Navigate 3.1.2 Tools within the LMS

Tools within the LMS: What does it all mean?

Virtual teachers need training that incorporates the "how-to" of technological tools and provides them with a few options of how to use these tools to support their students' learning based upon sound pedagogical approaches. If both elements aren't met, training becomes an isolated event with no real application.

As I continue to work through TOOL, I can see this pattern of experiential learning/training in this program. Since choice is built into all facets of the learning modules, the needs of teachers from no-tech to  high-tech backgrounds are met. In the end, all learners (teachers & students) have to create their own Personal Learning Network (PLN) - by simply selecting elements within the LMS that are most helpful to the individual. At times, options outside of the LMS are added to the Personal Learning Environment (PLE). PLN = LMS + PLE


I believe it is difficult to determine which tools are most/least valuable in an online class. Factors such as a particular student group's needs, goals of class, teacher's curricular focus for this group and commonly used tools within a particular CMS make the answers to those questions moving targets.

Listed below are common aspects of an LMS.

Communication Tools in the LMS

                                                                                                      Description                                               Tool

E-mail	Asynchronous communication tool commonly used. Some systems utilize personal/school email accounts.  Accounts can be used in unison with the LMS. Other systems provide this as a built in feature allowing communication only between parties enrolled in the LMS.
Notifications	Learners may be able to sign up for alerts to be displayed to them in the LMS or sent outside of the LMS via email or SMS (text message) when the following is triggered: updated course grade, discussion reply, dropbox due date, upcoming quiz, and course news announcement.
Discussion Boards	Most LMS vendors have an embedded discussion tool in their systems. Discussions are areas where teachers or learners can pose questions to the class or organization on particular topics so others can respond with their thoughts. Great tool for probing questions to extend the discussion in a deep way giving learners “wait time” to compose their thoughts.
Instant Messaging	Instant messaging (IM) is a real time communication tool built directly into LMS platforms. Depending on the age of the learner population, it may be the best alternative to use the built in IM tool so they are unable to communicate outside of their classmates and teachers. These tools work similar to other popular Instant Messaging software applications such as Google Talk, Facebook Chat, MSN Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger. Communication can be 1:1 or 1:many.
Blogs	Tool mechanism to post reflections, critical thinking and open-ended responses to course assessments. Blogs can be created inside the LMS, meaning viewed only by specific course members, or published for the world to see.
Social Profiles	LMS platforms are adding profiles of their users so learners can share their external personal learning network (PLN) IDs. Users can often times post profile pictures, Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn accounts in their profiles.
Calendar	Calendar tools are used in most LMS platforms to communicate upcoming dates and timelines for course events and organizational events. Many allow students to subscribe to these events externally in another calendar tool they may use.
Alerts	Some of the more robust LMS vendors are utilizing systems that can trigger auto-notifications based on certain criteria or milestones that occur in the system, often referred to as agents. Used by teachers to send emails or other alerts when students haven’t logged into the course in a few days or when an upcoming quiz or exam is a few days away.

Assignment Tools in the LMS

                                                                                                      Description                                                                   Tool

Dropbox	Area or folder where student can upload a document, presentation or image for submission as part of a formal assessment.
Discussion Boards	An area where instructor and student can extend the conversation by engaging in questions and comments to further understand the topic.
Quizzing/Testing	Can serve as a pre-assessment tool to access learner’s prior knowledge. Different quizzing/testing elements available (open-ended, multiple choice, short-answer, cloze or fill-in the blank). Are automatic scoring and immediate feedback generation available?
Self-Assessments/Surveys	Reflection tool for learner to determine how much of content she is already familiar with before covering new material.
Rubrics	Objective descriptions of assignment expectations that serve as informal assessments for learner. Helps eliminate grading subjectivity by instructor.
Gradebook	Overall progress summary with details for the various grade categories. Displays written feedback.
Student Progress	Gives log-in information, data & usage pattern of user/student.

Gradebook Functions in the LMS

                                                                                                       Description                                                                   Tool

Reports	Both official and unofficial reports available for download? How is it exported? Are progress reports available? How does progress report look?
Feedback	Are teachers able to provide open-ended feedback by commenting on student work in addition to entering scores? Is this data viewable by students and parents?
Rubrics	Are rubrics integrated into gradebook? Are they available to guide students when doing assignments?
Data Import	LMS may use external systems for course assignment evaluations. Are these items importable into gradebook?
Weight vs. Percentage	Is there flexibility in how to score assignments in gradebook? Can instructor weigh differently for portions of the gradebook? Just enter a letter grade?