obvious, intuitive and self-explanatory so that the users time is spent thinking about the learning
and not about the interface (Gutierrez, 2014). According to Bates (2015), the affordance of
interaction is critically important when selecting a LMS, as students learn best when they are
active in their learning. For that reason, the LMS must be evaluated in terms of the
opportunities it affords for interaction between peers, instructors, and learning materials. In
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addition, good migration of materials and assessment tools must be in place for students to
further interact with learning materials and reflect on their learning experience.
An effective LMS should not require a heavy time investment in order for a user to
become proficient, thus ease of use is an essential criterion. Content is of little value if the user is
unable to access it or finds the system cumbersome to use. This includes access for users who
require special accommodations, typically due to physical or learning disabilities. Both Bates
(2015) and Brokup (2008) state that accessibility and access for diverse learners are important
factors to consider in ensuring the LMS adequately addresses different types of learners.
are vital in a digital platform. Chickering and Ehrmann (1996) assert that communication
technologies increase access to faculty, afford resource sharing, and facilitate shared
learning. For that reason, email, computer conferencing, and instant chat, all of which serve to
increase total communication and the opportunities to share work and problem solve, were
Mobile devices are included under functional requirements as students increasing use of
mobile devices for educational and mobile access to an LMS is particularly valuable for students
who are relatively older and off-campus (Joo, Kim, & Kim, 2016). In addition, a survey by
Boruff and Storie (2014) found over 50% of the 3rd- and 4th-year students and residents
reported using their mobile devices to find drug information, find clinical practice guidelines,
(Results, para 1), and 77% of students used them daily during their clinical clerkships. Mobile
access (always-anytime-anywhere connection) to the LMS is valuable for students who are
Learning analytics are becoming of increasing importance in online teaching and learning
In creating this rubric we have afforded high value to tracking capabilities and learning analytics
that provide students, faculty and the institution with the information they need to track and
analyze student progress, optimize teaching and learning, and promote student success. We
developed our analytics criteria based on the work of Johnson et al. (2016), Pappas (2014, 2016),
For the LMS technical requirements, technical supports, integration with SIS, OSs and
browser compatibility are essential criteria. Briefly, seamless integration of data among all
systems allows for efficient and optimal use of LMS. Other technical elements which contribute
to creating a seamless and enjoyable user experience were considered preferred, but non-
essential.
Data security was carefully considered in our rubric. Public post-secondary institutions
such as UBC fall under the BC Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act (FIPPA).
adopt a LMS that did not facilitate compliance with FIPPA regulations and that it must comply
with UBC Information Security Standards (2014). Students in the program record both actors
and real patients, so security and privacy are of paramount importance. The LMS must be able to
manage attempts from hackers to bypass authentication method and the external video annotation
editing tool.
and support costs all require careful consideration. Hidden costs and high maintenance fees can
significantly affect an institutions budget. Choosing wisely can prevent a costly mistake.
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Conclusion
Choosing an LMS can be a daunting task. The wide range of available LMS platforms
have different strengths and weaknesses, standard performance levels, infrastructure, and
licensing options. Choosing the wrong platform can be costly in terms of budget and time
commitment. Being clear about an LMS desired features, functionality, and cost can help guide
institutions in the selection process and prevent becoming distracted by an LMS bells and
whistles. It is crucial that a selection strategy or rubric be used to evaluate various systems being
considered. We feel we have created a comprehensive LMS evaluation rubric that is especially
suitable to UBCs Rural Family Practice Clerkship Program but could also be adapted by many
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