Learning Management Systems

A brief collection of tips, tricks and best practices

We here at the omniscient amalgamation of graduate students known only as Ed Tech 602 alumni have deigned to impart our knowledge unto thee once again. In this page, we shall share tips, tricks and best practices related to the selection, adoption, design and implementation of learning management systems (LMS).

Selecting an LMS: There are more than 30 widely used LMS's, within the united states alone. These include Canvas, Blackboard, Sakai, SABA, Litmos and many more. The features offered by each LMS vary widely, as does the pricing. Some of the major considerations to be made when choosing the right LMS for you include whether you want your instance of the LMS to be hosted internally or externally (by the LMS company). Also consider which features are must haves and which are nice-to-haves. Consider that the most robust LMS's are going to require more staff training so that those staff can take advantage of all the features. Finally, consider how you will need your LMS to scale; do you have 100 learners or 100,000 learners? Do you plan to deliver 50 courses or 5000 courses? What will be your data analytics and reporting requirements? Once you have narrowed down your choices, search for literature that examines those LMS's when used for your specific subject areas and types of learners. There has also been research done to compare specific LMS's with each other (Francom, 2021).

Setting up an LMS: Setting up an LMS is no simple task, especially when you are switching from one LMS to a different one. The IT resources and knowledge required to navigate multiple types of databases and application programming interfaces (API's) is considerable. Plan ahead for these and other tasks before you identify your go-live date. That only covers the back end of your new LMS instance. You also have to plan and design the academic aspects of your system such as assessment methods, course delivery types, sources of learning content and more.

Administering an LMS: Plan to have forty man-hours available per week, at a minimum, dedicated to administer your LMS instance. The person(s) administering will be required to respond to requests for new training, request for technical assistance, requests for course enrollment, request for records and reports, and much more. Those responsible will need to be trained on every aspect of your new system before it goes live. They will also need appropriate user and superuser access as appropriate.

Training learners to use your LMS: It is recommended to have a help button on screen at all times for the learners. Selecting the help button should take learners to fully detailed training materials on how to use the LMS, as well as an option to submit requests for assistance. Most LMS's have dedicated training materials that will come with the LMS pre-packaged, but not all. It also takes considerable knowledge, expertise and resources to ensure that all types of learners are able to participate. Guidelines to review for these purposes include the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG, 2021). There are three levels of certification within the WCAG criteria, with varying degrees of complexity. Plan to implement strategies that provide options for the hearing impaired, for the physically impaired, and for native speakers of languages other than English.

References:

Francom, G. M., Schwan, A., & Nuatomue, J. N. (2021). Comparing Google Classroom and D2L Brightspace Using the Technology Acceptance Model. TechTrends: Linking Research & Practice to Improve Learning, 65(1), 111–119. https://doi-org.libproxy.boisestate.edu/10.1007/s11528-020-00533-0

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0, W3C World Wide Web Consortium Recommendation XX Month Year (http://www.w3.org/TR/200X/REC-WCAG20-20081211/, Latest version at http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/)