How can you use LMS to create a dynamic Higher Ed classroom?

Choosing the right LMS is a crucial step that can impact the outcome. Though the ultimate goal of using a LMS is to create an engaging, interactive and simplified teaching learning process, the compatibility of it with students and teachers is most important. Here are a few points to be considered: Choose the LMS depending on the knowledge level of the students. The LMS should cover the pedagogical objectives. The LMS should be easy to use, or technical training should be provided. LMS should have an easy way to provide feedback that can be practically implemented by both students and teachers.

Choosing the right LMS is crucial for dynamic higher education. Consider: -Student Population: Assess size and diversity, ensuring the LMS can cater to varied needs, with a 5-year projection. - Course Type and Level: Ensure the LMS matches your course specifics. - Learning Outcomes and Assessment: Choose an LMS supporting your goals with flexible, integratable assessment tools. - Pedagogical Approach: The LMS should align with your teaching style, taking into account regional differences in design and pedagogy. - Technical Skills and Resources: Account for the technical abilities and resources of both educators and students. - System Integration: Ensure compatibility with your current tools and systems.

Most LMSes out there cover most of the essentials, however, integration with other systems (via APIs or other methods is important. Furthremore, How much it supports open standards is also important from a future perspective. Apart from features which you have to evaluate the costing / liscencing process maybe an important fact to consider as well.

The question is: How can you use a LMS to create a more dynamic Higher Ed Classroom? I use the Moodle LMS that my institution has. It allows me to create links to leaderboards, badges, and I make short gamified activities related to the day's learning. Is my entire class a game? No, but then that's not what gamification is all about. Short activities that address the basic points of an issue in varied ways, such as quick reading questionnaires, forums for peer feedback, and books, and database activities are all wonderful ways to engage students. Finally, I would like to give a shout out to the creators of the H5P interactive activities plugin which I use extensively in Moodle and my private WordPress site. I highly recommend it.

The key is to have clarity on what you want the students to see and when you want them to see it. Additionally, it's important to consider which integrated tool within the LMS they will use. However, just like with guide texts, believing that a single LMS can have everything necessary is very complicated; therefore, the combination of versatile and useful platforms that serve a specific purpose is important.

There are many considerations when it comes to course design. The obvious (your learning objectives) and the not-so-obvious (user experience/interface, variety of activities) are equally important. As a beginning teacher, starting with your learning objectives and working backward to build a course is challenging because it's so different than how you think as a student. I found it easier to think about "If they forget everything but 5 things, what are the 5 knowledge/skill sets you hope they remember." Then build assignments around those -- balance consistency with some novelty in terms of type of assignment to keep it interesting. Create an interface and course flow that your grandmother could follow. If students can get lost, they will.

I have been using Flipped Classroom Approach where all my lectures have been pre-recorded and shared along with short revision quizzes.

Content Management: Centralized Repository: Upload and organize course materials, including lecture notes, presentations, readings, and multimedia content. Version Control: Keep track of document versions to ensure students have access to the most up-to-date information. Communication and Collaboration: Discussion Forums: Foster online discussions to encourage student engagement and critical thinking. Allow students to share ideas, ask questions, and respond to each other. Announcements: Use the LMS to communicate important updates, deadlines, and announcements to the entire class. Group Workspaces: Create collaborative spaces for group projects, discussions, and activities.

Design courses with a blend of traditional lectures, group activities, and hands-on projects. Incorporate multimedia content for diverse learning styles. Emphasize real-world applications and critical thinking exercises. Foster collaboration through group discussions, peer reviews, and team projects. Offer flexibility with asynchronous components and allow for student-led exploration. Integrate assessments that measure understanding and encourage reflection. Continuously adapt based on student feedback and emerging trends.

I think that it is important to create a dynamic learning environment with interactive elements, collaborative tools, adaptive features, and analytics and reports. These features can enhance the learners' engagement, interaction, collaboration, personalization, and feedback.

LMS is a good tool for educators. It can help to standardize curriculum and teaching materials among educators who are teaching the same subject, at the same time making them accessible to students. It is also utilized for blended learning. to integrate online and offline learning activities such as videos. This approach allows students to manage their studies at their own pace. Some LMS platforms allow for the integration of interactive games which can significantly enhance engagement. However, the effectiveness of LMS is truly depends on both educators' proficiency in using the platform and the amount of time available for developing material. Initially, setting up and preparing materials can be quite time-consuming.

