Findability - Is the information easy to retrieve and visible when the user wants it? That includes maybe:

1) Redundant storage/access from many places - LMS, ECMS, Course blog, iTunesU, via RSS etc.
2) Descriptive and rich metadata so that in any of these forums it can be easily accessed - just having a uniform schema for tagging with course codes would be a big step forward - eg. MUEDU299S109 for “Murdoch Uni Education 299 Semester One 2009″. I think there is very little chance of people who create adding this tag and people searching using this tag unless there was a bit education campaign about it.

The other side of this is that adhoc descriptive tags - as many as possible should be added. I don’t think a controlled vocab is workable, but a whole heap of tags would add a lot to retrievability .

Community - This lets people use “human filters” to find the information, rather than relying on mechanical ones.

Some of the most important qns people need answered are “what info do I need? , “Where will I find it?”, “What will I do with it when I get it?”.

The discussion boards on the LMS are good for this, as are course blogs like the one set up for screen studies - MCC 128 http://blogs.murdoch.edu.au/mcc128s12009/ . There may be other tools (like a delicious account that can be embedded in the LMS that everyone adds to …) that students and instructor agree to use.

…I think it is sensible that there is one “official channel” for communications, which at the moment is the LMS. That would be for bare-bones, essential, info that you need for the course - class times etc.

What you use to add Findability and Community should maybe be a mishmash of tools that suits the group that is learning?

your dissapointment is same with me, I wish I can attend all classes.

So there will be another GloCALL, too bad it’s not in Indonesia