MODULE 6  background studies by Bach, Domingues and

The Learning Management System (LMS) Walter (2013) and Zawacki-Richter, Bäcker and
Sebastian Vogt (2009) points out that there are
Learning Management Systems (LMS) & E-Learning gaps in e-learning literature
Management: An Integrative Review & Research  for the authors, there is a need for studies that
Agenda guide educational institutions & teachers so they
Information Technology (IT) can exploit the resources that only IT can provide
- can be an important component for innovation as and, consequently, improve teaching &
enables e-learning management
- can provide conditions for an organization to be
able to work with new businesses & improved Theoretical Background
processes Information Technology (IT)
- function exercised by IT in organizations has
Learning Management Systems (LMS) changed significantly over time (Laurindo, 2009;
- allow communication & interaction between Rosini, 2013)
teachers and students in virtual spaces - corroborates with Laurindo (2009) by
- however, literature indicates that there are gaps in understanding concept of IT broadly, encompassing
research, especially concerning use of IT for Information Systems (IS), telecommunications &
management of e-learning automation, as well as a whole spectrum of
hardware & software technologies used by
E-learning organizations to provide data, information &
- both cause & result of significant changes in knowledge
definition of education concept, as well as changes - comprehensive view of IT is present in idea of
in understanding of how it should be organized & "digital convergence", an expression that has
managed (Peters, 2003) been used in technology industry
- with e-learning advance, educational institutions - can be an important component of innovation, not
managers started to deal with different activities, only by its direct application, but also because it is a
requiring development of new procedures & finding vector for other innovations that facilitates,
alternatives to address emerging challenges that go enhances, & highlights e-learning (Laurindo, 2009)
beyond educational issues - in scenario of globalization (virtual organizations &
e-businesses develop): great expectations
E-learning system regarding potential of IT, which increases
- consists of all components & processes that importance of its role analysis
operate when distance learning & teaching occurs - when using IT in educational process, essential to
(Rosenberg, 2001) identify conceptions that underlie its development,
- includes learning, teaching, communication, having an adequate view of its possibilities &
creation ^ management (Belloni, 2001;Peters, potentials, because depending of its use, it will be
2003) explicit understanding that we have of educational
- a planned learning process that occurs in general, process in a space that includes technology itself
in a different place other than a regular school, & as (Schlemmer, Saccol & Garrido, 2007)
a result, requires special techniques of course - development of IT has generated interactive media
design, special forms of instruction, special allowing learning & collective construction of
methods of communication through electronic & knowledge through networks, with
other technologies, as well as essential interchangeability of roles of source & receiver
organizational & administrative arrangements - only in 1990s inclusion of IT in e-learning projects
(Moore and Kearsley, 2007) happened (Souza, 2005) – interest in thinking
interactivity offered by IT grows & its impact on
System education & organizational culture (Sartori &
- organizations that deploy e-learning should be Garcia, 2009)
studied & evaluated as systems - Oliveira (2012): potential that IT offers may make e-
- includes subsystems of knowledge sources, learning closer to classroom mode in relation to
creation, transmission, interaction, learning & personal interaction & preserve distance between
management teachers and students, in order to improve process
- the more integrated they are, the greater the of mediated communication, systematic guidance &
effectiveness of e-learning organization (Moore & constant monitoring, focused on formation of skills
Kearsley, 2007) & attitudes that allow students to have learning
process autonomy in a continuous self-education
Information Technology (IT) - provides progressively greater flexibility &
- can help management & organization of e-learning accessibility to education, culture & professional &
- growing demand led to development of LMS personal development, contributing to creation of
educational systems
Learning Management Systems (LMS) - pedagogical potential of IT in pedagogical
- seek to mediation of e-learning has as main pillar the
 automate administration of courses building of distance knowledge, thus modifying
 to record users, courses, & information about the paradigm that brings "knowledge as a state & not
learning process as a process"
 to provide reports to course administration - Oliveira (2012): emphasizes that introduction of IT
(Coutinho, 2009) in education may not be a pedagogical innovation,
once use of old educational practices is no
E-learning guarantee of a new education
- implies important changes in culture & structure of - thus, criterion to analyze a project of e-learning
institutions that decide to adopt it (Moore & seems to be not only in technological mediation, but
Kearsley, 2007) in didactic-pedagogical conception that is related to
- assists in production of new knowledge backed by both technological support & its use in the
IT pedagogical mediation
- an integrated view of it can enable creation & - eLearning – requires a pedagogical project
management of internal & external processes as different from face-to-face education project & at
parts of a great organizational system (Vieira et al., the same time equal or even more rigorous than a
2005) face-to-face course
 identifying quality standards in an LMS that comply
Learning Management Systems with minimum requirements
- a virtual environment in user perspective that aims  requirements can be expressed in terms of:
to simulate face-to-face learning environments with  reliability
use of Information Technology (Araújo Júnior and - obtained through experience of large
Marquesi, 2009) universities to use virtual fields for face-to-
- interaction happens through devices that enable face or distance education
communication either synchronously or  scalability
asynchronously, allowing creation of different - needed to attend to large numbers of
strategies to encourage a dialogue & active students (a fundamental characteristic of
participation of students eLearning)
- web-based systems that enable teachers &  security
students to:  sustainability
 share materials  adoption of international standards of
 submit & return assignments quality
 communicate online - a factor that depends on team that
- software used to plan, implement, & evaluate a developed project & options for meeting
specific learning process (Almrashdeh et al., 2011) needs & goals of users, which can
- mediation involves both acquisition of competences differentiate from virtual environments to
& communication skills of all teachers & students, virtual environments
- a greater concern to create interaction moments &
practical application possibilities of collaborative  necessary that institutions take into account the
work, with that learning process happening in a criteria for adoption of an LMS:
participatory manner  need to restrict access so that only students
- teacher relies on communication devices (chat enrolled in subject/course can access content
and activities
rooms, forums, blogs, video blogs)
 need to promote communication with students
- necessary to consider that an LMS must seek to
the use of electronic mail, forums, chats
get best advances in technology available today, for
 university courses that require tracking of
reasons of efficiency & for enabling the maximum
teaching & learning processes
degree of interactivity and communication among
 need to know where students "walk", what they
users
access, what they read, when they're doing in
- learning & collaborative work have become
LMS
fundamental & technological advances should lead  need to evaluate them
to achievement of high interaction levels
- 1st LMS appeared in 90s, along with 1st web  evaluation of an LMS essential to ensure its effective
browsers implementation & positive impact on the delivery of
- often criticized due to belief that these technologies e-learning
simply virtualize non-virtual classrooms; however,  best LMS choice for an institution depends on its
they are not the main problem, but the way they are characteristics & objectives.
designed, structured & crafted (Silva, 2013)  several researchers & users have been devoted to
- use of LMS requires careful studies particularly in investigating necessary elements for choosing an
relation to educational & financial aspects LMS are

