Schools are now moving towards embracing online learning management systems as they are ideal tools to provide teachers with a centralised solution to disseminate, collate and assess learning and at the same time promote student engagement and collaboration.
Online learning management systems are an educational social network. They look, feel and act like Facebook in many ways, are accessible via Windows/Mac, iOS and Android devices, but are centralised around the an educational component that:
See the various online learning management systems below to find the one that best suits your needs:
Online learning management systems are an educational social network. They look, feel and act like Facebook in many ways, are accessible via Windows/Mac, iOS and Android devices, but are centralised around the an educational component that:
- Allows teachers to disseminate lessons and activities as well as create quizzes and tests
- Allows students to access work, complete it online or upload it when it is completed
- Allows students to collaborate with each other through internal emails and posts
- Tracks submitted work generates reports for teachers (e.g. submission percentages, test scores - no more correcting!)
- Gives teachers an online portal to access student work, annotate, set customised grades, grade work and 'return' assignments
- Contains awards that can be given out to reinforce positive behaviours
See the various online learning management systems below to find the one that best suits your needs:
Schoology
Schoology is completely web-based and is available in two editions: Basic (free) or Enterprise.
To decide if Schoology is right for you, view the videos below and then read more about Schoology's features here.
To decide if Schoology is right for you, view the videos below and then read more about Schoology's features here.
Edmodo
Edmodo is completely web-based and is free for all teachers, students, schools and districts.
To decide if Edmodo is right for you, view the videos below and then read more about Edmodo's features here.
To decide if Edmodo is right for you, view the videos below and then read more about Edmodo's features here.
Moodle
Moodle is a free open-source LMS. It is not completely web-based: to work, it needs to be installed on a web server on a school computer. Download the web server from here.
To decide if Moodle is right for you, view the videos below and then click here to log-on to their demonstration site which enables you to actually use Moodle!
To decide if Moodle is right for you, view the videos below and then click here to log-on to their demonstration site which enables you to actually use Moodle!
Sloodle
Unbelievably, universities and schools are also exploring how to combine the popular video game Second Life with Moodle (the online learning management system) using Sloodle which links students’ avatars to their Moodle user accounts.
Sloodle allows teachers to maintain their teaching preferences for traditional online course management through Moodle and still monitor student progress while students actively participate in Second Life's 3D world.
Sloodle is being used so that students can:
Download Details
Sloodle is free and comes in two parts:
Click here to access the Sloodle downloads and installation guides.
Unbelievably, universities and schools are also exploring how to combine the popular video game Second Life with Moodle (the online learning management system) using Sloodle which links students’ avatars to their Moodle user accounts.
Sloodle allows teachers to maintain their teaching preferences for traditional online course management through Moodle and still monitor student progress while students actively participate in Second Life's 3D world.
Sloodle is being used so that students can:
- Participate in chats in Second Life using the accessible Moodle chatroom. Discussions can be archived securely in a Moodle database
- Present webpages and slides (which can be uploaded to Moodle) then viewed in Second Life as part of a live presentation
- Complete assessments: The quizzes are set, tracked and graded by the teacher in Moodle and students complete the quizzes in Second Life (a more engaging 3D environment). Students can take quizzes and then receive Second Life “rewards” based on their response.
- Vote and see results in Second Life as well as in Moodle
- Write notes directly into their Moodle blog from Second Life.
Download Details
Sloodle is free and comes in two parts:
- The 'server-side' modules which you download and install in Moodle, and
- The 'in-world' tools which you obtain and use in Second Life or OpenSim.
Click here to access the Sloodle downloads and installation guides.
Others
There are a myriad of other providers of online learning management systems. Click here to access reviews on a few more.