Learning Management

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Learning Management is the capacity to design pedagogic strategies that achieve learning outcomes for students. The learning management concept was developed by Richard Smith of Central Queensland University (Australia) and is derived from architectural design (an artful arrangement of resources for definite ends) and is best rendered as design with intent. [1] Learning management then means an emphasis on ‘the design and implementation of pedagogical strategies that achieve learning outcomes. That is, in the balance between and emphasis on curriculum development and pedagogy, the emphasis is definitely on pedagogical strategies. Underpinning the learning management premise is a new set of knowledge and skills, collectively referred to as a futures orientation and which attempts to prepare the mindsets and skillsets of teaching graduates for conditions of social change that pervade local and global societies in the 2000s. The practitioner of learning management is referred to as a learning manager. [2] Adjunct to the theory and practice of learning management is the Learning Management Design Process (LMDP). The LMDP is a curriculum planning process comprising 8 'learning design based' questions. The process was developed by Professor David Lynch of Central Queensland University in 1998 and is used primarily as a tool to train teachers to teach [3]. These 'eight questions' when answered in sequence focus the teacher to what is important when planning to teach students. The LMDP organizes its 8 questions through three sequential phases: Outcomes, Strategy, and Evidence. Each phase represents the bodies of information that its associated questions seek to pursue. The LMDP represents a rethink of the various curriculum development models that have predominated the planning of teaching and curriculum in the developed world over past decades. The teacher develops their 'teaching plan' by engaging with each phase and its questions and recording ‘findings’ (or answers) in plan form. [3]

Contents

Definition

A learning management system (LMS) is a software application or Web-based technology that ranges from managing training and training records to distributing courses to employees/students over the internet. Typically, LMS' provide an employer/instructor with a way to create and deliver specialized content, monitor employee/student participation, and assess their overall performance and completion of the required courses. A learning management system may also provide employees/students with the ability to use interactive features such as managing courses, online assessment, threaded discussions, video conferencing, and discussion forums to reach their full potential.

This software allows for the employee/student to take learning into their own hands while either staying current in their specific field or branch out and learning new skills.

What is needed in a Learning Environment

Online learning environments are a fairly new and fast-growing industry that is available to many individuals and companies around the world. It is important for the learning environment to offer a secure place where a large number of people can come to receive training and new skills so that they can grow and learn in their fields. Many times it is no longer possible for managers and professors to get an entire group of people together for a course or mandatory training. Companies and institutes are finding it hard to keep track of paperwork proving training completion, forms, and evaluations. With LMS these problems are solved with everything now digital and available with just a few strokes on a keyboard. Some of the return that companies get back from investments in LMS’ are the ability to quickly train and track the learning of employees, and the ability to better train employees, avoid fines by being able to quickly showing compliance as well as giving employees room to grow and learn with a full scale of training. Because LMS is such an industry, the market is continuously growing and improving its services. Many of these companies encourage informational feedback from clients on what is working for them and what is not.

Learning Management Industry

In the relatively new LMS market, commercial vendors for corporate and education applications range from new entrants to those that entered the market in the nineties. In addition to commercial packages, many open-source software solutions are available.

In 2005, LMSs represented a fragmented $500 million market (CLO magazine). [4] The six largest LMS product companies constitute approximately 43% of the market. In addition to the remaining smaller LMS product vendors, training outsourcing firms, enterprise resource planning vendors, and consulting firms all compete for part of the learning management market.

LMS buyers are less satisfied than a year ago. According 2005 and 2006 surveys by the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), [5] respondents that were very unsatisfied with an LMS purchase doubled and those that were very satisfied decreased by 25%. The number that was very satisfied or satisfied edged over 50%. (About 30% were somewhat satisfied.) Nearly one quarter of respondents intended to purchase a new LMS or outsource their LMS functionality over the next 12 months.

In a 2009 survey, a growing number of organizations reporting deploying an LMS as part of larger Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems. [6]

Channel learning is underserved. For many buyers, channel learning is not their number one priority, according to a survey by Training Outsourcing. Often there is a disconnect when the Human Resources department oversees training and development initiatives, where the focus is consolidating LMS systems inside traditional corporate boundaries. Software technology companies are at the front end of this curve, placing a higher priority on channel training.

