Learning Management Systems - What is an LMS?

The term LMS is an acronym for Learning Management System, which is technology designed to assist with education and training. You can define learning management systems as software applications for "administration, documentation, tracking, reporting and delivery of e-learning education courses or training". LMS is a type of learning platform, but the terms are used interchangeably by many.

All sorts of organisations use an LMS these days, including primary and secondary schools, colleges, universities, public sector organisations and private sector companies.

Users usually receive a login and a password, and the administrator can then give them certain permissions, such as the ability to access particular courses and content etc. Modern learning management systems will generally remember what the learner has done within the system and will accordingly display their progress and take them to the latest point in their learner journey each time they log on.

LMS benefits

There are a range of benefits to all stakeholders of investing in an LMS tool. For businesses and educational organizations, amongst the key advantages are cost and time savings and expanded reach. For example, with an LMS, a training or learning session can be created just once and then accessed multiple times by learners, no matter where they’re based. This means teachers don’t need to repeat the same sessions over and over again when it isn’t necessary.

Furthermore, learners are enabled to be more productive. They can log on and recap or do homework whenever they are able to, and many find the web-based platform more accessible and engaging than traditional tools.

It’s also easy for learners and teachers to track progress. Learners will be encouraged to see how far they’ve come and how close they are to goals. Teachers can pinpoint training gaps and areas which require attention very quickly and easily. This feature can also be useful in businesses where certain training is mandatory – HR can see at a glance who has yet to complete certain modules or courses and quickly rectify the situation.

Flexibility

Today’s LMS solutions are highly flexible and offer opportunities for boosting engagement with all types of content. For example, most LMS offerings support articles, videos, PowerPoints, quizzes, test and assessments, images and more.

Learning management systems are also about community. Many include integrated features such as forums, instant messaging, event tracking and more. Also, as long as you choose the right system it should be highly customisable to meet your organisation’s unique needs and goals.

Better Corporate e-Learning with Totara LMS Enterprise v2.6

On Tuesday this week, Totara Learning Solutions, based in Wellington New Zealand, launched version 2.6 of the Totara LMS Enterprise edition.

Already a hugely popular learning management system within the corporate space, v2.6 shows further strides to make the platform even better for the needs of healthcare, government, not-for-profit and business clients.

Key new features of the new Enterprise version include:

• Fully configurable learner catalogs 
• The ability to turn features off if they are not currently needed 
• More responsive themes, working across tablets and phones, as well as desktops 
• Customization of appearance and navigation features 

Totara Learning Solutions Limited was founded by well-established e-learning specialists Kineo, Catalyst and Kineo Pacific. Their mission is to transform the corporate learning management experience.

Totara LMS stems from Moodle, the world's most popular learning management system, which was developed for the needs of the education sector and is used by well over 60 million learners, predominantly in universities, colleges and schools. The fact that Moodle is open source means that there are no barriers to entry in terms of licence fee costs.

As a customized version of Moodle for corporates, Totara LMS is still available as an open source learning management system, with the Enterprise edition available through subscription, giving access to additional support and features from Totara HQ.

Totara LMS has users across all sectors, with notable organizations using the platform including Tesco, Logica and NZ Inland Revenue.

Some of Totara's clients train up to 100,000+ employees with the system, often based across multiple offices in different countries.

They choose to do so because as a purpose built corporate e-learning solution, it delivers on key commercial requirements, such as:

• Allowing role-based learning paths 
• Reporting against KPIs
• Managing accreditations 
• Lowering overall cost of training 

You can learn more at the Totara website: www.totaralms.com

Moodle Partners in the USA

Below are contact details for official Moodle Partners in the USA that offer e-learning solutions across America and beyond for businesses, schools, higher education providers, not-for-profits and other types of organization.

An official Moodle Partner is a company that is certified by Moodle HQ to deliver services related to this open source learning management system (LMS).


Webanywhere Inc
220 N Green St
Chicago
IL 60607
USA
Telephone: +1 312 588 7284
See www.webanywhere.com/moodle for more on their Moodle services.


Remote-Learner US
201 Osage Lane

Suite 2
Waynesboro
VA
22980 USA
Sales: 877-299-1293 x1
Support: 877-299-1293 x2
Toll Free: 877-299-1293

NewSchool Inc.
50703 Rush Creek Ct.
Granger

Indiana 46530
contact@newschoollearning.com


Moodlerooms, Inc.
190 W. Ostend Street
Suite 205
Baltimore
Maryland 21230
Telephone +1 410.779.3400


ClassroomRevolution, LLC
8417 Oswego Road
Suite: 276
Baldwinsville
New York 13027
Telephone: 888 – 666 – 3538

Blogging in Primary Schools

Blogging is not a new concept, but it is for most primary schools. Short for 'web logging', the term blogging was created back in the 90’s. 

Blogging can be a great way to encourage reflective writing and improve student’s literacy skills. Students don't tend to write unless they have to or are engaged in the activity. Blogs are one way to encourage it. 

Lots of teachers also use class blogs for collaboration, discussion and learning.  Some instructors use the same blogs as digital student portfolios, where pupils show their work and achievements but also share their learning. 

Creating a blog is simple, although there are many different platforms to do it. Of course, each has its own pros and cons, but the best choice depends on the aim of the blog. That’s why one of the main decisions when creating a new blog is to decide if it’s open to anyone on the web or private to the class. However, it’s really important to make kids aware of the responsibility involved. The blog permits a dialogue, reflection and collaboration among students instead of being a one way communication where the teacher is the only one deciding what should be passed on.

