A learning management system (LMS) is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting and delivery of electronic educational technology (also called e-learning) education courses or training programs.

LMSs range from systems for managing training and educational records to software for distributing online or blended/hybrid college courses over the Internet with features for online collaboration. Colleges, universities, school districts, and schools use LMSs to deliver online courses and augment on-campus courses. LMSs also act to augment the lessons the teacher is

giving in a brick and mortar environment not just replace them. Corporate training departments use LMSs to deliver online training, as well as to automate record-keeping and employee registration.

A course management system (CMS) is a collection of software tools providing an online environment for course interactions. A CMS typically includes a variety of online tools and environments, such as: An area for faculty posting of class materials such as course syllabus and handouts.

Learning Management System (LMS)

LMS is an abbreviated form for Learning Management Software. It is an web based Application for e-learning programs and training contents.

It is is a broad term used to describe software tools designed to manage user learning interventions and provide access to online learning services for students, teacher, and administrator. A software system, that allows the development and delivery of educational courses using the Internet as a delivery system.

This Application includes

•  Teacher and Student Administration

•  e-learning Programs and Training Contents

•  Courses and Online Events

•  Internal Communication System(Built in Mail )

•  Documentation

•  Tracking and Reporting of the e-learning programs

•  Forums to interact between the Students and Teacher

•  Support Portability and Standards

•  Display scores and transcripts

•  Provided SSL Security Systems

LMS is used to manage online content and administer distance learning processes. LMS allows us to create and support an unlimited number of online learning courses that can be accessed by students from all over the world.

•  Online quizzes;

•  Course documents repository;

•  Drop box and mailbox;

•  Embedded forum and chat;

•  Multilanguage interface and much more.

User Roles and Interfaces

Admin: a person responsible for general system ,teacher Administration and course settings.

Teacher: a person responsible for creating and administering Topics and Lessons for Courses , managing the whole learning process.

Students :a learner enrolled into one or several courses.

Features of an LMS

•         Announcement Facility

•         Notes Facility

•         Document Facility

•         Forum Facility

•         Multimedia Gallery

•         Learning Track(path) Facility

•         Links Facility

•         References Facility

•         News Facility

•         Assignment Facility

•         Assessment Facility

•         Portfolio Management Facility

•         Learning Portal Facility

LMS/CMS Softwares: Blackboard, Moodle, Desire2Learn

What is Blackboard?

The Blackboard Learning System is a virtual learning environment developed by Blackboard Inc. History

In 1997, two education consultants – Matthew Pittinsky and Michael Chasen – formed Blackboard LLC and were contracted to help lead the formation of the Educause IMS standards group for online education technology. At the same time, a Course Info LLC at Cornell University was developing a software product that would power online education and be scalable for wider institutional application. Recognizing the high demand for a sophisticated, easy-to-use, and affordable online education software platform, the two groups merged to form Blackboard Inc., which then developed the Blackboard Learning System.

The Blackboard Learning System is a Web-based server software platform. Features include course management, a customizable open architecture, and a scalable design that allows for integration with student information systems and authentication protocols. It may be installed

on local servers or hosted by Blackboard ASP Solutions. Its main purposes are to add online elements to courses traditionally delivered face-to-face and to develop completely online courses with few or no face-to-face meetings.

•  Blackboard is a web-based system that complements and builds upon traditional learning methods. By using the Blackboard system you can view course materials and learning resources, including multimedia, for any units that you are taking that have a Blackboard module. The software also provides tools for communicating and collaborating with your lecturer or other students about the course using discussions, chat or email.

•      This will allow you to participate in a number of interactive tasks which you can do at a time and place of your convenience, providing a degree of flexibility to your studying.

You can complete, and electronically submit, coursework in Blackboard as well as monitoring your progress using quizzes and assignments that teaching staff have set for you. It is also possible to check your grades for Blackboard activities online.