LMS Features 7 main categories of tools in an educational platform

- LMS characterized by:  identified by a team of the Information
 integrating multiple media Technology, Education and Society Group at the
 different languages & resources Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) in
 enabling alternative technologies 2004
 presenting information in an organized manner  Interface
to fulfill its main purpose, which is construction - element through which communication is
of learning through interaction established between user & system during
- important to note that a well-planned course based interaction process
on innovative teaching methodologies is also - must be clean, objective, fast loading,
necessary when e-learning quality & a greater consistent, respecting user´s language,
adherence to this modality are longed allowing resizing & accessibility options &
- several LMS options in the market. including portability
commercial or proprietary & free software or free  Navigation
courses - related to free & easy movement between
- among LMS options found in international market LMS pages
highlight: - should be straightforward, with standardization
BlackBoard (proprietary environment) of controls & easy to move from one screens
Breeze to the other
Moodle (which has a public license) - includes Evaluation Forms to determine if a
dotLRN student has assimilated proposed content
Sakai Project  Evaluation
- LMS options in Brazil developed by private - tools that allow teacher to evaluate & monitor
companies, universities & government student
departments: - must be flexible & allow monitoring or tracking
WebAula (a proprietary LMS) of learning activities
Teleduc (designed by State University of  Didactic Resources
Campina) - consists of tools that environment offers to
EduWeb & Aulanet (developed by PUC Rio de teacher
Janeiro) - should be easy to use & versatile, allowing
E-Proinfo (developed & used by Brazilian appropriate pedagogical application & use
Federal Government)  Communication / Interaction
- consists of flow of information between people
 considering development of IT & growing use of in an LMS
these environments, arises the importance of - communication processes should be mapped
& interaction should be encouraged
  Coordination information, not losing focus on pedagogical
- focuses on activities of planning, creation, principles (purpose in both management systems)
execution & control of courses by teacher - in this case, their specificities must be analyzed
- facilitate organization of courses carefully because regular educational
- enable monitoring performance of students & management (public) is based on scientific
tutors management (business management), but it
- incorporate mechanisms to assess student’s keeps certain specificities that deserve special
cognitive development care from managers
- define player’s roles
 Administrative Support  by combining an LMS & management of e-learning,
- combines administration tools & environmental it’s possible to improve planning, organization,
management management & control of managers & enhance e-
- main objects are: learning processes
o teacher / student / course integration  a significant trend is the investment in IT, not only in
o production of statistical reports equipment, but also in research of appropriate
o definition of access privileges methodologies & in training for their application
o processing applications (Belloni, 2001)
 emphasis reflects need for studies either in
o providing general information about
improving efficiency & effectiveness of existing
environment
methods of management, & in creation of new
mechanisms for improving e-learning processes
e-Learning Management
 an LMS is a well-defined & well-built pattern when it
- e-learning is complex & requires efficient
becomes a learning management application used in
management so that educational outcomes can be
planning, execution & evaluation of a specific e-
achieved
learning process (Vaz, 2007)
- crucial to establish strategies & mechanisms by
 environment may also assist in monitoring &
which 1 can ensure that system will effectively
management of relations between users & learning
work as intended, once components are defined:
activities
o educational goals
o instructional design Focus of an LMS:
o steps and activities  on the learner
o mechanisms to support the learning system  on the organization
o technologies to be used
o evaluation system Main purposes of LMS:
o formal academic procedures  management of learners
o functioning of the system as a whole  learning activities
- E-learning is made up of a number of components  process of evaluation of e-learning
that must operate in an integrated manner; about  mapping skills of the organization providing
formalization of an operational structure since that education
involves development of course design, production
of didactic materials or information sources & Conclusions & Further Research
definition of an evaluation system, including  regarding categories considered important for
establishment of operational mechanisms for the analyzing & developing an LMS (Interface,
distribution of subjects, availability of learning Navigation, Evaluation, Didactic Resources,
support services & establishment of academic Communication/Interaction, Coordination &
procedures Administrative Support) might conclude that
- origins of educational management, specifically of 1) all papers analyzed showed some relation to
e-learning management, are related to General categories Coordination or Administrative
Theory of Administration consolidated in the 20th Support or both
century 2) relationship between e-learning & LMS planning
- Administration – consists in efficient & effective or strategy were not a central scope to none of
use of resources in an organization, so that its analyzed papers.
objectives can be achieved  Interface was less frequent in papers analyzed,
while Didactic Resources was the most frequent
Administrative Functions  even though having some tools to manage e-
