WHY HAVE SOCIAL NETWORKING sitesproliferated so quickly?
While no one knowsfor certain, theories suggest that the popularityof these sites may be linked to features such asflexibility, easy access, spontaneity, and connectedness.Now, innovative faculty and businessleaders are looking for ways to bring someof that openness and spontaneity into ourrather staid and mature course managementsystems. The challenges of creating new CMS systems or tweaking current ones lead quickly into queries about a) CMS designs, b) the features of social networking apps, and c) the role of attention in learning. With those elements in mind, take a look at how a CMS rooted in a learner-centered learning paradigm might bring some of that social Web 2.0 energy into our learning systems. Design by Pedagogical ‘Era’ The designs of many present course management systems are rooted in the faculty-centric knowledge transmission paradigm that includes the need for grades, faculty “lectures,” consistent assessment criteria, and tools for tracking student participation. Th