Related Research Articles

Educational software is a term used for any computer software which is made for an educational purpose. It encompasses different ranges from language learning software to classroom management software to reference software. The purpose of all this software is to make some part of education more effective and efficient.

Moodle is a free and open-source learning management system written in PHP and distributed under the GNU General Public License. Moodle is used for blended learning, distance education, flipped classroom and other online learning projects in schools, universities, workplaces and other sectors.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pedagogy</span> Theory and practice of education

Pedagogy, from Ancient Greek παιδαγωγία (paidagōgía), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken as an academic discipline, is the study of how knowledge and skills are imparted in an educational context, and it considers the interactions that take place during learning. Both the theory and practice of pedagogy vary greatly as they reflect different social, political, and cultural contexts.

A learning management system (LMS) is a software application for the administration, documentation, tracking, reporting, automation, and delivery of educational courses, training programs, materials or learning and development programs. The learning management system concept emerged directly from e-Learning. Learning management systems make up the largest segment of the learning system market. The first introduction of the LMS was in the late 1990s. Learning management systems have faced a massive growth in usage due to the emphasis on remote learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Educational technology is the combined use of computer hardware, software, and educational theory and practice to facilitate learning. When referred to with its abbreviation, "EdTech," it often refers to the industry of companies that create educational technology. In EdTech Inc.: Selling, Automating and Globalizing Higher Education in the Digital Age, Tanner Mirrlees and Shahid Alvi (2019) argue "EdTech is no exception to industry ownership and market rules" and "define the EdTech industries as all the privately owned companies currently involved in the financing, production and distribution of commercial hardware, software, cultural goods, services and platforms for the educational market with the goal of turning a profit. Many of these companies are US-based and rapidly expanding into educational markets across North America, and increasingly growing all over the world."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">ATutor</span> Open source web-based application

ATutor is an open source web-based learning management system (LMS).

Editing technology is the use of technology tools in general content areas in education in order to allow students to apply computer and technology skills to learning and problem-solving. Generally speaking, the curriculum drives the use of technology and not vice versa. Technology integration is defined as the use of technology to enhance and support the educational environment. Technology integration in the classroom can also support classroom instruction by creating opportunities for students to complete assignments on the computer rather than with normal pencil and paper. In a larger sense, technology integration can also refer to the use of an integration platform and application programming interface (API) in the management of a school, to integrate disparate SaaS applications, databases, and programs used by an educational institution so that their data can be shared in real-time across all systems on campus, thus supporting students' education by improving data quality and access for faculty and staff.

"Curriculum integration with the use of technology involves the infusion of technology as a tool to enhance the learning in a content area or multidisciplinary setting... Effective technology integration is achieved when students can select technology tools to help them obtain information on time, analyze and synthesize it, and present it professionally to an authentic audience. Technology should become an integral part of how the classroom functions—as accessible as all other classroom tools. The focus in each lesson or unit is the curriculum outcome, not the technology."

Inquiry-based learning is a form of active learning that starts by posing questions, problems or scenarios. It contrasts with traditional education, which generally relies on the teacher presenting facts and their knowledge about the subject. Inquiry-based learning is often assisted by a facilitator rather than a lecturer. Inquirers will identify and research issues and questions to develop knowledge or solutions. Inquiry-based learning includes problem-based learning, and is generally used in small-scale investigations and projects, as well as research. The inquiry-based instruction is principally very closely related to the development and practice of thinking and problem-solving skills.

In the history of virtual learning environments, the 1990s was a time of growth, primarily due to the advent of the affordable computer and of the Internet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ali Jafari</span> American computer scientist

Ali Jafari, is a serial entrepreneur who is well known for his research and entrepreneurship in the area of Information Technology (IT), more specifically, on development of a series of "Learning Management System(s)" (LMS). Dr. Jafari is currently working as a Professor of Computer and Information Technology at the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology and Director of the CyberLab at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). He continues to bring innovation and new perspectives to the smart learning environment industry to make teaching and learning easier and more powerful.

A talent management system (TMS) is an integrated software suite that addresses the "four pillars" of talent management: recruitment; performance management; learning and development; and compensation management.

A strategic technology plan is a specific type of strategy plan that lets an organization know where they are now and where they want to be some time in the future with regard to the technology and infrastructure in their organization. It often consists of the following sections.

