An Investigation of Faculty���s Perceptions and Experiences when Transitioning to a New Learning Management System (original) (raw)
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For many higher education institutions and even some for-profit organizations, Learning Management Systems have become mission critical, enterprise-level applications. As a result each organization must make decisions about which Learning Management System (LMS) will best meet its needs, whether it already has one or not. A wide range of stakeholders should participate in this decision-making process in situations where broad consensus is required, including LMS users, support staff and trainers, disability resource center staff, technology infrastructure staff, policy makers, and administrators. A campus can use a comprehensive set of questions to help facilitate discussions. These questions force the campus to view the decision-making process in a comprehensive fashion through three lenses, or perspectives—teaching and learning, technology management, and organizational administration. This chapter describes how San Francisco State University addressed these stakeholder perspectives between 2004 and 2007, when it conducted a comprehensive investigation regarding its LMS. The three lenses provided different viewpoints about a wide range of issues, ranging from accessibility for people with disabilities to scalability for 35,000 campus users. The chapter also includes relevant information and lessons learned since Fall 2007, when Moodle became SF State’s exclusive LMS.
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Following a realization that a Web-based Learning Management System (LMS) deployed by a University in Ghana remained largely unused by instructors, the university's management intervened. The university wishes to expand access to its educational resources through the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). Since instructors play a pivotal role in this direction, all instructors were trained, motivated, and appropriately resourced to enable them to use the LMS effectively to deliver courses. Five years down the line, however, most instructors are still ambivalent towards using the LMS software. This chapter discusses the case extensively and concludes by suggesting that one approach that might help solve the problem will be to engage all instructors in participatory activities aimed at collectively identifying and addressing the issues and challenges.
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Learning Management Systems (LMS) are web-based systems that allow instructors and/or students to share materials, submit and return assignments, and communicate online. In this study, we explored the uses and perceived benefits of using a LMS to support traditional classroom teaching as reported by instructors and students at a large American Midwestern university. We examined two years of survey data focusing on specific uses of the LMS that emphasized either efficient communication or interactive teaching and learning practices. We matched aggregate user log data with corresponding survey items to see if system use was consistent with patterns seen in the survey results. Findings suggest that instructors and students value tools and activities for efficient communication more than interactive tools for innovating existing practices. However, survey item analysis reveals that instructors and students also highly value the teaching and learning tools within the LMS.