Learning Management System Training Research Articles

PAPERLESS ASSIGNMENTS AND CHALLENGES INVOLVED: VOICE OF DISTANCE LEARNERS

The study was planned to explore the challenges faced by distance learners during paperless assignment process. This initiative was introduced a couple of years ago at a distance learning university in Pakistan. Target population comprised on distance learners of M. Phil Education and MBA (col) sessions 2017 to 2019 programs running online through Learning Management System (LMS). Total Population Sampling (TPS) technique was followed and all distance learners of both programs were engaged. It was mixed-method research comprising both structured and open-ended information. The instruments employed were two questionnaires: one on Likert Scale and the other was open-ended. The reliability coefficient was 0.71, and the open-ended questionnaire was validated through six subject experts. The structured questionnaire was sent to all 563 students and in response 132 students filled out the online questionnaire. Quantitative data was analyzed through descriptive statistics while qualitative data was analyzed through NVivo software. The main problems highlighted were study material relevance and late delivery, understanding and processing of paperless assignments, access and skills of ICT, financial constraints, evaluation of paperless assignments, and instructors’ feedback. Students suggested that textbooks should be revised and delivered in time, connectivity issues should be resolved, free internet packages should be introduced, LMS training should be conducted, in time feedback in descriptive form by instructors must be provided to the distance learners.

Learning Management System Training at Postgraduate School Ibn Khaldun University Bogor

Learning Management System (LMS) training aims to introduce and improve mastery of the Learning Management System for lecturers and students. Training was carried out at the Postgraduate School of Ibn Khaldun University, Bogor. This training is part of community service activities which is a concrete manifestation of academics' contribution to improving the quality of education in Indonesia. The training was held on June 15 2024 with the number of participants involved being 25 people who were students and lecturers at the Postgraduate School of Ibn Khaldun University, Bogor. The training results showed a 90% increase in participants' understanding and ability to use the Learning Management System. It can be concluded that the Learning Management System training at the Graduate School of Ibn Khaldun University Bogor succeeded in increasing the understanding and ability of lecturers and students to use the Learning Management System. This training proves that with the right guidance, the use of technology in education can be optimized. In the future, it is hoped that similar training can be held regularly to ensure that the entire academic community can make maximum use of the LMS in the learning process.

WORKING TOGETHER TO GET IT RIGHT: CREATING A JUST-IN-TIME PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT COURSE FOR FACULTY DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

The emergency shift to remote teaching and learning that occurred as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic provided challenges as well as opportunities in higher education. The challenges were many, particularly the immediate need to shift thousands of students and faculty from predominantly in-person classes to a remote teaching and learning environment, regardless of expertise and experience in remote teaching and learning modalities. Adding to the challenge at one particular institution was the implementation of and transition to a new learning management system (LMS) shortly after the onset of the pandemic. With all of these changes occurring at one of the most chaotic times in recent history, it became immediately apparent that any gaps in faculty preparation for remote teaching needed to be addressed in a very short time frame. Responding to this need, a team of professionals collaborated to build two fully asynchronous professional development classes focusing on remote pedagogy fundamentals (RPF) and LMS training. In this paper, the authors describe the process and outcomes of developing the RPF course to support faculty through the transition to remote instruction and share feedback from faculty participants about the most and least valuable elements of the course. As is often the case, significant challenges are accompanied by significant opportunities to learn and change. As a result of the shift to remote teaching and learning, faculty and students had the opportunity to gain valuable skills and insights on best practices for successful learning online, which became evident from analyzing the feedback and course ratings.

Continuing Professional Development: Provision and Adaptation of Clinical Education within the Primary Health Care Setting in Qatar during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: The discovery of the COVID-19 virus and the subsequent rapid pandemic has had a significant impact not only on public health but also on clinical education. Continuing Professional Development (CPD) within the Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC) had to be adapted, especially regarding the methods of delivery. Social distancing was a requirement from the Public Health directives, impacting the practicalities of face-to-face didactic and simulated clinical educational sessions. Given the challenges that the pandemic generated across the globe in terms of education, new ways of offering education were required as a matter of urgency. This evaluative study was undertaken to describe the PHCC Workforce Training and Development’s (WTD) response to achieve maximum efficacy of our delivered CPD. Methods: The purpose of this descriptive study was to explore the interventions utilized by the WTD directorate within PHCC. The evaluation and comparison of teaching and learning interventions (in terms of subject matter and delivery method) were described. It was based upon a three-month period from pre-COVID-19 (2019) and mid-COVID19 (2020). Staff who attend CPD programs within PHCC included: Physicians, Nurses, Dentists, and allied health care professionals. Results: During a three-month period from the pre-COVID-19 year (2019), 68 CPD courses were delivered mainly face-to-face, and individual accreditation varied from 1 to 30.25 educational accreditation points. During the mid-COVID year (2020), 38 CPD courses were delivered as online webinars and individual accreditation varied from 1 to 3.75 educational accreditation points. It was found that a greater number of participants were able to undertake web-based learning with individual sessions than face-to-face ones. Microsoft Teams was successfully utilized. The remote online host lecturer has facilitated significant interaction with most participants. The lecturers received the Learning Management System (LMS) training prior to the Pandemic; thus, we have experienced an easier integration of ongoing online clinical education during these challenging times. Conclusion: It was acknowledged that the WTD directorate at PHCC was in a fortunate position, due to the integration of the online LMS training prior to the pandemic. Both the clinical and educational staff were able to implement and deliver this method effectively at short notice, with similar academic accredited standards and quality. It is expected that following the pandemic, a higher uptake, demand, and motivation for innovative learning approaches will occur. It is thought that the use of the blended learning approach will dramatically increase.

