Attestations can replace Demonstrations, Comprehensions and Portfolios

What is the point of an LMS? First and foremost, it is not about Learning. I know that is shocking but if you want the worlds greatest learning machine go to YouTube, they can teach you anything. While a great deal of learning is going on, LMSs are in the trust business. We record log ins, course progress, outcomes, feedback, all in the name of declaring that you have completed the material. At the core, a Demonstration is an attestation by someone in authority that you performed some task. A Comprehension is a Learner stipulating that they did in fact read or watch the material and understood it. Portfolios are evidence of something done in the real world. Each of these incudes hard coded assumptions about the relation of the Learner to the method of confirming their achievements.

To let you break out of these assumptions we adding a new Activity Type called an Attestation.

To let you break out of these assumptions we adding a new Activity Type called an Attestation. When you create a new one in the LMS it is very similar to other activity types but it allows you to set the rules for how an Attestation is made. First off you select if the Attestation is made by the Learner or a Proctor or both. If the Attestation is required from a Learner, we let you select any Content that must be reviewed by the Learner. Next you set if evidence is required or just a sign off. If evidence is required we ask you to define if evidence is supplied in a textual affirmation or uploaded documentation. If Proctor Attestations are required we let you define instructions for a Proctor to make a determination.

Because the LMS lets you create your own Activity types you can create as many Attestations as you wish. While Demonstrations, Comprehensions and Portfolios are still there to be used the flexibility of Attestations lets you do more.