- process of contemporary administration learning courses, that is not an easy or ordinary task
involves 4 interrelated activities arising from the  most managers use LMS only for operational
primordial definitions from French administrator needs or just to issues directly related to control
Henri Fayol, early 20th century learning of the students
- all administrative functions & resources (facilities,  in contrast, LMS does not provide an adequate
space, time, money, information & people) are tool for management to analyze so many data
present in educational management in general & Learning analytics
particularly in management of e-learning - measurement, collection, analysis & reporting of
 Planning data about learners and their contexts, for
- setting goals & developing strategies & purposes of understanding and optimizing learning
actions to achieve them and the environments in which it occurs
 Organization - emerges as a fundamental need in context of
- determining what should be done, how it studies on LMS
should be done & who should do it - field of learning analytics has potential to enable
 Managing higher education institutions to increase their
- implies to lead & motivate members of understanding of their students’ learning needs, &
organization managers to use that understanding to positively
 Control influence students learning & progression
- involves monitoring performance to
ensure that goals are achieved Questions that indicate some research opportunities that
can be developed
e-Learning Management o How did LMS influence e-learning planning,
- as in regular educational management, refers to direction, execution & control from the manager
action of planning, organizing, coordinating & perspective?
controlling space, time, money, facilities, people &
 o What do e-learning managers need in relation to  School of the Air (a correspondence school)
the technological platform used - 1 of the most prominent manifestations of
o Is there an effective alignment between IT & e- distance education in Australia
learning processes? - opened to airwaves in 1951 & is still in
operation today in some remote
communities
Learning Management Systems: An Overview  vocational education and training (VET) &
Introduction university sectors in Australia also have a rich
 no doubt technology has transformed way history of distance education where, prior to
education is delivered to people across globe advent of the Internet, communication &
 now live in an interconnected world where dissemination of learning materials was largely
traditional concept of formal learning, taking place conducted via regular mail services
in a single physical location, is becoming  availability of dial-up Internet services to most
increasingly less relevant Australians by mid-1995 meant that distance
 modern learners are becoming dissatisfied with education needed a radical overhaul & snail mail
stand-and-deliver approach to education that was no longer a viable option to sustain distance
dictates attendance times, learning venues, & education services
modes of participation
 emergence of sophisticated communication What encouraged software developers to dream of an
technologies & mobile devices has enabled a new online learning space?
generation of information consumers to satisfy Learning Machine
their demands for knowledge without need to meet - Sidney Pressey’s creation in early 1920s
in a physical location - a device that could administer questions through a
 software vendors, open-source developers, and window prompting user to select a response out of
educational institutions (cognizant of this 4 choices, that spurred development of the 1 st
development) have embraced systems that can online LMSs
facilitate management of courses and engagement Work of a Canadian company, SoftArc
with students remotely - built the 1st stand-alone learning system deployed
on Macintosh personal computers in 1990
Learning Management Systems (LMSs)
- technologies that facilitate provision of courses  whatever inspiration, arrival of the Internet was set to
over long distances revolutionize way people communicated & engaged
- web-based software platforms that provide an with each other
interactive online learning environment &  education providers realized that they would have to
automate administration, organization, delivery, & adapt to this brave new online world
reporting of educational content & learner  earliest manifestations of electronic LMSs were
outcomes little more than a platform for dissemination of
learning materials online
Acronym Confusion in the Online Learning Space  systems could broadly be categorized as belonging
 many terms associated with online learning & the to 1 of 2 camps
technologies that have evolved to support it  Proprietary systems
 1 persistent area of confusion is in definition of  WebCT - 1 of the earliest proprietary
the acronyms: CMS & LMS systems was developed at the University of
 term CMS is often associated with 2 distinctly British Columbia in 1995
different software applications:  creation of WebCT was an online learning
 Content Management Systems platform was inspired by research
- essentially software applications suggesting that academic performance
designed for creation & management of could be enhanced by provision of web-
digital content in a collaborative based resources
environment  at height of its use, WebCT was the most
 Course Management Systems widely used LMS globally with over10 million
- used primarily for online or blended users in 80 countries
learning, supporting placement of course  WebCT was later acquired by Blackboard
materials online, associating students Corporation who phased out the WebCT
with courses, tracking student name in favor of Blackboard brand
performance, storing student  Opensource systems
submissions and mediating  developed collaboratively by software
communication between students as well specialists with view to making source code
as instructor readily available to organizations &