Instructor-led training, or ILT, is the practice of training and learning material between an instructor and learners, either individuals or groups. Instructors can also be referred to as a facilitator, who may be knowledgeable and experienced in the learning material, but can also be used more for their facilitation skills and ability to deliver material to learners.

Plateau Systems is a provider of Talent Management Systems headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, with offices across the United States, Europe, and Asia Pacific. The company provides SaaS products that allow organizations to develop, analyze, and manage organizational talent.

Instructure, Inc. is an educational technology company based in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States. It is the developer and publisher of Canvas, a web-based learning management system (LMS), and MasteryConnect, an assessment management system. Prior to its IPO in 2021, the company was owned by private-equity firm Thoma Bravo.

A virtual learning environment (VLE) in educational technology is a web-based platform for the digital aspects of courses of study, usually within educational institutions. They present resources, activities, and interactions within a course structure and provide for the different stages of assessment. VLEs also usually report on participation and have some level of integration with other institutional systems. In North America, VLEs are often referred to as Learning Management Systems (LMS).

The 8 Learning Management Questions is a set of questions developed in and primarily used in Australia for teacher training and curriculum development. This sequential design-based set of questions is designed to assist teachers in developing a teaching plan for their classrooms, with a focus on achieving the intended learning outcomes for all students. The process is focused on enabling teachers to translate teaching theory into practice.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Online learning in higher education</span> Development in distance education that began in the mid-1980s

Online learning involves courses offered by primary institutions that are 100% virtual. Online learning, or virtual classes offered over the internet, is contrasted with traditional courses taken in a brick-and-mortar school building. It is a development in distance education that expanded in the 1990s with the spread of the commercial Internet and the World Wide Web. The learner experience is typically asynchronous but may also incorporate synchronous elements. The vast majority of institutions utilize a learning management system for the administration of online courses. As theories of distance education evolve, digital technologies to support learning and pedagogy continue to transform as well.

Information Communications Technology is usually included in the Home Economics and Livelihood Education program in grade school and taught through the Technology and Home Economics program in high school. The recent status of ICT education in the Philippines, along with other Southeast Asian countries, was surveyed by the Southeast Asian Ministers of Education Organization (SEAMEO) in 2011. Using the UNESCO model of ICT Development in Education, the countries were ranked as Emerging, Applying, Infusing or Transforming. The Philippines were ranked at the Infusing stage of integrating ICT in education, indicating that the country has integrated ICT into existing teaching, learning and administrative practices and policies. This includes components such as a national vision of ICT in education, national ICT plans and policies, complementary national ICT and education policies, professional development for teachers and school leaders, community or partnership and teaching and learning pedagogies. A 2012 study reported that public high schools in Metro Manila had a computer to student ratio of 1:63. While 88 percent of schools have internet connections, half of the students claimed not to be using it.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Educational management</span> Administration of education systems

Educational management refers to the administration of the education system in which a group combines human and material resources to supervise, plan, strategise, and implement structures to execute an education system. Education is the equipping of knowledge, skills, values, beliefs, habits, and attitudes with learning experiences. The education system is an ecosystem of professionals in educational institutions, such as government ministries, unions, statutory boards, agencies, and schools. The education system consists of political heads, principals, teaching staff, non-teaching staff, administrative personnel and other educational professionals working together to enrich and enhance. At all levels of the educational ecosystem, management is required; management involves the planning, organising, implementation, review, evaluation, and integration of an institution.

References

  1. Smith and Lynch (2010). Rethinking Teacher Education: Teacher education in the knowledge age. Sydney: AACLM Press. ISBN   9781471604621.
  2. Lynch, David (2012). Preparing Teachers in Times of Change: teaching schools, new content and evidence. Tarragindi: Primrose Hall Publishing Group. ISBN   9781471611025.
  3. MasterSoft. "What is LMS | Guide to Learning Management System (LMS)". www.iitms.co.in. Retrieved 2021-08-28.
  4. "Introducing CLO, Chief Learning Officer". Archived from the original on 2002-05-25.
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 1996-10-29. Retrieved 2011-07-07.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. "Learning Management Systems 2009 - 2009 - ASTD". Archived from the original on 2009-05-13.