Hello, Harold,

Actually, the whole thing can take place with or without the LMS. The section where the actual "course" takes place can be a discussion-based entity (a group blog, with contributions aggregated, comparable to the course David Wiley ran last year, and the course George Siemens and Stephen Downes will be running this fall); or, it can be within a more tradional LMS.

Part of the reason why I separated out the assessment piece from the learning/discussion piece is that learning can (and many times should) take place separate and distinct from the reporting -- and in this context, when I use the term "assessment" I mean the type of grading required by institutions to determine certification/matriculation, as opposed to the type of reflection that tends to accompany self-directed learning.