Using a Free LMS: A Case Study for Edu20.org

I've always been a big fan of the Learning Management System. While getting my Masters, I used Blackboard, and later, Livetext. I know that Moodle is gaining popularity. I've seen it, and I'm keeping an eye out for it. I've been using a free web-hosted LMS called Edu20.org for the past year. It has satisfied my needs in many ways. It also has some flaws, and I'll detail those here as well.

This article is not intended to be an endorsement of Edu20.org. I'd like simply to offer the pros and cons of such a tool and it's place in Web 2.0 and in the classroom as it stands now.

The Overview:
Edu20.org is a free LMS, and by free, I mean that it does not cost the user one penny to host your class content. That is not true of Blackboard and even to use Moodle, you must use your own server space which may cost a district extra dollars. First impressions are that it's a fun, interesting place to host your stuff. Here's a look at the front page:


As you can see, it's a simple front page, with soft playful colors, and an engaging interface. Once students log in, they immediately see their avatar and some basic information about them, like how many points they earned (I've never used this) and how many friends they have.


Edu20 is more than just a LMS. It's a educational social network. It can connect students all over the world. Interestingly, since this is only my first year using this, I've rarely exploited the social aspect of the site. I find that it's pretty easy to get the kids signed up for my class- took less than a class period. Once they are in they can find their class content by navigating the top tabs:

All they have to do is click "learn," and, depending on how many classes they are enrolled for, they will have a list of their classes. They will click on that and then be taken to their class content. It is all organized in a playful, professional tab system.

In their class below they have a plethora of tools before them. Resources, lessons, students, forums, assignments, collaboration (which includes a simple wiki, a personal blog, an optional chat room, a very good debate function, and groups), a feed reader, and classroom policies.
All in all, it doesn't take most students very long to learn how to navigate the system as long as you use things consistently. I've discovered that many students who used the system in fall, now have come back for the spring and have not forgotten how to get in.

To take you on a more thorough tour of Edu20.org, I've created this screencast below. I try to draw a line down the middle, show you the positives and negatives, and be realistic and objective. I had to split it into two parts. Part 1 is below. Part II will be added shortly.

Let me just ask you one question after seeing and reading this:

Do you believe that the future of the Internet is web-hosted services?

And by "hosted" I mean available to everyone, any time and anywhere. This can be somewhat of a philosophical question, and I'd love to hear those ideas.