Edutopia’s article, “Shaping Tech for the Classroom”, took me on a tangent. I was reading the article and connecting it to topics I have already looked into past and present– specifically the use of the SAMR model to aid in using technology more effectively in a classroom…and I am ready to admit that I fall under the “doing old things in new ways” category, but most of my colleagues would admit to this, too. This island we inhabit is full and we all help each other to find fancy new tools where we move our content from one place to another and get our students to move their conversations from one space to another. I am hereby declaring that I am ready to learn how to make technology work for me and to work for the students – to have it be a mechanism through which effective learning can take place.
This line of thought brought me to the idea of a Learning Management System (LMS). Essentially, an LMS is used to manage, track, and deliver courses and training programs in both the education and business world. The eLearning Industry points out that e-Learning is a 50 billion dollar industry and that number could double within a year. They also project that by the year 2019, about half of all college classes in the states will be eLearning based. Theses numbers show that there are systematic changes taking place in education in order to contend with a shifting 21stcentury economy and culture. Many schools have already made the move to an LMS…but, I wonder, is this really the direction schools should be taking? (if you are interested, here is an infographic that shows the top 20 LMS software)
As I was looking at some of the different LMS platforms I started to wonder about the process of choosing one. How does an institution decide on which platform to use? I can see cost being a major issue…but what else? Another infographic highlights and expands on more variables that would come into play: ease of use, customizations, support available, and suitability for the environment. There are also open source LMS’ that are free of cost. Moodle–it is one of the most widely used LMS’ on the free market.
Moodle has lots of bells and whistles and to the naked eye it looks like a fancy tool that could help create an effective learning environment.
But, there is something missing here…and that is the most critical
aspect of all: learning.
Is an LMS the BEST way that we can help someone learn?
In the performance management sector, there must be a value delivered, and the same should go for education. An LMS is just one system of learning…we need to know it is going to provide value, rather than buy it and then just hope it provides value.
An LMS can house all of the content of a program, people tend to like them once they learn the ins and outs, and they help to brand an organization. However, just because we like what they can do, does not get us off the hook for finding out if it is going to help someone learn. Before integrating any technology an analysis on the process of learning, the people, the environment, and the content to be delivered needs to take place. If after the analysis it is decided that an LMS will serve the needs of the context and provide value, fantastic. I think that organizations can get fooled into thinking that they can shape their context around an LMS, but in reality, this just usually isn’t the case.
This also brings me around to the question of should an LMS be used at all? Do they help or hinder the learning environment?
Let’s think about games for a moment. A game without rules would equal chaos, a game with rules gives structure and goals, but a game with too many rules is rigid and can decrease creativity. We need to be careful that the technology we are implementing at a system level is not killing students curiosity and their ability to interact with the broader online community. The technology needs to serve a need and not the other way around. A quick example of this is how the US used technology to try and solve the issue of writing in space by creating a million-dollar pen, whereas the Russians just used a pencil. I think you get my point.
Yes, there is a need for a systematic shift to take place in education….but is using an LMS helping to support that shift?
I am not sure – but, I would like to make a suggestion:
That we shift the acronym from LMS to SML. That we see the introduction of technology into education as systems to manage the learning that is happening… to manage how it is developed… to manage how it is delivered. An LMS is designed to create a structured approach, it establishes a template. The problem with this is that “my” structure might not match “your” structure or someone else’s structure because not everyone teaches or learns the same way. Inherent in the education system is the idea of the variety of teaching and learning practices, but an LMS seeks to add consistency to that practice. This is not always a negative – consistency is needed in an educational context in areas such as assessment. However, you don’t want every course looking relatively the same. 21st-century learning is about creating deliverables that are not only relevant and engaging for today’s student population, but also allow them to explore, think, and create. The template structure that an LMS provides does not seem like the most effective tool to provide a rich and flexible learning context because it is what is put into it, to what you get out of it.
I am learning that an LMS or a DLE, digital learning environment, is what is put into it. The framework is important but the engagement is more important. The community needs to be established in your classroom so that students feel connected and buy-in to their learning environment. LMS holds a sense of consistency for the institution but for a classroom … it may need a blend of systems.