Running Head: LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS 1

Running head: LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS 1

Hands-On Activity Report:

Learning Management Systems

Cynthia P. Lyons

University of Maryland University College

DETC 630 HANDS-ON ACTIVITY REPORT: LMS 2

Hands-On Activity Report on Learning Management Systems

Learning Management Systems (LMS) are popular for organizing and sharing content over the Internet. LMS are so flexible that they can be adapted to blended learning, used as supplemental tools in face-to-face learning, and used as the primary platform to deliver online courses (Malm & DeFranco, 2012). According to Davis, Carmean, and Wagner (2009), the capabilities and functions of LMS have significantly evolved to accommodate Web 2.0 technologies. In the first decade of LMS use, instructors and students exchanged files and posted discussions and other content into the learning environment (Davis, et al., 2009). The author of this report has experience using UMUC’s LMS, WebTycho. WebTycho is used as a repository and also for asynchronous and synchronous interaction between students and instructors. As LMS continues to evolve, users find more ways that LMS can supplement or enhance learning. Learning Management Systems provide a “green” alternative to managing course information because storing electronic files in the LMS reduces the need to print materials. Moreover, Malm & DeFranco (2012) assert that LMS can further reduce the need to print reports. Their research indicates that institutions can use analytics to extract relevant data to assess student learning and instructor effectiveness in an LMS environment (Malm & DeFranco, 2012). For example, institutions can retrieve how many times students and faculty login to the system; time spent in the system; and can use the data for making decisions and faculty performance evaluations (Malm & DeFranco, 2012). Similarly, Kaliski, Booker, and Schumann (2012) report that using analytics allows faculty and administrators to track student activity over periods of time to determine what factors encourage student participation. For example, data may show that students are more active on certain days, or they may participate more after they share project reports (Kaliski, et al., 2012). This is helpful in determining what types of learning activities inspire and motivate student participation. Since there are many different uses for LMS, there are also many different LMS providers. Moodle is a popular LMS for all levels of learning. There are over 70,000 Moodle sites worldwide, in 223 countries (Moodle, 2012). In the United States there are over 12,000 Moodle sites used by private and public industries, as well as educational institutions (Moodle, 2012). Moodle is an acronym derived from modular object oriented dynamic learning environment and is freely available to anyone with a web server (Moodle, 2012). This report examines Moodle’s functionality and use for online learners at any education level. Moodle Moodle is an open source learning management system available to anyone with a web server (Moodle, 2012). Tosuni and Taskesenligil (2011) experimented with using Moodle in problem based learning. They discovered that Moodle’s forums provided an excellent setting for students to engage in questions and answers amongst themselves and with instructors. Furthermore, the dynamic interaction allows users to efficiently broadcast and retrieve information from a large group of users. This saves time and effort needed for instructors and students to gather information from multiple sources (Tosuni & Taskesenligil, 2011). Since Moodle is robust and freely available on the web, it is necessary to isolate testing criteria relevant to education. Testing Criteria The testing team developed criteria based on system design, ease of use, response times, and functionality. The first challenge was developing a closed environment for testing. Because Moodle is open source, the testing team wanted to create a dedicated site to test the features. HANDS-ON ACTIVITY REPORT: LMS 3

Unfortunately neither team member possesses a web server; and through trial and error, the team could not set up a private site for testing. However, through this exercise, the team discovered that setting up a private site only requires common SQL language and the web server. Microsoft.net provides the web connectivity, but a technical user familiar with programming code is required to publish and share a site. Thus, a business or institution that employs someone with basic programming skills and experience with web servers should be able to deploy a Moodle site. For this report the testing team explored Moodle’s delivered sample school, Mount Orange School. This allowed the team to perform various roles and tasks through the Mount Orange School portal. Users can test drive Moodle using the Mount Orange School and can log in as any of the following roles: manager, parent, teacher, or student. The following snapshot is the basic overview of the student’s homepage:

Moodle refers to each element as a block.

The student’s homepage is divided into two sections: primary course content and tools. This screenshot shows several blocks, such as messages, school voice, comments, and calendar. The blocks are minimized for easier screen capture, but the student can maximize and move the blocks off to the margin. Each block contains relevant information; for example, the comments block is used like a Twitter feed or instant messaging system. The team tested this feature and returned expected results, without any system or response issues. Note that in order to test the student access, users log in as Barbara Gardner. Here is a sample test: HANDS-ON ACTIVITY REPORT: LMS 4

Students can send and retrieve comments amongst themselves. The messages block is used for more substantial communications involving dialog, file sharing, and other collaborative uses. Other features are available by expanding the blocks shown on the previous page. For example, the calendar feature functions as an interactive calendar for students to post entries and reminders. The navigation block expands to include repositories, which can be used to store files or to link to external resources, and courses:

