Course Management Systems
CMS software provides information and communication resources as built-in
features that are easy to learn
and use. For example, creating information for a course Web page is achieved by typing, pasting existing text, or
using file attachments in form-based
Web pages. Web-based discussion boards can be easily created using the same process.
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Many of these applications are relatively expensive solutions that are
licensed by organizations, but
there are low-fee and free sources for those e-blending developers who are seeking economical alternatives.
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For example, Moodle (http://moodle.org) is free Web-based CMS software that you can
download from their site, install and configure it for your use, and then
upload it to your server, and
thereafter maintain it. You will need to be able to setup one of several supported database software applications to work
with it as well as having your
own server or a host account that allows control over directories that you
setup for this software. Try
one of the demonstration courses, such as the Teacher's playground test. It lets you make (limited)
modifications to the existing demo course as you would as an online teacher managing that
course.
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Nicenet (http://www.nicenet.net) is a
non-profit organization that offers a free Web-based CMS service with
many features similar to "for-fee" CMS software, but without the hassle of installing and maintaining the software on
your host service. This service
offers free online CMS space for instructors and courses for students on their
Web site.
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