Facebook, Google, as an LMS?

Call me crazy, but with all the fuss about what LMS is the ultimate solution to online training, has anybody considered that the emerging online social networks might be ready to replace a packaged LMS?

The fundamental elements of the LMS you use, (Moodle, BBoard, JoomlaLMS) could already be ready and waiting within the very popular an accessable Facebook and Google space. Let's face it, our learners are using FB and Google everyday.

Facebook as an LMS

Users can Sign In with any email account, then creating a private group, you now have a 'course' where you can create discussions, share training video's, leave notes, and create course events, create new polls and quizzes and I'm sure more will emerge as FB does. Seeing how 1/4 of all Australians internet time is spent on FB, you won't have any hurdles getting learners ready to use this already thriving online community platform.

The one thing you can't do, is upload and share documents, and there is no grading system if your looking to use your LMS for grading.Google as an LMS

When neovet talks about Google, he doesn't just mean 'search'. I'm talking Gmail, Goodle Docs, Google Calender and more.... With Google accounts, learners can Sign In with any email account, the using Gmail and Buzz as a platform , you can update students as a group, launch new discussion boards as Buzz threads, create a course calender, share Google Docs, which can now be almost any file format :) .

The number one reason we haven't used Google as an LMS so far is that most of our students are in Education Qld Schools, that tend to filter/block Google products.

Progressive huh!

If you use Social Media as an LMS, or part of as we already do, please let neovet readers know by posting your story here.