Will this alternative to the spreadsheet+filestore approach to VLEs fly?
I’m predicting that we’re going to see more cut-down alternative forms of Virtual Learning Environments and Learning Management Systems. The argument (whether you’re convinced by it or not) is that VLEs are just big tracking spreadsheets which have become increasingly bloated with successive iterations of poorly-integrated bolt-on functions. If that is the case, then alternatives like Smartassess (!) which go back to the drawing board with a stripped down central functionality — focused in this case on portfolios, multimedia authoring and forums — augmented with off-the-shelf Google apps and WordPress. From my quick inspection, Smartassess seems to be focused very much on filling a VLE-shaped hole, so will it really change the game? (Also could Google apps and WordPress risk being poorly-integrated bolt-ons?) Thanks to @sebschmoller for the original link to this.
smartassess has teamed up with Google to create the best learning environment in the world.
realsmart: your learning portfolio
realsmart allows us to build learning portfolios.
As we create, share, collaborate, reflect and evaluate, we learn.
Agile Learning 