LMS Layout Design

For my first time using an LMS, I wanted to keep my layout and design as simple and efficient as possible.  Furthermore, I want to be able to manage it with relative ease and stay on top of all my students within my courses.  Using the LMS that I have chosen, there are many possibilities for a design.  However, given that I am teaching a mathematics course, I think what I have shown on the Google Drawing included above is the best direction.  Begin with the content itself, whether it be in the form of a resource video, a file of selected notes, or a website/webquest for the students to interact with.  From there, I would like to utilize the discussion thread feature with regularity and allow students to share their thoughts, understanding, and responses with one another.  Lastly, the student work will be submitted.  Depending on the material, it will either be a formative assignment in the form of a submitted assignment, or in the form of a summative quiz/poll for the students to complete through the website.  Simple, yet very familiar to structure of what students are used to in traditional classrooms.

Building My Learning Management System

So far so good...

As I am now fully immersed in the creation of my LMS, I must say that I am excited and a bit overwhelmed at the same time.  There is a lot to be done, and every teacher knows that time is the one thing that no educator has enough of.  As you can see in the info graphic in my previous post, there are many decisions that had to be made before I could even begin building the actual LMS.  From content creation to method of communication, there was an overwhelming amount going into this site than I could have imagined.  It is manageable, but definitely something that would be difficult to accomplish in a brief amount of time.  The fact that we essentially have an entire semester and I will then have the summer to work out the bugs is relieving to me.  The only real issue I have dealt with to this point is the limitation in place due to my school's administrative rights over my Schoology.com account.  It is restricting me from creating my courses freely and allowing non-district members to join courses.  I am considering switching to Edmodo moving forward, so I will see how it goes.

As for the excitement, I cannot begin to express how much I have wanted to create my own website focused on education (specifically, for my classes and students).  This assignment is providing me a framework for that, and is allowing the process to go as smoothly as I could hope.  I think in this day and age an educator would be lying if they didn't believe there was value in an LMS for their classes.  One of the main reasons I have wanted to utilize an LMS throughout my educational career is for absent students.  This would enable them to stay on pace with their classmates without requiring me to take time from my day to day lessons.  Now, I wouldn't need to work off to the side with them while the rest of the class is trying to tackle a new task in front of them.  Moreover, from an organizational viewpoint, it is worth it already.  When you then consider the idea of the flipped classroom, and student created content it holds endless value.  I know I have a long road ahead of me before I have everything in place and the student culture needed to succeed in an online learning environment.  However, I am looking forward to next school year and my use of my LMS...and I hope to stay up to speed with all emerging education technology so I can continually infuse it into my class without having to play catch up like I am now.

MindMap: Online Learning Environment

Below you will find my mind map for the online learning environment I have envisioned.  My main goals are to foster authentic engagement of the students with the material and their peers.  They must find the interest in the material and online tools in order to eventually take ownership of the content creation and content understanding.  Enjoy!


by aaron.yamamoto