KnowledgeNET

KnowledgeNET is our schools perfered choice of Learning Management System. Now the Ministry of Education has set up a website that provides schools looking at using an Managed Online Learning Environments, now I have been using a number of these over the years I have been with the school. I have used Blackboard (hate it), Mindspring, this was when it was Encarta Class server (This was a nice environment to work with), Interact (This is used at Christchurch College of education and is so far the best that I have used) and now KnowledgeNET. Some of the major issues I have is with this one, it claims that it is a Learning Management System, however it is more of a Content Management System. I wrote a bit of a paper on it last year and thought that I would share it.

In my school they are currently using KnowledegeNET as their LMS (Learning Management System). I do agree with you that it is not a LCMS, it is not even a LMS (Learning Management System). The students cannot really manage there own learning through it. It is a place to put up documents (resources) it has the functionality of a dog. There is no place to test students, there is no drop box for students to hand in work, even by a set time, only if they hand it into there public space. But then that is available to everyone.

Out of the CM Briefing terms – Definition of information management terms, a LCMS (Learning Content Management System) combines the capabilities of a content management system(CMS) with that of a learning management system(LMS). This allows them to manage both the content of the training materials, and the administration of the course itself. http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/cmb_definition/pdf/CMb_Definition.pdf

There is no course to really manage within KnowledgeNet, within the MyZone Courses, navigation is, Course Outline, Forum, Noticeboard, Personal Calendar, Resources and Welcome. You can add extra folders in to house different units of work and subsections, but that is still documents (documents can be webpage, word document, excel, spreadsheet, adobe pdf files, macromedia flash objects), but as any part of teaching, formative and summative testing and recording is still required. Knowledgenet lacks this.

KnowledgeNET provides the ability to create resources, or Learning Objects via the use of an online web page creator WYSIWYG, that you can create Learning Object and include images, text, flash, links to other websites, files. Although it is limited in its use.

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What is KnowledgeNET?

The KnowledgeNET is a Learning Management System built to meet the challenges and opportunities presented in an information rich learning landscape. If you can use a web browser, then you can begin using your KnowledgeNET and create a truly lifelong learning environment for teacher, students and parents to share and explore.
Mark Tredwell.

What is the KnowledgeNET?
KnowledgeNET is an unparalleled New Zealand learning management service that facilitates the effective sharing of knowledge and communication between cluster schools, teachers, administrators, students and parents delivering a rich teaching and learning environment.
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Copied from the KnowledegeNET User Guide

KnowledgeNET Features:
• A comprehensive intranet/extranet solution for schools.
• Permissions Based so that every user has their own customised environment to ensure that they see their relevant classes/subjects and school information.
• Cut and paste technology to easily add content and new data including uploading images and files, placing links, creating tables, inserting flash animations plus other multimedia. Permission rights can be assigned to all data.
• Discussion and resource sharing with bulletin boards, online chat, file sharing tools, polls.
• School and staff notices
• Calendaring and booking forms
• Interoperability with other school services including all student management systems, library software, internet gateways and filtering systems.

Through the use of the KnowledgeNET you can give your students and staff the best possible opportunity to maximise their teaching and learning capabilities, without any technical hurdles to leap over.
Copied from: http://www.knowledge-networks.co.nz/products_knowledgenet.php

Administration of the system is also a problem; you cannot add members to your subject without having to go through the ICT administration. A LCMS should be easy to use, and easy to navigate. Yes KnowledgeNET are working on this and have been for a while now, however version 4 was supposed to arrive last year. They are still running version 3.10b.

It is nice that it is managed from outside the school, but it would also be nice to have active ICT administrations at the school to ask if you have a question of how to do something.

What is a LMS, CMS?
Learning Management system (LMS)
Learning management systems automate the administration of training and other learning. This includes registering students, managing training resources, recording results, and general course administration. Learning management systems are designed to meet the entire needs of professional trainers and other educators.

Content management system (CMS)
Content management systems support the creation, management, distribution, publishing, and discovery of corporate information. Also known as ‘web content management’ (WCM), these systems typically focus on online content targeted at either a corporate website or intranet.

From http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/cmb_definition/pdf/CMb_Definition.pdf

The Ministry of Education states that a Learning Management System is A software package to manage and deliver learning content and resources to students, usually comprising a variety of applications amalgamated as an “integrated” package and used within an OLE.

And an OLE (Online Learning Environment) is the complete online environment where a learner can access a range of applications or resources.

These statements are from the Ministry of Education: Enabling the 21st Century Learner, available from http://www.minedu.govt.nz/web/downloadable/dl10475_v1/itc-strategy.pdf

Now, for a change of speed,
Most of what I have looked at here is for Education, Schools in particular.
Businesses require some of the same functions, they too require Content Management Systems and Learning Content Management Systems, but these can what till another time.

References:
CM Briefing: Definition of information management terms: CMb 2004-04
http://www.steptwo.com.au/papers/cmb_definition/pdf/CMb_Definition.pdf
KnowledegeNET User Guide available upon request
KnowledgeNET: Connecting you to your world
http://www.knowledge-networks.co.nz/products_knowledgenet.php
Ministry of Education: Enabling the 21st Century Learner http://www.minedu.govt.nz/web/downloadable/dl10475_v1/itc-strategy.pdf

One of the things I found after I had completed this was a link on the KnowledgeNET site that shows how KnowledgeNET meets the MOE guidelines. http://www.knowledge.net.nz/knscope.php
It shows how it meets Learning, Administration and Technical Facets.

My favourite part is in the learning facet.

Publishing tools (e.g. Blog tools) and Reflective tools (e.g. e-portfolio)
These are in trial format at the moment are blogging tools which will be used in the development of the Web-folios. The web-folios also contained reflective tools, strategic planning and self-assessment environments.

When are these going to be made available, I am having to set up PbWiki, Wordpress and WAMP as well as a number of other systems on a seperate server inside the school for students to do this.