On 4/18/05 1:13 PM, "Chad Walstrom" <chewie at wookimus.net> wrote:

> Blackboard looks like a customized Content Management System; there
> are LOTS out there.  Zope 2, Zope 3, Plone, Drupal, etc.

Good point. It's not always clear whether CMS means "content management
system" or "course management system." In the ed-tech world it's usually the
latter. The course management systems are really specific types of content
management system, but with all the hooks that students and teachers need
generally built right in.

> I would keep an eye on SchoolTool, which promises to be a great K-12
> administrative tool.  As far as teaching apps, search on
> freshmeat.net, perhaps.

SchoolTool's built on Zope and looks really promising. This is more a school
management tool than it is a content/course management system. For a smaller
school with modest needs, SchoolTool might be just the ticket. I'm afraid
it's not quite ready for the really stringent reporting and tracking
requirements that most districts have to face. I know the project lead, and
he's definitely got the project going in a good direction. Given enough time
they might be able to compete with the "big boys" in that business.

FWIW, in Minnesota the "big boys" normally consist of Apple's PowerSchool,
Pearson's SASI, a local company Infinite Campus, another local outfit TIES
TSIS, and a few other smaller players. It's a very competitive marketplace.

-Tim

-- 
Tim Wilson
Twin Cities, Minnesota, USA
Educational technology guy, Linux and OS X fan, Grad. student, Daddy
mailto: wilson at visi.com   aim: tis270   blog: http://technosavvy.org/