By its nature, a LMS makes all types of resources and activities available to individuals 24/7 from any location with web access. Multiple users can access the LMS at any given point in time. Plus, if your college or university provides a LMS, then students may already be familiar with logging into the sysem, and may have already used particular features or tools in conjunction with another course.
By placing electronic copies of materials online, students elect whether or not to print materials or read tehm online. Professors commonly pass out course outlines and discuss class policies, and then ask students to sign a contract or agreement that they will honor those policies. Here’s an opportunity to save paper and to simplify record keeping. Instead of handing out a syllabus, tell your class where to find it online and ask them to submit an acceptance form electronically.
Most learning management systems allow users to show or hide specific items. In contrast, a web site requires more attention to layout and design, and portions of pages cannot be hidden until a given date. Web sites offer more flexibility, but they also require increased design skills to create effective pages.
The ability to show and hide resources can allow students to focus their attention. If there are too many items on a screen, students tend to surf through them instead of working on the lesson at hand. By hiding inactive lessons, we can make sure that students can’t “smorgasbord” through the course.
Uploading and sharing materials
Most LMSs provide tools to easily publish content. Many
instructors upload their syllabus, lecture notes, reading assignments,
PowrPoints and articles for students to access whenever they want.
Forums and chats
Online forums and chats provide a means of communication outside of
classroom meetings. Forums give your students more time to generate
their responses and can lead to more thoughtful discussions. Chats, on
the other hand, give you a way to quickly and easily communicate with
remote students. They can be used for project discussions between
groups of students or for last-minute questions the day before an exam.
Quizzes
Online quizzes can be graded instantaneously. They are a great tool for
giving students rapid feedback on their performance and for gauging
their comprehension of materials. Many publishers now provide banks of
test questions tied to book chapters.
Gathering and reviewing assignments
Online assignment submissions are an easy way to track and grade
student assignments. In addition to grading student assignments yourself, research indicates
that using an online environment for student peer reviews increases
student motivation and performance.
Online submissions allow more flexible due dates and times; papers can be due by 11:45 p.m. but the teacher doesn't even have to be awake to collect them. With the tracking features built into most LMSs, teachers can monitor when particular pages are accessed and by whom.
Recording grades
An online gradebook can give your students up-to-date information about
their performances in your course. Online grades can also help you
comply with new privacy rules that prohibit posting grades with
personal identifiers in public places. LMS gradebooks allow students to
see only their own grades, never another student’s scores.
While you could find or write programs to do all of these things on your own site, a LMS combines all of these features in one integrated package. Once you’ve learned how to use a LMS, you’ll be free to concentrate on teaching and learning instead of writing and maintaining your own software.