The University of the West Indies, St.

Augustine

Open Campus

MSc Instructional Design & Technology

EDID 6510 Learning and Knowledge Management Systems

Assignment 2

La Donna Howell (03621575)

e-Tutor: Dr. Leroy Hill

 With the advent of the World Wide Web, ICT and smart devices, the face of education

has been forced to keep up with the times and evolve to adapt to the ever-changing educational

landscape. E- learning or electronic learning has become the new method of instructional

delivery and either replaces or functions alongside the traditional face to face method depending

on the context. Nowadays, most educational institutions have incorporated at least one of three e-

learning platforms, Learning Management System (LMS), Learning Content Management

System (LCMS) or Content Management System (CMS) to effectively and efficiently enhance

instruction, learning and management functions. This paper serves to evaluate the effectiveness

of the aforementioned systems in three different settings to ascertain their suitability and

appropriateness to their respective contexts as well as provide recommendations in keeping with

best e-learning practices.

A Learning Management System (LMS) is a web-based platform over which teaching

and learning occurs. At the University of the West Indies Open Campus (UWIOC), the Moodle

LMS is used as the platform to conduct fully online programmes and in some cases, complement

traditional face to face instruction by providing a shared forum for tutors and students to post

content, communicate and collaborate. An LMS is ideal for this educational setting as the

UWIOC is the premier tertiary level institution across sixteen countries throughout the region

and an LMS integration allows for greater accessibility to education without time and space

constraints.

The LMS Moodle is suited for the UWIOC as this open source platform allows for the

delivery of 100% online learning for selected course offerings. Features of this LMS include

discussion forums or learning cafes, weblinks to course material and drop-box areas to submit

assignments. The forum feature allows for asynchronous discussions initiated by the tutor and
students can then post, add or reply to forum content. The resources feature allows for tutors to

add learning material (pdf files, URL’s, multimedia content etc.) to support learning.

However, ease of access for learners with special needs (visual, aural, physical,

cognitive) is non-existent. There was no evidence of narrator/screen readers, text magnifier,

speech recognition or dictation software. Further, font size could not be adjusted and

colour/contrast ratios could not be altered to suit the preferences of disabled learners. Some

evidence of website design accessibility was found in being able to use the keyboard for

navigation instead of the mouse as well as the provision of skip to content links but these are

thought to be basic built in features of website interface. In essence, there was no evidence of

assistive technologies or editable specialised settings to enhance the learning experience of

disabled users engaging with the UWIOC’s learning management system.

In the area of web standards, the following table examines the university’s learning

management system’s content and page design to ascertain if it falls within the remit of the

universal design framework (Betul & Bumen, 2013).

Table 1: Assessment of LMS Moodle using UID’s Principles

Universal Instructional Design Principle Moodle

Equitable Use 

The design is useful and marketable to people Does not make provisions for learners with
with diverse abilities. disabilities.

Flexibility in Use 
Users have no choice in methods of use. No
The design accommodates a wide range of adaptability to user’s pace.
individual preferences and abilities.
 Simple and Intuitive Use 

Use of the design is easy to understand, Design proves complex for disabled users to
regardless of the user's experience, understand and navigate.
knowledge, language skills, or current
concentration level.

Perceptible Information 

The design communicates necessary Design is not compatible with a variety of

information effectively to the user, regardless techniques or devices used by learners with
of ambient conditions or the user's sensory sensory limitations.
abilities.

Low Physical and Technical Effort 

The design can be used efficiently and Minimal physical and technical exertion for
comfortably and with a minimum of fatigue. non-disabled users but disabled users will
experience fatigue in trying to navigate the
LMS.

As evidenced above, it can be said that UWIOC’s LMS Moodle is not disability friendly.

According to Kent (2015), “eLearning holds many possibilities for inclusion for people with

disabilities, however the online platforms utilized must provide access for all students, “for

persons with disabilities, unless technological design and implementation meaningfully focus on

inclusion, the internet may become a new means of increased marginalization in society.”

Having compiled the aforementioned data, the following recommendations were proffered.

• Use all accessibility modules available on Moodle. They exist but are not integrated into

the UWIOC’s Moodle interface.

• Standardization of all Moodle web interfaces for all online courses. As it is, each course

coordinator / instructor designs their own Moodle interface for their individual courses

which hinders the navigation of assistive technologies.

 • Implementation of assistive technologies such as Dragon Speak which converts speech to

text and allows users to create documents by voice.

• Implementation of JAWS which converts text to speech and allows users to listen to print

material and e-documents.

• Integration of ReadSpeaker and TextAid into the Moodle LMS which provides a text-to-

speech functionality and highlights words as they are being read aloud.

It is imperative that the UWIOC fully endorse and utilise the full complement of Moodle add-ins

in order to enhance accessibility which in turn will meet the needs of learners with diverse

abilities and disabilities.

A Learning Content Management System (LCMS) manages all learning material of an

organization in one centralized location. This system allows for the authoring, storing and

delivering of content to meet the needs of an individual or pool of learners. Harvard University’s

Extension School, HarvardX, employs Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) for their

delivery of online courses. This LCMS is relevant and appropriate to the connected age of today

and boasts over 800 online course options which offers the flexibility of self-paced learning at a

free or minimal cost. Not all learners can afford the tuition cost of Harvard’s in-house

educational offerings but can alternately pursue the virtual courses of the institution. HarvardX’s

online learning platform was perused and found to be in compliance with federal and state

regulations regarding accessibility for persons with disabilities. Their LCMS conforms to The

Worldwide Web Consortium’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 2.1 which

provides accommodations for the most common barriers for disabled learners. This is

highlighted in the table below using the Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, Robust

(P.O.U.R) principles of accessibility.

