By Tracey Brown, AACPS Instructional Teacher Specialist
Those of us who work in instructional technology tend to throw around the term LMS as though it were a commonly used, widely understood term in education like IEP or STEM, but while it is becoming more common with the prevalence of technology in our schools, maybe it is time for us to take a huge step backwards and describe what an LMS is and how it can transform K-12 education.
LMS stands for Learning Management System, and it refers to the digital classroom platform that a school or district may provide teachers to use to facilitate online learning. But it is so much more than a way for teachers to give students assignments. That is a big part of it and probably how teachers and students will interact with it on a daily basis. But it also consolidates and manages many technology initiatives in one convenient package.
What can an LMS do for each stakeholder in education?
Teachers
An LMS allows teachers to post class materials like videos and handouts for students that can easily be differentiated based on need, edited and updated in real time, and accessed whether students are in school or absent. They can (of course) post assignments and assessments for students to complete, but more importantly, an LMS allows them to track completion and provide feedback to students in real time rather than waiting for an assignment to be submitted before the teacher can begin commenting. They can also collect, access, grade, and return assignments to students without a piece of paper ever changing hands. Through the reporting features that an LMS offers, teachers can track student progress and even mark attendance.
An LMS can also be a hub for professional resources and learning as well. A central repository of resources (assignments, attachments, assessments) can be shared with all teachers in a grade level or content area. Teachers can then share with one another resources that everyone can access and pull from. An LMS can also offer synchronous and asynchronous professional development that teachers can take to earn APC credits or a stipend. The LMS can house the curriculum so teachers can access the instructional materials they need and easily pull them into the course to share with students.
Students
An LMS allows teachers to provide students with support, a personalized learning path, and rewards to keep them motivated. Imagine having all of your homework help tutorials linked in your course so students can open them as needed to assist with completing assignments. If they haven't turned in an assignment, support resources are automatically released to one student while an extension activity is available to another who is ready to move on. As students complete their digital assignments badges can be released to gamify the experience too.
Built-in email tools allows students to communicate with teachers and the calendar helps keep them organized across all courses. Students can also install a mobile app for their LMS which will provide notifications for updates like new assignments posted or reminders of a looming due date. Digital discussions also allow students to collaborate, and get real time assistance from peers as well as the teacher, discuss course content, and even debate with classmates to learn to explain their argument and understand the perspectives of others.
Parents
Every school wants to know how to increase communication with families. An LMS is a solution for this as well. Parents can work with their child while logged into their account to see the assignments that need to be completed, but they also have their own login that provides a list of upcoming assignments, those that are past due, exemplary student work, and even grades for assignments and assessments. This can reduce the need for parents to email the teacher with these types of questions and concerns.
Administrators
When parents have questions and concerns, they may turn to the school rather than the teacher. With an LMS, Administrators can access teacher's courses to help answer questions, but they can also assist in an emergency. If a teacher has their emergency sub plans loaded in their course, the Administrator can go in and post it for students as soon as they know the teacher will be out, and the only sub plans that are needed is "have students login and complete today's assignment and turn it in."
Long Term Impact
One of the goals of every K-12 institution is to make students future ready. An LMS is a vital tool in achieving this goal. When using an LMS students learn to navigate an online platform with the purpose of completing a task like an assignment or sending an email. These are not only becoming life skills for our students but will prepare them for a future that likely looks very different than our lives do today. Students will graduate to jobs that do not yet exist, and even those that do are implementing increased use of technology that requires digital literacy in the workforce. Daily acess to technology in classes allows students to engage in activities that can boost their digital literacy skills as well as work on critical thinking and problem-solving.
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