 to further complicate matters, some vendors & individuals free of charge
academics prefer to use acronym LCMS (stands  initially popular with universities & colleges
for “Learning Content Management System”) who could readily download source code,
when referring to Content Management Systems adapt it to their own circumstances, & build
their own tailored LMS solutions
Difference between a LCMS & LMS:  Moodle – prominent example of an open-
LMS – broader in scope & includes the ability to track source system in operation globally today
learner progress through an online course  developed by Martin Dougiamas with 1st
 gray area where CMSs end & LMSs begin; version released in August 2002
many vendors, users, & institutions regard terms  acronym stands for “Modular Object
CMS & LMS as synonyms Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment”
 the term LMS will be the only acronym used to  developed based on a constructivist
refer to online learning platforms philosophy emphasizing role of learners as
creators of content & not merely spectators.
The Inclusion of LMSs in Distance Education  Moodle is arguably the most popular open-
 history of educational technology is reminder
source LMS in use today with almost
that it’s not the machine that matters — it’s
100,000 registered sites in 229 countries
finding the tool that best serves your educational
objective
Features of LMSs That Make Them Great
 history of learning management systems has its
 robust, high-quality LMS is a vital tool to success of
roots in distance education
any online course & can make or break an
 institution’s reputation in highly competitive -two-way communication tools
education market supporting real-time information
 LMSs not only need to provide content to learners, interchange
must also facilitate timely & accurate - examples:
communication between learners, course  instructor-led videoconferences
facilitators, & other institutional stakeholders  interactive message boards
 an LMS should be dynamic; it should be active, - important to replicating traditional
flexible, customizable and adaptable classroom-based communications,
thereby fostering a sense of
Categories of features that are expected to be present in community among online learners
most high-quality LMSs:  Social Connectivity
 Course Management - 1 of great criticisms of LMSs is lack of inherent
- features encompass a LMS’s capacity to community in online learning
deliver timely relevant course material to - features that try to replicate a social
enrolled learners environment online include:
- include:  discussion forums
 content management & control  live chats
 class scheduling  videoconference tools
 content-audit capabilities - some LMSs even have features that monitor
- capacity for users to contribute to content learner interactions with communication tools
creation in their own personal space could & are considered invaluable for courses that
also come under this domain mandate class participation as an assessable
 Assessment component of a course
- a critical function of LMSs  Security and Privacy
- LMS must be able to support collection & - Are of paramount importance to success of an
storage of assessable tasks, along with online course
assignment of grades & feedback for each - important security features in LMSs include:
learner  user authentication
- assessable tasks can include:  access verification
 assignments  password integrity controls
 tests  intruder detection
 projects - privacy controls are important to ensure that
 portfolio evidence provided by learner sensitive information is made available to
- for institutions in VET space, capability to intended recipient only
automatically generate compliance reports is  Ubiquitous Access
particularly valuable as it facilitates - online course participants need to interact with
compliancewith quality standards. LMSs LMS course environments using their mobiles
should also be capa-ble for providing learners devices
with real-time informa-tion on their progress in - most LMS providers design course content as
a course along withrelevant feedback responsive HTML pages & are accessible by
generated by the instructor. most smartphones & other mobile computing
 Tracking Progress devices, thus providing ubiquity
- attrition of learners is an issue that concerns
many institutions In-House Housing of Data or Cloud Based
- in an online environment, experience has Cloud-based LMS solutions
been that learners are at a greater risk of - rapidly developing as viable alternative to on-site
withdrawing from programs because of lack of installation for client organizations
face-to-face contact - choice of adopting ac loud-based LMS largely
- ability to track user engagement is considered depends on:
an important feature  degree of confidence an organization has with
- user tracking analytics can include: sensitive data being housed in an environment
 log-on frequency outside organization’s direct control
 time spent in different sections of a course  whether or not organization has infrastructure
 communication interactions & expertise to maintain physical infrastructure
 number of resources downloaded necessary to run an on-site LMS
- with appropriate reporting functions, course - Cloud-based LMSs are usually proprietary
facilitators are able to detect possible student systems where vendor packages system
performance deficits & intervene before functionality with online hosting of client’s data &
course withdrawal or termination becomes charges a fee for service based on number of
likely users accessing LMS site
 Gradebook
- functions include all LMS capabilities that The Future of LMSs
facilitate dissemination of assessment  as technology evolves & teaching methods
information to learners become more student-focused, LMS of the
 individual scores of assessments future will become more than a helpful
 instructor feed-back administrative tool
 student attendance  as improvements in bandwidth, storage, &
- ability to generate aggregate reporting mobile device computing capacity expand,