Table 2: Assessment of HarvardX’s LCMS using POUR’s Principles

LCMS Perceivable Operable Understandable Robust

Harvard ✓Alt text images ✓Navigational ✓Content is ✓Compatible

MOOC are provided functions using easily readable with current
only a keyboard and functional and future
✓Captions or assistive
transcripts for ✓Hyperlinks ✓Minimal technologies
video and audio contain possibility of and web
meaningful user mistakes browsers
✓Sufficient colour content
contrast between ✓Easy
text and ✓Learners are correction of
background allotted sufficient mistakes if made
time to complete
tasks

In addition to the above accessibility features, HarvardX also has an adaptive technology

laboratory dedicated to disabled students. This lab is outfitted with hardware and software such

as voice recognition (Dragon Naturally Speaking), screen readers (JAWS), text-to-speech

software (Kurzweil 1000 and 3000) and screen magnification software (MAGic) which is at the

disposal of HarvardX’s disabled learners. It is also noteworthy to mention that HarvardX’s only

loophole in accessibility compliance has now been resolved as sufficient provision of closed

caption for its online and video content has been addressed, hence settling the accessibility

lawsuit filed by the National Association of the Deaf.

At East Mucurapo Secondary School, the Content Management System (CMS),

WordPress was used to build the school’s website. The primary aim of this Web CMS is to

provide a repository of content about the school for information purposes. Given the context of a

secondary level learning institution, this CMS is relevant and appropriate as users who wish to
find out information about the school can access the website and peruse its content. In evaluating

the accessibility of this website, the following information was obtained and compiled in the

table below.

Table 3: Assessment of Web CMS (http://www.emss.edu.tt/) using Accessibility Guidelines

Accessibility Guidelines Web CMS


ALT text for images There are no alt tags which provide text to describe images
on web page.

Proper use of Headings ✓

Headings are appropriately used via header tags.

Links ✓
Links are accessible for users who are not using a mouse.
Links can be navigated and activated with tab and enter
keys.

Focus ✓
Navigation is possible throughout webpage using keyboard
commands alone to access interactive components.

Forms ✓
‘Contact Us’ form can be navigated and completed using
only the keyboard.

Lists ✓
Webpage lists created using html list elements to facilitate
screen reader technology.

Color considerations 
The website design does not take into consideration persons
with colour-blindness. Room for improvement with contrast
levels.
 Based on the findings above, this Web CMS was found to be mostly compliant with

accessibility best practices. There was partial noncompliance with the W3C Web Accessibility

Initiative but for the most part, this website made accommodations for users with disabilities.

The following recommendations were offered.

• Alt tags for all images to facilitate use of screen reader technology.

• Make content easily distinguishable by separating foreground from background and

ensure colour contrast is within acceptable range.

The alignment between organizational needs and choosing an LMS is critical and the final

decision should be an informed one after extensive and comprehensive research on the options

available. The table below gives the requisite functional and technical criteria and measures these

requirements against the offerings of the LMS’s.

Table 4: Comparing Organization Needs to what many LMS provide

Criterion LMS LCMS CMS

(Moodle) (HarvardX) http://www.emss.edu.tt/

Access
Is the LMS accessible via
different platforms? Does
✓ ✓ ✓
the UI adapt for handhelds,
but also provide a good
layout for laptop and
desktop users (ie is it
responsive?)
Long Term Support
Has the LMS provider
established ongoing
✓ ✓ 
support, and does it
regularly roll out updates to
keep itself current?
Furthermore, does it do this
for installed plugins as
well?

Integration with Outside

Apps Can the LMS import
users from the existing user
✓ ✓ 
database (eg. Excel) or
application (eg. Google
Apps)?
Support Existing Content
Can the LMS import course
materials packaged in our
✓ ✓ 
current LMSs?
Flexibility/Scalability
Can the LMS support these
needs as the organization
✓ ✓ ✓
grows and requires greater
resources and functions?
Cost Ceiling
Can the LMS meet the
essential needs of the
✓ ✓ ✓
organization within the
allotted financial budget?
Reliability
Can the LMS perform
consistently at a high level
✓ ✓ ✓
with regular maintenance?
 References

Czerkawski, B., & Bumen, N. (2013, October). Universal Design for E-Learning: A
Review of the Literature for Higher Education. In E-Learn: World Conference on E-Learning in
Corporate, Government, Healthcare, and Higher Education. Retrieved from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/292748711_Universal_Design_for_E-
Learning_A_Review_of_the_Literature_for_Higher_Education
Harvard University. (2019, April 30). University Disability Resources. Retrieved from
https://accessibility.harvard.edu/
Harvard University. (2019, April 30). Harvard University Digital Accessibility Policy.
Retrieved from https://accessibility.huit.harvard.edu/digital-accessibility-policy
Iniesto, F., McAndrew, P., Minocha, S., & Coughlan, T. (2016). Accessibility of
MOOCs: Understanding the Provider Perspective. Retrieved from
https://jime.open.ac.uk/articles/10.5334/jime.430/
Kent, M. (2015). Disability and eLearning: Opportunities and Barriers. Retrieved from
https://dsq-sds.org/article/view/3815/3830
Kim, S. (2019, November 29). Harvard University, The Latest Higher Education
Institution To Be Mandated To Provide Video Closed Captioning. Retrieved from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/sarahkim/2019/11/29/harvard-university-national-assoc-of-the-
deaf-lawsuit/#c9c243166997
Office of Student Services: The University of the West Indies at Cave Hill, Barbados -
Assistive Technologies. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://www.cavehill.uwi.edu/studentservices/disabilities/assistive-technologies.aspx
The University of Kansas. (2019, May 6). Accessibility Best Practices. Retrieved from
https://cms.ku.edu/accessibility-best-practices