Blog : 4-5 stars

Tool: Sakai

Website: www.sakaiproject.org

Rating: 

Sakai is a Learning Management System created to support teaching, research and collaboration. Sakai is developed by an international community of universities and small colleges, K-12 systems, hospitals, government organisations, research societies and political parties. Sakai offers a cutting edge platform for online learning.

Usage

Sakai allows developer to upload files using a drag and drop system. It gives you several estructures that will help you to do your development even faster. However, due to its wide range of possibilities it is necessary training and experience to do it effectively. This is also an effective tool as it is available in a multitude of languages such as Arabic, Basque, Catalan, Chinese, German, Dutch, English, French, Indonesian, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Mongolian, Malay, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish and Vietnamese

Review

Sakai is an open-source software so it has no monetary cost. As Sakai is web-based software it can be accessed from anywhere. However, there are some requisites, you need to be connected to the Internet and you need to have an account to access. Even with a mobile device you can log in to see the content of the course. The output of this software is a course where the user can upload and download resources, make and answer activities such as quizzes, questionnaires or tests. In addition, they will be able to create and participate in chats and forums.

Tool Evaluation

Tool: SharePoint

Website: www.sharepoint.com

Rating: 

SharePoint is an integrated suite of products from Microsoft that allows its users to create a social intranet and a collaboration portal. It can be found as a cloud-based app or as an application running on its user’s infrastructure.

Usage

SharePoint has many features such document sharing, calendaring, discussions and more. In fact, it counts with an app store that allows its users to discover downloadable useful applications.

Its social features (blogs, communities, Wikis, RSS feeds, …) make collaboration easier. It seems that currently its being used by organizations more than by learning environments. However, due to its characteristics it could help the way students organize themselves and collaborate with each other.

Review

There are several licences depending on the needs of its users.

E.g. SharePoint Online is licensed on a per-user basis. It can be purchased either as a standalone plan or included as part of Office 365 plans (SharePoint Online Plan 1 – 4.2€ user/month, Plan 2 – 8.40€ user/month). SharePoint online allows its users to get rid of the overhead of managing an infrastructure of their own. Moreover, as there are mobile apps for Android, IOS and Windows Phone, its content is accessible from almost everywhere as long as an internet connection is available. SharePoint offers a safe place to organize, store and share information that will be available from any device.

Tool Evaluation

Tool: Moodle

Website: www.moodle.org

Rating: 

Moodle is an open-source software learning management system which aims to help educators, administrators and learners to create personalised learning enviroments. It is scalable from a few students to millions of users, robust, secure and private.

Usage

It has a simple interface and drag-and-drope features that make it easy to use. However since Moodle offers many possibilities it requires training and experience to be effective.

Review

Although Moodle is provided freely it requires people to build the system and maintain it. In addition it needs to either have a server in-house or have it hosted on the web.
As Moodle is web-based it can be accessed from anywhere as long as you’re connected to the Internet. You can even access to content on the Moodle platform using a mobile device.
With Moodle you can take advantage of  a powerful set of tools to create an environment that enhance teaching and learning. One of the advantages of using Moodle is that through activity logs you can carry out an exhaustive follow up of the participants.

Tool Evaluation

Tool: Blackboard Collaborate

Website: www.blackboard.com

Rating: 

Blackboard Collaborate™ is a web-hosted collaborative learning platform. This tool re-designs the system and offers a level of engagement which makes trainees feel like they’re together in the same room, this is possible due to its conference and collaboration features.

Usage

Blackboard  Collaborate  participants can join a live web conference for online classes, meetings, one-on-one tutoring, group projects, office hours, and much more:

For example:

– view whiteboard content, including images, presentations and annotations;

– view shared applications and desktops;

– communicate with moderators and others via text chat and two-way audio;

– raise their virtual hand for questions or comments;

use emotions to indicate laughter, confusion, or approval;

-participate in breakout room sessions;

Blackboard Collaborate has been redesigned to make anytime web conferencing with your students simpler, easier, and more reliable.  But Blackboard also offer services, analytics, and communication tools to support everyone’s learning.

Pricing information is not available on its website so if you want to know it, please contact the vendor directly

Review

As it is a web application, you must have Internet access in order to use it. In addition there are some requirements that you must meet if you want to use its web conferencing, you must use the English version, only windows operating systems support all its features and Java 7o higher must be installed. Overall it is one of the most popular course management systems in education establishments today as it is efficient and effective to use.

Tool Evaluation