ATutor review

Rating: 7/10
Release version: 1.5.3.3pl1
License: GNU/GPL, Open Source
Homepage: http://www.atutor.ca/

Websites have always been used to pass on information and to educate their users - it was only natural that when content management systems appeared that some of them would have the special purpose of education.

ATutor is one of the most popular leaning management systems out on the net, so it's worth taking a look at what it can actually do.

ATutor requirements:

HTTP Server (Apache is recommended).
PHP version 4.3.0+, or 5.0.2+ with Zlib and MySQL support enabled is required.
MySQL 4.0.2 or higher, or 4.1.10 or higher.

ATutor learning curve and usability:

Although learning management systems (LMS) are CMSes, they are a little bit different than a normal content management system because of the requirements. One thing that stumped me for a couple of minutes was why I couldn't create (while logged in as a student) a blog. I then realized that I have to grant permissions to create blogs, create a group and join it.

It is a little difficult to realize what steps you need to take to accomplish certain things but once you get the hang of it it's not that bad. Still, the development team could make things a little easier by taking out a few clicks out of the equation...

ATutor security:

ATutor has a rigid user system - you only have 3 roles: administrator, instructor and student. You can't define what each role has access to what applications. Also, it isn't possible to define new user roles, so that is a let down too.

To be fair, these three roles are all that is needed from a LMS (learning management system) considering its intended use, and if you need something more then maybe a content management system would be better suited.

ATutor plugins and applications:

Having a more limited user base and scope than a content management system, a LMS will also have fewer modules/plugins. Still, ATutor comes with everything a teacher might need to setup courses. Some of the integrated modules that are bundled with the installation:

File storage: upload files of any type (archives, images, office documents) and share them with your course members;
Tests and surveys: an important module for any learning management system - create tests and surveys to evaluate how your course students are coming along;
Polls: create a simple poll with multiple options;
Forums: create forums that allow students and instructors to interact on a much better level
Blogs: enables students and instructors to keep a blog. Don't expect anything fancy, it's just a basic blog utility;

Modules available for download on the ATutor site:

Photo Gallery: enables you to create, or give the users permission to create, photo galleries. Users can comment on images and administrators (or instructors) can approve and edit images before they are published;
ATalker: this module is a web based text-to-speech application for ATutor. It's a nice touch, but from my point of view it's missing just one thing - streaming capabilities. Other than that it has some nice features: multiple file type exports, different voices (american, british and spanish), volume and speed control;
WebCalendar: this is a port of the famous WebCalendar from k5n.us, with all its features included - individual, group, course, and system wide calendars, a custom look for each user, repeating entries, email notice prior to event dates, emailing when new items are posted and more.

You can download these modules and more from the modules page on ATutor.ca.

ATutor documentation and support:

The documentation is pretty good, and that is a good thing because the forums didn't seem that active to me. Also, I'm used to find a lot of downloads made available for these LMSes in the forms of modules and/or plugins, but here there are just a few here.

I believe that an active community is a very important part of any CMS/LMS/Blogging platform, so I've given ATutor a rating of 7 because it somehow lacks in this department compared to other content platforms.