Full Sail University EME6629

Learning Management Systems and Organization

Week 4 Ch. 2

The Future of LMSs and PLE

Shirley Jordan

     The future of Learning Management Systems and Personal Learning Environments are innovative, creative, progressive, and promising. It is also considered to be the 'Next generation education for school “( EDU20 , 2006). This Learning Management System makes teaching and learning more efficient and enjoyable. It can be used by teachers, students and parents. Anyone can teach and/or learn using the system, whether it's at school, at home, or on the move. ('EDU 20, 2006).

    During the initial planning for such an online system, there is much to be considered and every facet must be thought out to make sure the needs of an organization are well planned for. The system needs will range from a worldwide student population, assessments, curriculum, mobility, grade book, and security.

   EDU2.0 ( 2006 ) has a video called Killer Startups  that breaks down the following information of a LMS system:

Overview

Free and easy LMS

•Free cloud-hosted LMS, with nothing to download or install.

•Inexpensive premium plans are available for power users

•Free and easy LMS, Free cloud-hosted LMS, with nothing to download or install.

•Create an online school with one click

•Every organization gets its own customizable portal.

•The clean, modern interface is easy and enjoyable to use.

•Comprehensive set of features, with more added weekly based on user requests.

Popular

•150,000 members and 7,000 organizations have joined the EDU 2.0 platform since 2007, and we're growing fast!

Mobile

•Access from any mobile device, including i Phones and i Pads.

Worldwide

•Available in over 10 languages, with built-in auto-translation between members.

Rich assessment

•Rich set of assessment tools, including quizzes, question banks, and seven other kinds of assignment.

Rubrics

•Seamless support for rubrics allows you to grade assignments quickly and consistently.

Grade book

•Easy-to-use grade book with customizable weighting schemes, grading periods, and much more

Curricula

•Create a curriculum, associate its proficiencies with lessons and assignments, then track student progress automatically!

Parents

•Parents can have their own accounts and easily access their children's grades, assignments, and reports.

Secure

•Highly secure, with SSL login, FERPA-compliance, and special features to keep your materials private.

Presence

•See when your friends and colleagues are online, and click on their avatar to chat.

     All of these features help to make the organization run efficiently and provide communication throughout the entire workforce organization. The aspect of lifelong learning comes into play as Harasim (1993) points out that educational net worlds introduce a new world of learning: the opportunity for interaction on any subject, with personal experts around the world, active participation in knowledge building and information sharing and lifelong learning. Educational net worlds promote the development of a learning society (Harasim, 1993, p. 22).

     Many students complete assignments using online systems, however there is a part of education where students are engaged in what is called blended learning. Blended learning ensures that students get some face to face interactions and get to know others in the class on a more personal level. Learning objectives that may not have been mastered in an online class can take place in a blended learning course. Blended Learning is an approach to course design that brings together the best of both face-to-face and online strategies. This combination aims to build from each approach to create an innovative and effective learning experience for students (Reagan, 2008). The notion behind a blended approach is the planned integration of online and face-to-face instructional approaches in a way that maximizes the positive features of each respective delivery mode. For example, online materials can provide students with flexibility and a way to access engaging multimedia content. However, one of the often-heard criticisms of online courses is that some may find them isolating or lacking in interpersonal contact. In the case of a blended learning course that contact could be provided in the form of face-to-face class sessions (Ragan, 2008).

      Asynchronous learning   offers many advantages for conversations in the networld. The major benefit is the increased user control: the sender and the receiver do not have to be available at the same time. People who prefer or require more time to provide input find asynchronicity an advantage over real time face to face situations (Harasim, 1993, p. 24).

     The constraints of this  of learning is some people report anxiety when there is not a response posted to their assignments or professors do  not  respond  immediately to  students’ assignments.

                                                                                Reference

Edu20.org – (2006) The Future of Online Education

     http://www.killerstartups.com/Web-App-Tools/edu20-org-the-future-of-online-educatio

Harasim L. 1993 Global Networks – Computers and International Communication

Networlds: Networks as Social Space  (book) found at www.worldingo.com/ma/enwiki/en/Linda_Harasi 

Reagan L.  2008

Best Practices in Online Teaching - Pulling It All Together - Teaching Blended Learning Courses   http://cnx.org/content/m15048/latest/