information such as class grades, item score capabilities of LMSs will adapt to fill emerging
analysis, & at-risk student information is client demands
included in this category  LMSs should be supported by an institutional
 Communication Tools structure that promotes an equitable learning
- within LMSs can be broadly classified as environment (Chugh et al. 2017)
 Asynchronous tools  general trend of LMS systems is to expand
- support one-way communications (e- learner interactions with course content by
mail, discussion boards, or Wikis) including capability for users to use mobile
- often preferred by course facilitators devices (smartphones) & wearables (smart
because they can be initiated in an ad watches & smart glasses)
hoc manner
 Synchronous tools
  future developments in LMS technology are  role is to fill the gap of public and private schools;
likely to include more sophisticated tools to example: rural districts have less access to high
enable genuine synchronous communication, quality courses & teachers – online learning brings
 videoconferencing apps that to their doorstep
 peer-to-peermessaging  in rural West Virginia, schools are now required to
offer foreign languages in 7th & 8th grade but in
List of enhancements to watch out for in future versions small towns like Fayetteville, there aren’t enough
of LMSs: qualified teachers to do the job
• Cloud-Like Functionality  West Virginia Virtual School provides a solution
• Adaptive Learning with teachers like Joyce McClanahan – lead
• Microlearning with LMSs Connected Devices teacher for 21 Spanish classes in 15 different
• Analytical Tools West Virginian middle schools
• Social Capabilities  “I teach 45-minute classes. My school day
• Gamification generally ends at 3:30 & then after a short break,
students will start calling if they need extra help at
Conclusion night so the job usually goes to 10 at night.”
Learning management systems (LMSs)  there aren’t enough qualified teachers for every
- have evolved in response to demand for course in the Las Vegas school systems either, in
innovative educational products that leverage part because Clark County accepts 15,000 new
advances in information technology & students each year
telecommunications  to address that shortage & to save money on
- can be either proprietary (client pays for bricks & mortar, county offers 4500 students
installation, maintenance, & end-user licensing) or virtual courses in everything from public health to
open source (source code is freely available but microeconomics
installation & maintenance is handled in-house)  like many of his students, geometry teacher Mike
- have many features that support online learning Patterson splits his time between real classrooms
 course management & virtual ones
 assessment  “I’m able to interact on a live white board with
 learner progress tracking students. They raise their hand & I see them in
front of me. We speak through the mic. As a
 gradebook
teacher, I also have some flexibility. It’s a very
 communications
different kind of experience, a very fun one for me.
 security, It’s very invigorating to my teaching career to try
 smartphone access something like this.”
- continue to evolve, & future versions are likely to  for students, virtual schools offer opportunity to
include: take courses not available at their regular schools
o tools & features that facilitate more tailored & to fit them into their individual schedules
content to individual learners  Zoe pursuing her gold metal dreams of skating –
o enhance social interactions between online does much of her schoolwork any time of the day
learners or night, thanks to the online offerings of virtual
o provide more timely & relevant analytics to high school
institutional decision makers  “I can log on anywhere that has internet access,
so it allows me to either access the work at
competitions or access it when I get home. I get
done the work that I missed without really missing
it.”
The Virtual Classroom: Online Learning  Virtual High School is a nonprofit collaborative of
Internet over 300 high schools in 26 states & 16 foreign
- has facilitated a whole new world of learning, countries that offers more than 150 high school
connecting people & cultures that are worlds apart courses on the Internet
- increasingly provides an alternative to traditional  each participating school contributes a course to
classroom instruction the mix; agree to free up a teacher to teach a
- virtual classes that are open 24/7 to students like course online & VHS provides training services for
the sophomores at Daniel Jenkins School in that classroom teacher to learn how to effectively
Haines City, Florida teach online
 students would go to school to do online class;  critical element of good online course is ability to
normally, most would do the lab at home but build a community of learners in that course;
getting oysters & squids in that area is hard, so the design courses so that students are engaged in
teacher was able to obtain those & bring them out online activities & in online collaboration
& actually interact with students  Superintendent: “We want to provide opportunities
 out of 200 students, teacher only sees 10 of those for students to take advanced courses, to try to
students so that is a really great opportunity for the accelerate their learning. Whether they have
instructor to get to meet the students face-to-face significant challenges in the classroom, or they’re
 Pat Kretzer believes she can relate to her students very advanced & can more rapidly through the
better in virtual classroom than in a real one material.”
 “Being an online instructor, you have a more  1 student taking computer courses: “VHS allows
personal relationship with your students, because me to take these courses that aren’t offered at
we do interact with them online, on the phone. school. It means extra work, staying up some
You can really get to know them better & identify nights till 3 in the morning, but you have to do
