The Myth of the Pedagogically Neutral LMS
Ian McNaught,
eLearn,
Oct 04, 2021
When Moodle was first launched it was a bit of a departure not only in that it was an open course learning management system (LMS) but also in that it was explicitly designed for a constructivist pedagogy. But still, as Ian McNaught writes, there is this widespread desire to depict the technology as pedagogically neutral, as in statements like "It's not about the technology, it's the pedagogy that matters, the technology just enables us." This view is mistaken. "A system as complex and all encompassing as an LMS is not simply taking you from A to B, it defines how you work, it creates opportunities and also imposes limits." There's a term for this in the industry: "opinionated software". The suggestion here (and I agree) is that all software is opinionated software. And it's incumbent on the user to learn what those opinions are. Image: Enterprise Web Library.
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