7 Steps to Picking Your LMS by Katie Ash

Summary:

            The article told seven things districts should consider when choosing a learning management system (LMS) for their schools.  Along with each suggestion was a list of questions to ask (either themselves or the LMS representatives).  Ed-tech experts give their tips based on their own experiences and the experiences of others. 

            One suggestion was to lay out what is wanted from the system and how it will fit into the teaching and learning structure of the school and/or district.  The article explains that there needs to be a discussion about goals to ensure that a LMS is really needed.  Some systems offer more bells and whistles that may be needed but may not be.  Another suggestion was to include a mix of people in the decision making process.  The district’s IT experts, administrators, teachers, and students should be asked to give input.  They also suggested piloting the LMS if possible.  While this could be difficult for some districts, it could provide very useful feedback.  A fourth suggestion was to play an active role when viewing and exploring LMS product demonstrations.  Company representatives may tell you all the cool things that can be done, but it’s more important to ask questions based on the school/district’s specific needs.  The next suggestion was to talk to other schools about their experience with the LMS.  It is best to search out these districts on your own rather than getting a list of suggestions from the vendor directly.  By talking to other schools, the district can find out strengths and frustrations with that particular system.  The sixth suggestion was to consider the complete cost to own the LMS, not just the price of the product.  When using a LMS, districts need to consider costs for:  professional development, support, repair, maintenance, hosting fees, and any network upgrades or hardware.  The final suggestion is to make sure the LMS company is a good fit for the district.  Once the district has made a choice, they will be working with that company for many years.  It is not cheap or easy to switch learning management systems once you’ve implemented one.  Districts will want to be sure the company that is chosen seems to be sticking around and is easy to get into contact with.  The most common LMS companies are:  Agilix, Blackboard, Desire2Learn, Epsilen LLC, Moodle, and Pearson Learning Solutions. 

Reflection: 

            I first heard about learning management systems in a breakout session at the ICE conference last year.  The breakout session was about a district that was implementing 1:1 technology in their schools and the person presenting was in charge of helping teachers use this technology within their curriculum.  She shared many different tools that were used during the literacy block, and Haiku LMS was one of them.  For this article posting I decided to do some research on learning management systems and decide if there was something I’d be able to use in my classroom with the Chromebooks.

            While this article seemed to focus more on what a district needs to consider when choosing a LMS for the whole district, I still found useful information that I could use for myself.  Most importantly, it made me question whether an LMS is really what I want in order to meet the needs of my students.  I’ve spent some time searching for sites that would work best at the elementary level.  I did not care for the layout of Edmodo and I felt it was a little too advanced for what I was looking for.  I think one of the best suggestions was to try using the LMS.  I looked into Haiku, as it seemed more geared for elementary and was what the presenter at the ICE conference suggested.  As I’ve been creating my pages, it’s helping me see first hand what I like and don’t like.  My original needs for using the system was for the use of discussion boards.  What I like about the LMS is that I can include lots of other information for students.  As I was working it, I realized it could be very beneficial for parents as well.  In the past I created a class website using Sites on Google.  I like the idea of using Haiku instead because I can use it for some many more things.  Then, it’s one site that the students would go to and then can access many other things from there. 

            The real test is going to be when I try to implement the LMS with my students.  I’m not 100% positive it will be easy for them to access and use regularly.  I am planning to try it with a few students at first to decide if I feel it’s worth the time and effort to fully implement it into my class. 

Ash, K. (2013, June 12). 7 Steps to Picking Your LMS. Education Week Digital Directions, 25-27.

Social Media Made Simple by Emma Chadband

Summary:

This article highlighted specific teachers and how they used various free technology tools.  The first example was a high school physics teacher “flipped” her classroom.  The students complete the necessary “lower-level thinking” activities as homework.  This would include things like watching videos/podcasts provided by the teacher, participating in online discussions, blogging, and storing assignments in Google Docs.  Then there is more time to take part in “higher-level” thinking activities in the classroom.  One tool this teacher relies on is Google Forms.  She uses it to give quizzes and then Google Forms will immediately compile and organize the data from the quiz.  She points out that this tool “makes the busy work of being a teacher so much easier.”

Another example was a middle school technology teacher who uses Edmodo in the classroom.  Edmodo is a social networking site similar to Facebook but it designed for educational use.  It is free to use and offers many options to use in the classroom.  These include:  issuing/receiving assignments, quizzes and polls.  The teacher points out the ease of grading by using Edmodo.  He was able to grade 600 assignments in a matter of two days.  Also, he found students shared their work with parents more often when it’s online than when they had to search for their papers.

The article then explained how cell phones could be used at school using a group messaging service called Celly.  The benefit of this service is that teachers can communicate with their students immediately but don’t have to give out their personal phone numbers.  To use this service teachers start a group, or “cell,” that can be used by all the invited members.  Students can use the cell to arrange study groups, teachers can text homework assignments or reminders, and after school activities can be canceled and/or rescheduled quickly.  Field trips are another time when Celly would be useful.  Students can check in with teachers and chaperones can join in.  Teachers can also utilize the bus time by texting out trivia questions based on the field trip experience.