Deliver courses using a mix of in-person and online sessions to accommodate diverse learning needs. Utilize interactive technologies like video conferencing, discussion forums, and virtual labs for engagement. Offer live Q&A sessions and office hours for personalized support. Encourage peer interaction through group collaborations and team-based projects. Provide access to resources like recorded lectures, eBooks, and supplementary materials for self-paced learning. Foster a sense of community by facilitating regular communication and feedback loops. Adapt teaching methods based on student performance and feedback to optimize learning outcomes.

It is necessary to consider basic instructional design principles and to create a dynamic learning environment with various features and functions. By doing so, I believe that we can design and deliver online courses and programs that are engaging, interactive, collaborative, adaptive, analytical, and ultimately, effective and satisfying for the learners and the instructors.

While delivering courses through an LMS, we must encourage communication. Foster communication between students and instructors by using messaging tools, virtual office hours, and discussion forums within the LMS to create a sense of community and support.

Interactive Multimedia: Multimedia Integration: Incorporate videos, audio recordings, and interactive content to enhance the variety of learning materials. Interactive Modules: Develop interactive modules or simulations to make learning more engaging. Live Sessions: Conduct live lectures, discussions, or Q&A sessions through integrated virtual classrooms or web conferencing tools within the LMS. Recorded Sessions: Record live sessions for students who cannot attend in real-time, allowing them to catch up later.

The challenge in hybrid models of education is to recreate the in-person "magic" that happens when students engage with the content. Finding add-ons and platforms that promote different types of engagement by the learner is key. Having a recorded lecture is phase I. Adding interactive elements into the recording is the next level. Pop-ups, knowledge checks, and branching scenarios are all techniques to increase a student's comprehension and online satisfaction.

With some out of the box thinking, even the most traditional and routine course can have fresh life breathed into it when instructors are willing to extend beyond their comfort zone! In one instance I did a “man on the street” style interview of the director of security and played the recording in class the next day. Similarly, I’ve had colleagues in other disciplines “zoom conference” into my online or in-person class using our LMS. Both instances to the different courses to another level of high engagement because the students weren’t expecting that!

Use the tools available in the online learning platforms. Plan breakout rooms and engage the learners in polls or in question and answer discussions. facilitate the learning as much as possible and get the learners to do the learning. Avoid the death by powerpoint approach and only use slide decks to display discussion topics or images.

Student Progress Tracking: Analytics: Utilize analytics tools within the LMS to track student progress, identify areas of improvement, and provide personalized support.

A good way to make a dynamic classroom is to build community. I advocate for making LMS courses that allow groups to self enroll so that they can organically build communities outside of courses. That community will trickle into courses.

One thing to consider is that once you’ve found success leveraging your LMS technology, you will never be satisfied going back to how it was! When you get accustomed to recording a 3 minute video to explain your review of an assignment, instead of the “Red Pen” brigade, you’ll see a change in your students interaction with you and often a change for the better in the course engagement.

Consider accessibility features to ensure all students can fully participate. Provide clear guidelines and expectations for assignments and assessments. Foster a supportive learning environment by promoting inclusivity and diversity. Offer opportunities for interdisciplinary collaboration and cross-cultural understanding. Encourage continuous professional development for faculty to stay updated with best practices and technologies. Implement data-driven approaches for ongoing assessment and improvement of courses. Finally, solicit feedback from students and faculty to iterate and refine course design and delivery continually.

I consider a LMS to be a burden on the instructor. It could be compared to a transport system meant to get people a short distance from A to B. You need a train, a propulsion system, rails, timetables, signposts and stations. However, if they simply walked from A to B, they wouldn't miss the beauty of the forest path and the countryside. Really, I believe a LMS is complete overkill. You can do all those well-intentioned things that courses are capable of providing, without an LMS.

The main players in the higher ed lms market are really more about organizing content than engaging students. So don’t fall into the trap that you can get away with only the lms tools. Of course I’m biased because I’ve built a business of engagement tools around this lack. But our clients agree.

Virtual Classroom and Web Conferencing: Live Sessions: Conduct live lectures, discussions, or Q&A sessions through integrated virtual classrooms or web conferencing tools within the LMS. Recorded Sessions: Record live sessions for students who cannot attend in real-time, allowing them to catch up later. Integration with Other Tools: Integrate External Apps: Connect the LMS with other educational tools, such as plagiarism checkers, interactive simulations, or collaboration platforms, to expand functionality. Multilingual Support: If applicable, choose an LMS that supports multiple languages to cater to diverse student populations.