...and another thing

Let's talk a litte more about learning management systems (LMS).  The more I research online instructor technical competence requirements, the more I uncover that the LMS is important to this competence.  Knowledge transfer is easy with some LMS.  Other LMS require a steeper learning curve; however, I can't recall any LMS that doesn't offer some level of training support.

In Michael Feldstein's blog e-Literate, he provides some succinct yet comprehensive advice for small schools on LMS selection.  I argue that large schools could benefit from his advice as well.  As I read Feldstein's post, I thougt about needs assessment, discrepancy evaluation modeling, and common-sense requirements (thanks Dr A for the eye-opener).

The reality with LMS is there's possibly an application for every need.  LMS exist that are hosted, open-source, proprietary, scalable, easily migrated/upgraded, etc.  If you're concerned about what technical skills your instructors need to possess to use the LMS, ask about it. Feldstein implies we humans resist change well. We should not let a perceived 'comfort zone' limit our ability to present an effective e-learning experience regardless our technical competence.