A study of Web-based course management software features

Apart from having to meet the needs of an increasingly larger population of prospective students, educational institutions and businesses must also cater to a more diverse body of immediate and distributed constituents. Online course offerings and degree program delivery are solutions that are fast becoming a norm for meeting the initial as well as continuous needs of the ever changing student body. To implement e-learning, the good news is there is a fairly large variety of Web-based course management systems to select from. However, the software products differ in cost structures, systems requirements, and operating capabilities. Moreover, these products can also have major functional differences so selecting the one software for implementation can be quite a task for the novice end-user. This study provides some insight into the requirements and capabilities of selected course management software. Specifically, this research identifies and classifies the functions and attributes available in popular Web-based course delivery software packages. Selected observations about pricing trends and systems requirements for implementing the software are also reported.