Blackboard Functionality List

•  Announcements

Use announcements to post important and timely information for your students. If you are using the default settings your students will see the announcements area first when logging into your class.

•  Assessments

Have students take online quizzes and provide them with immediate feedback. A total of

18 different types of multiple choice, fill in the blank, matching, true/false, ordering, and essay/short answer questions are available.

Essay/short answer assessments need to be graded by the instructor. Survey student needs and/or have them take course evaluations online using the built in survey tool. Use the assessments feature for online homework as well!

•  Digital Drop Box

Allow your students to submit their assignments to you without using email attachments.

Faculty can grade and return assignment through the digital drop box.

•  Discussion Board

Use this asynchronous communication method to have “conversations” outside of class. Use the discussion board forum to continue a conversation started in class, to discuss topics from the readings, or to have students share projects/assignments.

•  External Links

Provide your students with an electronic list of resources that will augment their classroom activities. These links can be to recommended websites, library databases, electronic journals, images, or electronic books.

•  Grade Center

Keep track of student grades on all assignments using the Grade Center. Students have the ability to check their own grades and to see where they fall in the class average (they see only their scores). Blackboard assessment (Quizzes and surveys) are automatically recorded in the Grade Center. Faculty have the ability to weight grades and to export grades to Excel at the end of the quarter.

•  Groups

Enable collaborative work in your class using the groups function. Group members have access to their own discussion board, file exchange (drop box), virtual classroom (chat), and email.

•  Send Email

Use the send email function from the Control Panel to easily email a single student or the entire class. Students will need to have updated email information in Campus Connect in order for this feature to work properly.

•  Staff Information

Use this to provide your contact information, office hours, and personal website if you have not put this information into your syllabus.

•  Syllabus

Make your syllabus available online.

•  Wimba

Use Wimba to establish real time synchronous audio and visual communication with distance learning students during class sessions.

Assessment Tools

•  The Test Manager is used to create, modify, and remove tests. Blackboard tests permit the instructor to assign point values to each question on exams or quizzes. Student answers are submitted for grading, and the results are recorded in the Gradebook.

•  The Survey Manager is used to create, add, preview, modify, and remove surveys. Surveys provide instructors with an assessment tool that is useful for polling purposes, evaluations, and random checks of knowledge.

•  The Pool Manager allows instructors to store questions for repeated use. Instructors can create new questions to include in pools and add questions that have been created in other tests or pools. Pools are course-specific although pools from other courses can be imported through the pool Manager.

•  How to create/modify a test?

Click Test Manager in the Assessments area on the Instructor Control Panel to get started.

Follow the steps below to create a test. To modify a test, click Modify next to the test that needs to be modified.

•  Step 1: Select Add Test on the Test Manager page.

•  Step 2: Enter a name, description, instructions and click Submit.

•  Step 3: Select a question type on the Test Canvas and click Go.

•  Step 4: Create one of the following questions:

 Moodle

Moodle is an open source web application used to create interactive online learning sites. Moodle that is the acronym for Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment. It runs on almost all platform, supporting a lot of useful function and customization, thanks to his modular structure. Also, it's available in 78 languages! It is used all over the world by teachers and educators and it's probably the best E-Learning tool in the net!

Moodle was created by Martin Dougiamas, who wrote the entire code in PHP, as a research for his doctorate at Curtin University in Australia.

Desire2Learn:

Desire2Learn (D2L) is a modern and robust learning management system set to completely replace Blackboard. Whether you are teaching a wholly online course, a hybrid course, or just need a place to distribute documents and media to your students, D2L will help you to save time and improve your students' learning experience.

D2L is an online system allowing…

·         Posting of content and files (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, pictures, audio, video)

·         Collection and return of homework files

·         Grade and grade feedback entry

     ·         Online threaded discussions (similar to email list-serves, but persistent and located in one place)

·         Posting of news items and reminders

·         Listing of FAQs, Glossary terms, and hyperlinks

·         Collection of surveys