Implementing e-learning

A migration story

Abstract

The shift to an open source learning management system (LMS) raises questions for the integration of technology and pedagogy in an institutional approach to e-learning, and for strategies to build effective student learning through staff development. Implementation at La Trobe University involved the migration of over 1300 subjects to Moodle by the start of Semester 1, 2011. This paper describes this process as a migration story in which successful implementation is a necessary but not sufficient stage to achieving an effective e-learning strategy, in this case, one that meets particular pedagogical needs by embedding pedagogical choices that match the blended learning needs of a multicampus university. The risk is that implementation defaults to technology requirements, and is enacted in a way that pre-empts and sets the conditions for academic development in e-learning. This paper examines the ambiguity of "implementation" that arises from the separate goals of LMS configuration and pedagogical needs.