their strengths & weaknesses much more quickly what you have to do.”
than in the regular classroom. Because I deal with  Jason Carson took VSH’s 15-week teacher
them only when I’m working with them If I need to training, covering subjects like how to foster online
take 2 hours with that student to help them, then I discussions, before developing his own VHS
do..” course in American popular music
 Kretzer designs & teaches her courses through  “The tone of our voice doesn’t get transmitted over
Florida Virtual School – established in 2000, internet connection, so you have to be very careful
nation’s 1st Internet-based public school offers with wording & really spell out your expectations.
virtual learning options for grades 7 through 12 That’s the hinderance of being disconnected from
 offer full high school curriculum & they are all the your students physically. You do a lot of
courses that students would need to graduate to community building activities to try to find the
get a diploma
 sense of class & personality of individuals in
class.” What benefits will my team get?
 rigorous teacher training & engaging course  access to learning materials anywhere, from any
designs seem to be paying off device
 completion rate for VHS courses in 90% & VHS  unlimited number of times to refresh knowledge
AP students score 10 percentage points higher anytime they need to
than national average on their final exams  an opportunity to collaborate with each other
 but even biggest booster warns against over during the learning process
reliance on virtual learning
 Sheldon (superintendent): “I don’t believe you can What does all that amount to?
have a completely virtual education. It’s not loyalty, motivation, & strong skills
appropriate for students to have all their courses Edmodo
virtually & the social environment of the high - ideal if you are looking to deliver a blended
school is an important environment.” learning course, teach online, or flipped classroom
 while students see many advantages to online - a good teacher tech for a fully online course
courses, they also recognize that virtual schooling - need to combine the use of Edmodo
isn’t for everyone - great for homework part of lessons because it
 Lauren: “When working online, you have to be a
allows teachers to add quizzes & assignments
lot more self-motivated. Your teacher’s not sitting
- offers a place where students can find links,
there so you only know what you have to do by the
documents, videos etc.
end of the quarter & you just take care of it
- New Edmodo is easy to set up & easy for your
yourself.”
students to log in
 a lot of students who don’t have that self-
motivation get left behind because no one’s there - has very good security & good tracking
nagging them - probably 1 of the most popular digital technologies
 but for students like Zoe McNealy, virtual high available for free & is widely used in online
school offers the best of both worlds teaching
 flexibility to fit classes into a busy schedule & time - security options make it a good choice for
to savor learning – almost what an actual class teachers working in primary & secondary action
would offer you, except you’re able to do it on your - offers a generous number of options for a free tool
own so you take your time, almost like you enjoy - is ideal for short courses or courses where
things more than you would otherwise students might only be accessing the site 1-2 a
 as technology continues to advance & teacher week
training improves, online learning holds even - has very good tracking of students so when
greater promise students can complete quizzes, assignments or
 students will be able to use technology more add posts or replies, the new Edmodo will track
easily & readily than ever before, not only taking what they have done
full online courses but taking parts of courses
online so that they would have what they call  sign up & create a class
“blended”, having teachers in regular classrooms  use the “add students” option or give the class
teaching face-to-face with their students for part of code to your students can log in to your class
time & using technologies, where appropriate, to  there is a difference between how students sign
enhance & improve quality of courses up & how teachers sign up – students must write
 potential of being a tremendous method of the class code & username
improving the quality of education  once they sign up for free, they go straight to
your class since they entered the class code
 video shows both sides – shows teacher’s
perspective & student’s point of view of Edmodo
Learning Management System (LMS)  works similarly to Facebook: basic wall & can
- a software that delivers online courses to your write/share anything & anyone in your class will
employees, providing them with fresh data when receive that information (whether it’s a question,
it’s not possible to gather in 1 place picture, video, or document)
- a web-based system that helps you automate  not limited to just 1 file; can upload multiple files,
employee training pictures, videos at the same time
 great thing: anything you share or do will go
What can I do with an LMS? immediately to your class
 gather all your learning materials in 1 place &  students can immediately reply so it’s a great
make them available to all learners in 1 click way to interact with students & share content
 create different groups of learners according to with them
their function or job position  nice little feature that’s very useful & powerful:
 assign them a single course or test, or a whole can “pin post” at the top so if you want a
series of materials called a learning path, & easily particular post to appear at the top of the screen
track each learner’s progress to encourage when students come on, they always see that
leaders & help your team develop faster post
 the right LMS helps you:  can create polls
 1 of most useful features: folders – great way of
 save time
organizing your content
 set unified learning standards
 need to refresh the browser to see new
 assess & develop employees’ knowledge posts/folders