As pupils start writing about an interested topic, teacher find out that when students are asked to write for an audience outside of their class, they are more motivated, put more attention and they offer better content. Many blogs allow multiple authors to contribute to it and several pupils can work together on a single topic or assignment. Although easy to use, some blog tools are not specific to the education community and might not have all the safety and control features a teacher needs.

Benefits of student blogging:

• Expectations of writing change. They not only create for the teacher but for a wider audience.

• Students are more reflective developing their skills (how they learn, identify a process to work, convert an idea into words).
• Feedback becomes more constructive and motivating for both author and visitors.
• The blogs are a source of pride because they students have an online space that can be personalized and customized.
• Increase the variety of language used, opposite to what happens in social networks or mobile devices (SMS) -  text talk.
• It can help to combine education with hobbies and interests - what students do outside school, what they prefer and like etc.

If you are interested in learning more about blogging in primary schools - either for students or teachers, you can contact Webanywhere to discuss solutions that can help, and which are built with e-safety in mind.

Australia contact - 03-9008-6825 or visit Webanywhere Australia to learn more.

e-Learning in India - Growing But with Doubters

As in virtually every other country worldwide, e-learning is growing in India, with learning management systems, e-portfolios and other educational technologies appearing in more classrooms every week.

However, for a country that has some much of its economy based in technology development and services - think software outsourcing and call centres for a start - not everyone thinks that technology in the classroom is the way forward.

100,000 private schools in India invest in educational technology. Sounds a lot right? Especially as few countries have that many schools in total - public and private combined. But with 260,000 private schools across the country, the figures represents less than 40% that spend on edtech - what are the other 60% doing?

A few key reasons:

- Unsurprisingly, infrastructure plays a part. e-Learning set-up "...requires high speed internet connection, which needs to be on even if classes are not being held" says C Hota, the Associate Professor of Computer Science at BITS Pilani in Hyderabad. Even a well funded school relies on the local internet infrastructure in the local area.

- Tradition and culture also plays a part in potentially slowing demand for e-learning. Maya Sukumaran of Gitanjali School in Begumpet said "We had a few live web classes with a school in Chennai, but the parents preferred to have a real teacher-student interaction for their children. "

Perhaps for parents that have dreamed of and aspired to having their children attend school, e-learning may in part seem like outsourcing of their child's education to technology.

While e-learning may have some doubters in India, the growth in its use is still healthy. It is reported that 2012 saw a 21% increase in the use of MOOC (massive open online courses) compared to 2011, and the country's annual spend on digital learning is thought to be around $500 million.

As India looks to become a bigger player in the world economy, this use of educational technology can only help today's youth to make that happen. 

e-Learning in Iraq Supported by UNESCO and UNESCWA

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is working with its Western Asia division to support e-learning in Iraq. UNESCO and UNESCWA (United Nations Economic and Social Commission of Western Asia) are developing training courses and online resources to help drive improvements in the country's education system. The project has been labelled 'ICT for Education in Iraq'.

As much of the world is now looking at ICT skills as being almost as fundamental as literacy and numeracy, Iraq is receiving help to try and bring it back to being a leading light in the region in regards to education. Two decades of war and political upheaval have seen the country fall behind many of its neighbours in the Middle East, with schools being ill-equipped in terms of information communication technology and IT literate teaching staff. The Ministry of Education is now working with these UN organisations to establish a project with the core aims of:
- Organisation priorities and strategy with a focus on ICT in education
- Give Iraq's MoE the capacity to deliver an effective ICT curriculum and assessment programme
- Modernise the learning environment within Iraqi schools with focus on ICT infrastructure

The project has started with MoE staff, giving them the ICT literacy required to then filter e-learning and technical skills throughout the education system in Iraq. Iraqi MoE staff have been visiting other countries in the region to learn from their best practice in ICT.

They have now been bringing this knowledge to Iraq, starting with the development of e-learning resources for the core subjects of Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics and Biology. In order to support the Kurdish population, e-learning packages have been developed in 'Arabic for Non-Arabic Speaking Iraqis'.

With this focused programme for development through technology, e-learning looks set to be a key driver for the current generation of Iraqi students.

CarveNiche Deliver e-Learning content in India

Digital content providers CarveNiche technologies are one of the companies at the forefront of India's education technology boom. Having won a grant of $200,000 from Mumbai Angels earlier this year, they are now looking to deliver e-learning content to more schools in India, having established a firm base in Bangalore.

By February 2012, CarveNiche had developed well over 1000 hours of digital content for schools, and has continued to deliver more and more to meet the appetite for online learning in the education sector.

An international development summit held in India this year, chaired by former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, saw world leaders in education agree that online is key to improving educational standards on a global level. It was also agreed that educational technology will be at the forefront of India's social and economic development as a whole.

Companies such as Carveniche will play an essential part and this digital content provider is working on expanding its sales into further territories that include Delhi and Kolkata.

Specialists is solutions for K-12 schools, CarveNiche provide packages of pre-built content, as well as bespoke content development services.

The company has developed its own WisdomLeap learning platform that encompasses an LMS for course management, grading and reporting, digital content and e-portfolios for collaborative learning and showcasing work.

Contact information:

CarveNiche Technologies Private Limited
740, Second Floor, 
11th Main 7th Cross, 
BTM 2nd Stage
Bangalore-560076 
India

Telephone:
+91-80-41128730
+91-80-26782992

Web: 
http://www.carveniche.com/ 

Email:
info@carveniche.com