Facebook as a Learning Management System

If not all-in-all and some privacy issues kept aside, it is indeed interesting to see how Facebook can be transformed from a CMS to a LMS.

Amplify’d from www.learningsolutionsmag.com

The combination of community participation and developer flexibility results in the metamorphosis of Facebook from CMS (Content Management System) to LMS (Learning Management System).

In its typical user packaging, Facebook looks like a CMS and not a LMS. However, when you peel back its surface, there exists the construct to alter its CMS DNA to convert Facebook to a LMS. The Facebook API (Application Programming Interface) is the enabling factor.

Facebook’s  Developer API is the platform that allows you to create dynamic Facebook content. The API accepts FBML (Facebook Markup Language), but at some time in 2011, the API will phase FBML out and substitute iFrames and Facebook Javascript SDK. Facebook via their Developer Blog recommends that new developers use iFrames and the Facebook Javascript SDK moving forward, but FBML will be supported for existing Apps and Static pages. Despite the programming language, this type of development flexibility is not common amongst social media sites. Most sites allow you to customize the look of your profile, not the way you interface with your network. Facebook is allowing you to create a dynamic individualized environment within its Fan Page infrastructure. You can use forms, rich media, objects, and essentially most tools you would see in Web-based content. Simply, it is a Website within your Facebook Fan Page.

The Facebook Developer API is the element that converts Facebook to a LMS. A learning professional can create content and upload it. Using the API, you could create forms that act as tests to help you evaluate the success of your learning. The data would then be sent to your aggregate for reporting. Additionally, you can connect your learners with social tools.  There are whiteboard apps as well that you can add to the page dynamic for synchronous learning. You can stream live video. One e-Learning authoring tool (Udutu) has actually created an app that allows you to develop and exhibit eCourses and tracks the learning experience within Facebook. If budgets are a problem, Google Docs/Forms offers you a very cost effective option to track feedback.

When combining Google Docs/Forms with the Facebook API, you can essentially create your level 1, 2, and 3 evaluations. Google Docs/Forms allows you to create multiple choice questions, fill in the blank, and other options.  You would have to get a little creative to automate feedback but all the applications are free. When you create your form on Google Docs, you have the option of copying the embed code which allows you to insert the form into many applications including the Facebook API.  When the learner inputs data, the application automatically sends it to your Google account and uploads it to a spreadsheet. The spreadsheet, viewable by all those given the appropriate permissions, is then pooled into a report with graphs that Google automatically compiles. If you need more than that, some simple spreadsheet formulas should get you there.  Read more at www.learningsolutionsmag.com

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