LMS: conflictcomms.org

conflictcomms.org is a Learning Management System (LMS) I created in WordPress for a postgraduate course for students of journalism studying at Ahmadu Bello University in Nigeria. Due to the sensitive nature of the course (reporting in violent conflict situations) and the risks that participants may be exposed to if they are seen to be studying the course, access to the entire site is password restricted.

The image below shows the introductory page of the LMS.

screenshot of conflictcomms intro page

The image below shows the list of modules in the course.

modules available on conflictcomms

 

The course consists of twelve modules (plus an introductory module to help students get used to the learning environment), each of which includes 10-20 lessons, numbering 248 lessons in total.

Each lesson is delivered on a single web page containing text, images and the occasional embedded YouTube video. Every lesson is followed by a short formative quiz consisting of up to ten multiple-choice questions which are automatically marked as correct or incorrect.

The learning environment also includes a forum connected to each module, which students are free to use at any time. There has also been very little activity in the module forums, despite students being directed to discuss specific ideas and issues raised in the learning materials.

Also included in the LMS is the option for each student and/or instructor to have  their own blog site (one of the benefits of using WordPress Multisite) to record and reflect on their learning and teaching – but this has option has yet to be taken up by any users.

The lack of use of the forums and blogs may be due to the sensitive nature of the course material and a reluctance to be seen expressing views which others may disagree with – even in a closed forum. It may also be due to cultural factors I am unaware of. However, I tend to think it is probably down to the same reason that so many learners at the university I work in in the UK do not engage with online discusssion and reflection: the activity is not assessed and it is not engaged with by the academic staff either.