regularly  remember that everything you use is saved so
it’s easier to write the “title” & find what you’ve
Does my business need an LMS? already shared & use it again rather than keep
 any kind of business can benefit from an LMS creating stuff
 a wide range of different organizations from high
schools to large corporations can benefit from
using learning management system by reducing
expenses for things like:
o classroom rental
o transport & accommodations
o instructors’ salary
o learning material printouts
Google Classroom - “Students can send file” if you send something
List of Google Classroom Competitors and Alternatives you want them to type out in a document &
 Microsoft Teams submit
 Canvas - “Make a copy for each student” if you want
 Zoom them each to fill out their own worksheet
 Moodle (reminder: this is like a photocopy so any
 Schoology Learning changes you make to your master copy will not
 Brightspace be reflected in the students’ copies)
 Google Meet - can select the due date & time, as well as
 Edmodo create a Topic
 Blackboard Learn - Rubric option is a great option
- once finished, click “Assign” or “Schedule” or
Best Google Classroom alternatives for small “Save draft”
businesses
 iSpring Learn Under Classwork, there is also:
 Edmodo  Google Calendar
 WizIQ LMS  Drive Folder
 This Weeks Work
Best Google Classroom alternatives for medium-sized
- what we’re working on right now; can click on
companies
the 3 dots & options show “Rename”, “Delete”,
 Canvas
“Copy link”, & “Move down”
 Canvas161 Ratings161 Ratings
 Edmodo - a great way to have a link in Google slides for
 Schoology Learning the week & students only see assignments as
 Blackboard Learn they become live on Google classroom
 Sakai  Past Due – things they were due last week or the
 Brightspace week before; still accept them but they are late now
 Teacher Material – if don’t want to pile up This
Best Google Classroom alternatives for enterprises Week’s Work, just put it here
 CanvasCanvas161 Ratings161 Ratings
 Edmodo  when go back to our Stream, can now see in
 Moodle “Upcoming” the assignments & announcements are
 Schoology Learning getting lost in shuffle
 Blackboard Learn  Go to Settings – General contains the class
 Sakai code & other options
 Brightspace  Set Stream to “students can post & comment”
 Classwork on the stream – hide notifications so
Basics of How to Set up your Google Classroom the classwork are gone from the stream & they
 Navigate a classroom from waffle on top right of have to go to “Classwork” to view them (like this
Google Chrome or type “classroom.google.com” on for 2 reasons: 1) Don’t want announcements to
the search bar get lost in the shuffle; 2) also want them to learn
 To create a new class, click on plus sign on the top that this is where they go for classwork
right
 as a teacher – “Create Class”  Emojis
 as a student – “Join Class” using the class  Bitmoji or joypixels extension on Google
code Chrome
 Create Class – enter class name, section, subject,  some people like to use specific emojis for
room, then slick on “Create” paperwork, activities, quiz, video, etc. so
 Stream where you can add announcements – you students know what kind of activity is being
can choose other classes to send the same assigned
announcement to (set so all students can see the  another option is to use just 1 emoji for the
announcement or only certain students) whole week
 Can add files from Google Drive, links, files, or
Youtube videos to your announcement  People
 Click “Post” or “Schedule” it to post later (also  can add co-teachers by clicking “Invite
“Save Draft” option) teachers”
 No choices for font in Google Classroom so 1 work  can add students by click “Add students” but
around is to use a website (example: boldtext.io), typically use class code
then you can select the one you want, copy it, go
back, & paste it to make announcement more fun  Grades
 3 dots: Move announcement to top, Edit, Delete,  go back to Settings
Copy link  Grade Calculation includes “Overall grade
calculation” & can change setting to “Weighted
Other options: by category”; can show or hide the Overall
 Classwork grade to students
- where you can create assignments  Grate Categories , can type in the name of the
- click “Create” then it shows different options category & its percentage
such as “Assignment”, “Quiz assignment”,  To add more categories, click “Add another
“Question”, “Material”, “Reuse post”, & “Topic” category”
- “Reuse post” is very useful – if posted  It’s easy to add up to 100% because it tells you
assignment, before & want to reuse it, just at the bottom in red exactly what’s remaining
choose an assignment already assigned to a  Finally, click “Save”
different class & it’ll show up; choose class you  When you go to edit assignments, you can now
want to get assignment from, then select the add the Grade Category & choose the number
assignment, & choose “create new copies of all of points
attachments” – brand new copy & can edit it
however I like; set  Change Theme / Banner
- “Students can view file” if you only want  another thing you can do to personalize your
students to look at it (example: if link to virtual classroom & make it more fun
library or Read Aloud’s)
  on bottom right, press “Select theme” & choose  once you’ve finished inputting the modules &
themes that Google Classroom already has or you’re ready for the students to see them, you
upload a photo & add a Bitmoji banner can now “Publish”
 adjust banner because you can’t change where  by publishing the module, it publishes all of “Unit
the class name & class code go 1” & everything inside it
 banner looks a little dark since there’s an  make sure that you also publish the course
overlay that Google puts there to make sure itself!
their classrooms are AD compliant & so you  if you don’t want certain things published, leave
can see the class code & title them unpublished
 can also upload an animated banner  find the “Publish/Unpublish” buttons by 1st
clicking “Home” at the left