The article then lists and explains ten different social media sites.  They include:  Wordle, Prezi, Teacher Tube, Quora, Poll Daddy, Thing Link, Skitch, Dipity, Wordpress, and Pinterest.


Review:

I thought the idea behind a “flipped” classroom was very interesting.  When I attended the ICE conference last year I saw many breakout sessions were on this topic, but I was not able to get to one.  I would like to learn more about this and how it could possibly be used in an elementary classroom.  I can see how it could be extremely beneficial for the upper levels but am struggling to figure out a way it would work with my third graders.  Which maybe it really isn’t fit for the elementary level.  I do really like the idea of having time set for students to the “lower level thinking” activities on their own while I can work with students to do the “higher level thinking” and more hands on activities.

I also love the idea of using something like Edmodo in my classroom.  I do think Edmodo is more geared toward the upper grades, but I’m eager to trying something more fitting to third grade (like Haiku LMS, Kahoot!, or Junior Jogger).  I am currently looking into more of these and trying to make them a part of our day on the Chromebooks.

I found the idea of using cell phones and Celly to be very interesting!  While I probably would not use it with my students, I think it is something that could be done with parents.  If not Celly, I know there are other similar services out there.  I currently communicate with parents via email, but I’d really like to try the texting.  I think it’s quick and gives parents information immediately.  I loved the idea of using Celly during field trips!  If I ever teach at the middle school level, I definitely will keep that in mind.  It sounds like a great tool to keep tabs on the kids and also an activity for the bus, which can often turn into a headache.

Of the ten websites the article highlighted I liked the idea of Teacher Tube best.  Our district blocks You Tube and sometimes I just really wish the kids could watch something on their Chromebooks.  If I can find something similar on Teacher Tube, it could really open up possibilities for our room!

Chadband, E. (2013, January 1). Social Media Made Simple. Retrieved February 11, 2015, from http://www.nea.org/tools/53459.htm

A New Kind of Social Anxiety in the Classroom By Alexandra Ossola

Summary:

       In the article, Alexandra Ossala looks at two different professionals’ opinions about the relationship between social anxiety and technology.  Tamyra Pierce is a journalism professor at California State University and conducted a study in 2009 to test the link between social anxiety and technology in adolescents.  In her study she found that when students spent more time using technology to communicate with others, they were more likely to show anxiety in regards to communicating face-to-face.  This social anxiety was more prevalent in girls than boys as well.  Pierce does note that additional research does need to be done; especially now, after five years, there are even more technology tools being used by teens to communicate with one another.   She says, “If we are glued to technology 24/7, it’s going to have an effect on social skills-it’s just natural.”  She supports this by saying that she’s noticed in her own students a growing difficulty in the students looking her in the eye and being antsy when having to talk to her.
       Thomas Rodebaugh is a psychology professor at Washington University in St. Louis.  Rodebaugh has a slightly different view of the relationship between social anxiety and use of technology.  He first points out that almost everyone suffers from at least some social anxiety and it would be alarming if someone never experiences it.  With his students, he feels that students who will interact with people on Facebook is going to interact with them in the real world as well.  He feels that there is no evidence of technology having a negative effect on social anxiety.  Like Pierce however, Rodebaugh feels that additional studies need to be conducted and that adolescence is the time to do it.  Also, like Pierce, he has seen more laptops and cell phones in the classroom than in the past.  The “constant pings of texts and Facebook notifications can sometimes distract students, pulling them away from their face-to-face interactions and into the virtual world of digital communication.”
        Regardless if there is a link between technology and social anxiety, it is not likely that it will be banned in the classroom anytime soon.  Many teachers are using technology more and more in the classroom.  Rodebaugh says that he thinks he might need to ban in the future.  Pierce however does not think banning is the solution.  She thinks it’s about how the technology is used and the balance between communicating face-to-face and online.


Reflection:

When I came across this article the concept of social media having an impact on anxiety intrigued me.  I especially liked that the article looked at two points of view.  I am a strong advocate for using technology in the classroom, but can also strongly relate to anxiety and its struggles.  This article has caused me to ask myself, “Are websites like Facebook and Instagram causing more harm than good in the younger generations?”  I think that adolescents using social media sites need to be closely monitored.  I don’t think social media has to automatically lead toward social anxiety.  I think it really comes down to parents being sure to monitor what their child is using the social media for.  For example, a high school girl may be shy and not be comfortable talking to a boy in person.  She may be comfortable messaging with him through Facebook or texting.  That online form of communicating can lead toward a stronger in person relationship down the road.  On the other hand, another student that is more outgoing may use social media as a way to say (write) things that they would not have the courage to say in person.  While these things could be positive, I’ve heard more negative experiences.  Middle school students will use Instagram to write mean comments or post mean pictures.  I can then understand how this interaction on Instagram can lead toward social anxiety.



Ossola, A. (2015, January 14). A New Kind of Social Anxiety in the Classroom. Retrieved January 13, 2015, from http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/01/the-socially-anxious-generation/384458/