Notice that the left side of the student’s homepage (see page 3) shows course information. These blocks can be expanded to show all of the courses, upcoming events and assignments, and other relevant information. The teacher’s role is similar to the student’s setup, except the teacher has administrative functions that allow the teacher to post discussions, tests, and grades: HANDS-ON ACTIVITY REPORT: LMS 5

Furthermore, Moodle allows teachers to export grade reports into excel spreadsheets and to create reports on outcomes based on criteria set by the teacher. A brief overview of the parent’s access shows a homepage similar to the student’s homepage. The parent can customize the page by minimizing and moving blocks and can also read and respond to messages. Moodle allows users to create pages as show below:

This page is designed for parents to discuss issues and concerns and to make announcements. The manager’s role is to perform site administrative tasks, such as backup, restore, manage user roles and accounts, create pages, and add courses:

The screenshot below shows a course created during this experiment. Managers can create courses and enroll students. Also, when creating the course, the manager selects the number of weeks, how often the course meets, whether the course is public or private, and other features. In addition, the manager can run reports based on student participation, login frequency, and other variables. HANDS-ON ACTIVITY REPORT: LMS 6

Results and Recommendations Moodle is a dynamic and robust learning management system designed for many types of users. Testing and learning all of the features of Moodle are time and labor intensive; therefore, the team recommends that institutions allow sufficient time to train users. However, once the user understands the logic and presentation, Moodle pages are very straightforward. Moodle applies the same logic to all user roles so that the pages appear similar, navigation is familiar, and functionality is intuitive. As noted earlier in this report, testing Moodle in a closed environment is difficult for the average user since it requires some knowledge of programming language and a web server. Therefore, users are somewhat limited to understanding how Moodle can be applied to individual circumstances. For example, an institution may want to test security, access, and the ability to customize the Moodle pages to incorporate proprietary information. These types of tests require a dedicated and specific Moodle site designed by a technical user. The general population cannot test these features using the Mount Orange School test environment provided by Moodle. However, Moodle provides an array of resources and tools to accommodate online learning. The Technology Suite Project (Porto & Ledford, 2012) requires the following technologies: asynchronous and synchronous communication tools, content development, add-in technology, and assessment tools. Moodle satisfies all of these requirements and presents them in a clean and logical pattern. Users can post discussions and send email messages for asynchronous communication. The comments feature allows users to exchange messages instantly for synchronous communication. Moodle provides adequate tools for content development; although, the manager role serves as the primary source for posting the content. This could be a problem in institutions that do not have the resources for a separate manager role; or, in large institutions that have a large quantity of material to post. The delivered test demonstration site in Moodle does not allow to test whether a user can be assigned to two different roles. Moodle allows teachers and students to manage external links and add-ins to facilitate learning. Again, the testing site is somewhat limited in testing the functionality of these add-ins and whether they would apply to all types of learning environments. Finally, Moodle provides a test creator function for teachers so that they can deliver exams directly in the Moodle platform. Grades are recorded directly into the grade book for reporting. HANDS-ON ACTIVITY REPORT: LMS 7

Conclusion The experiments in the exercises indicate that Moodle is an excellent tool for managing, distributing, and analyzing course content. The testing environment provides all the tools required for asynchronous and synchronous communication, assessment, file repositories, and links to external tools. Further testing under a secured and dedicated environment is needed to test security, vulnerabilities, and the possibilities for integrating Moodle with other software, such as an institution’s enterprise resource planning (ERP) system. Nevertheless, Moodle is dynamic, easy to use, and satisfies the requirements for a learning management system. HANDS-ON ACTIVITY REPORT: LMS 8

References

Davis, B., Carmean, C., & Wagner, E.D. (2009). The evolution of the LMS: From management to learning. The eLearning Guild. Retrieved from http://www.blackboard.com/resources/proed/Guild-LMSreport.pdf

Kaliski, J.A., Booker, Q.E., & Schumann, P.L. (2012). An architecture for dynamic e-learning environments based on student activity and learning styles. Business Education & Accreditation, 4(2), 113-124. Retrieved from http://theibfr.com/

Malm, E., & DeFranco, J.F. (2012). Toward a student-centered measure of learning management system utilization. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 40(4), 401-413. doi: 10.2190/ET.40.4.f

Moodle. (2012). What is Moodle? Moodle. Retrieved from https://moodle.org/about/

Porto, S., & Ledford, B. (2012). Technology suite project. DETC630-Fall 2012. Retrieved from http://bitly.com/bundles/scsporto/2

Tosun, C., & Taskesenligil, Y. (2011). Using the Moodle learning management system in problem based learning method. International Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 3(3), 1021-1045. Retrieved from http://www.iojes.net/