Other Online Virtual Classrooms Seesaw

Canvas - a brilliant, free learning management system to
 an LMS – way for teachers to manage their class & help teachers share activities with children during
provide content for students & even parents distance learning
 can put assignments, discussions, quizzes, etc. &
students can turn in their work  Sign up for your free account
 sign up as a teacher
 To build a course  once you’ve set up your classroom, you must Create
 Modules is the best way to do it your class – you can import from Google classroom
 upon signing in to account, you will see the or type in the name & choose your grade level
“Welcome to Canvas” message  Add students
 “Start a New Course” – type in the name &  you can get them to sign in with their emails if
select the content license you’d like, but the most common option is to
 next, there’s an option to “Make course publicly click “No”, you don’t need them to use their
visible” – different from Content License Google account
because this determines whether other people  can have it as “Shared Device” or “1:1 Devices”
outside will have to log in in order to see the  create own list of students (great if you already
content of my course have a list because you can just insert it there &
 student data will remain private & be protected paste)
 makes it difficult to do discussions so in most  once you’ve added your students, Seesaw will
cases, you don’t want to make your course automatically give you the ability to add your
public pupils in through a QR code or you can print a
 best way is to click “Create a new Module” sign-in poster for you to attach it to the class so
children can add themselves in
 Add existing content
 If you’ve taught a course in canvas before or  Look into own account details
even in blackboard or another LMS, you might  click “Account Settings” so you can turn off email
just be able to import from other LMSs in “Import notifications (it’s up to you if you want to have
Content” those updates from Seesaw)

 Create a new Module  Settings for your classroom

 A module is a unit of study (whether connected  on the upper right hand corner, click the hammer
to a textbook or not doesn’t matter so this could symbol for “Class Settings” dropdown
be Unit 1 or Chapter 1)  “Manage teachers” allows you to enter the email
 add the name of each module of a teacher you want to invite (there is a limit to
 now we have 3 empty ‘folders’ so we can start a certain number of teachers before asking you
putting things into those folders to sign up for premium version)
 click on plus sign for Module 1; can choose to  can also change the theme if you choose to
“Add” so you can choose content pages,  manage the students
quizzes, etc.  enable the students’ likes & comments – usually
 type in the Page Name & choose the indentation turn likes off so students aren’t focused on the
 now the folder has empty ‘pages’ – amount of likes they’re getting
assignments, quizzes, discussions, etc. but  set up so new comments will require approval
there’s no real content yet first
 option for children to see each other’s work –
 Putting the contents in powerful feature so that they can see that other
 go to a page & click “Edit” students are completing work to a high standard
 start typing in real content of this page  can choose if new item needs approval –
 great features: important just in case children submit random or
o there are many text options unnecessary things
o you can add pictures/images (URL, Canvas,
Flickr, upload) & adjust/resize/move the  Family access
image – though it’s a little difficult  gives parents the opportunity to see the
students’ works
 2 menus on the left side of the page  can invite families in by submitting their email or
 For your general account: “Account”, mobile number
“Dashboard”, “Courses”, etc.  manage what the parents can/can’t see & how
 For your current course: “Home”, “Assignments”, they interact with the children’s’ work
“Grades”, “People”, etc.
 in Canvas, grayed out options doesn’t  Manage folders
necessarily mean that it won’t work  another important feature
 you can lock & unlock modules so they can  you can create a range of different folders for
focus on modules at a time children’s work (example: Science, Math,
English, etc.) & set up colors for each subject
 Publish  children can complete work & submit it into the
relevant folder, making things more organized
  access Folders by pressing the folder icon at the
corner beside “Class journal”  those are basics of Seesaw but there are still so
 Manage skills many other functionalities
 another great but premium feature
 allows you to look at different skills that students
need to complete that relate to your national
curriculum

 How children can add things to the journal & how

they are going to complete different activities that
you set
 look at different features on the Home screen
 Journal is essentially a feed where children can
submit general bits of information that are non-
work related & little life updates they’d like to
share

 Activities
 really important things where that’s essentially
activities you’re going to share with the class for
students to complete
 “Schedule” is a premium feature that allows you
to set work, which can make the teacher’s work-
life a little easier
 “Achieve Activities” for once students have
completed them
 “Browse Activity Library”
 “Add” feature contains:
 “Post Student Work” – goes straight to
announcement
 “Assign Activity” – most important part of
Seesaw; range of things you can do such as
“Create new activity” (includes add text
instructions, voice instructions, multimedia
instructions/example) & Student Template
(you can add templates for student
responses; really useful for distance
learning)
 “Send Announcement” – share
announcements with students

 Community feature
 fantastic because people who have used
Seesaw in the past have submitted things to this
tab & it becomes available for other people to
use
 just write in the search bar (example: Get to
know me activity) & a range of different activities
will appear that you can see straight away
 heart the activity you’d like & it will appear in the
“My Library” feature – you can then “Assign
Activity” & set it to which class/folder you’d like
to assign it to

 Students’ point of view

 “Add response” so you can see the activity &
write your text/answers
 type text & pencil tools are available; can edit
the color of their text/drawing
 can also add voiceovers, links, & images
 once finished, they can tick it & that would get
uploaded to the classroom
 “Waiting for Teacher Approval”

 Teacher’s point of view

 get notification of unapproved post that needs to
be reviewed
 once satisfied with the piece, can like it or add a
comment & click “Approve”
 other options are “Send Back” & “Delete”
 can edit the item where the teacher can add
their own comments/remarks on the students’
work (can add voiceover or film webcam to talk
to the student)
 once you approve, it shows up on the journal &
other members of the class could see &
comment on it – great for peer assessment
 in addition, teacher can add that into “Skills”