Emergency LMS Training During COVID-19 at an African University of Technology

After the #FeesMustFall strikes that have been haunting South African universities since 2015, Instructional Designers felt pretty confident that they can drive their institutions through any dilemma. Along came the 2020 COVID-19 epidemic and they realised they have been playing in the kiddie pool all along. On 23 March 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a national lockdown level 5 to start on 26 March 2020 (Department of Health, 2020). Three days head start for a three-week lockdown (which was eventually extended till the time of writing) was a logistical nightmare for even the most technology driven universities. All staff were sent home with only enough time to grab their office plants and laptops and no idea how they were going to move forward. The issue with staff and students all working from home is that the lecturers working at the Central University of Technology (CUT), being primarily a face-to-face delivery university, was completely unprepared for moving their traditional and blended approaches to completely online. In their study, Mogeni, Ondigi and Mufo (2020) found that most of the investigated teachers were not empowered enough to deliver instruction fully online and either needed to be retrained, receive further specialised training or be trained completely from scratch. A lack of confidence in the delivery mode of instruction will cause even the most knowledgeable subject spcialist to fail in their task. At the CUT lecturers needed a way of quickly acquiring the necessary skills to deliver their content and assessments on the institution Learning Management System (LMS). The aim of this paper is to measure participant perspectives of an emergency intervention to facilitate the process of online delivery skills acquisition quickly and online. To ensure relevant results a systematic process of designing an intervention and recording participant perspectives is necessary. This extended abstract will take a look at the methods used to drive the paper, briefly discuss the results and findings, and lastly explore the implications and significance of the research for the use of higher education institutions for emergency LMS training. Keywords: LMS training; e-Learning; Online Instruction; Instructional Design

Effects of instructors’ academic disciplines and prior experience with learning management systems: A study about the use of Canvas

This study examines the effects of instructors’ academic disciplines and prior experience with the learning management system (LMS), Canvas, on current use. Our mixed method study collected data via an online survey from 557 instructors at two United States universities. Quantitative analyses found significant differences in instructors’ use of Canvas by their academic discipline and prior Canvas experience. Content analysis of the open-ended responses revealed that, when reporting the strengths and weaknesses of Canvas, while instructors across disciplines reported common strengths, the weaknesses they identified varied according to the features they used for their specific disciplines. Our findings lead us to recommend routine evaluation and assessment of instructors’ needs related to LMS. We suggest that, together with general LMS training, campuses design and offer discipline-specific LMS training to ensure instructors’ needs for LMS based on their academic fields are addressed. Also, we propose that universities should design and offer basic and advanced LMS training programs for instructors with different levels of LMS experience.

Patterns in Faculty Learning Management System Use

Technology in Higher Education affects teaching and learning excellence while being a significant expense for universities. There is a need for evaluation of current instructional technology use when planning for renewal or adoption of a new learning management system (LMS). This study was conducted to understand the patterns of course tools used by faculty in a commercial LMS used at a large public research university. Course data was extracted from 2562 courses with 98,381 student enrollments during the Fall of 2016. A latent class analysis was conducted to identify the patterns of LMS tool use based on the presence of grade center columns, announcements, assignments, discussion boards, and assessments within each course. Three latent classes of courses were identified and characterized as Holistic tool use (28% of the courses), Complementary tool use (51%), and Content repository (21%). These classes differed in the mean number of students per course and whether courses were exclusively online. These descriptions provided data-based information to share with deans across the university to facilitate discussion of faculty needs for LMS tools and training.

ATTITUDES, PROBLEMS, AND FACTORS INFLUENCING THE USE OF E-LEARNING (LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEM) AT IAIN ANTASARI

<em>The demand for integrating e-learning with face-to-face classroom is not merely a recommendation but now it becomes a necessary to be applied by higher education institutions. IAIN Antasari as one of higher institutions in South Kalimantan applied Learning Management System (LMS) to answer this demand. This research then tried to map the lecturers’ attitudes, problems, and individual factors of the lecturers that influences their attitudes toward this e-learning application. This study used cross sectional survey design by inviting 35 lecturers as the samples. Questionnaire and interview were utilized to gather the data. The findings showed that most of lecturers at IAIN Antasari had positive attitudes toward the application of the LMS. However, it also found that those lecturers had some barriers to apply the LMS, including their insufficient skills and knowledge, lack of facilities, lack of practice in the LMS training, lack of support from the head of faculty, lack of time for preparing the LMS materials, and negative influence from their colleagues. Regarding the factors influencing the lecturers attitudes for using the LMS, there was only ages variable which statistically significantly influencing.</em>

Comparing trained and untrained teachers on their use of LMS tools using the Rasch analysis

Measuring training outcomes is important given the resources universities invest in staff learning management system (LMS) training. In this paper we show how the effect of LMS training on LMS usage can be evaluated using Rasch analysis of teachers' LMS usage activity logs by making comparisons between teachers who have attended training and those who have not. Our analysis showed that teachers who attended LMS training workshops had higher LMS activity level compared with the untrained teachers. In particular, trained teachers tended to make relatively more use of ‘grade centre’ and of ‘assessment tool’ but relatively less use of ‘content’ in their teaching compared with teachers who did not attend training. The results support Rasch analysis as a useful approach for evaluating the effect of training across a large number of courses and extend understanding from findings from self-report studies of training effectiveness. They also provide insights that inform training practice and highlight its importance for development of online teaching. Implications for professional development of online teaching and the evaluation are discussed.

A Decade of LMS Acceptance and Adoption Research in Sub-Sahara African Higher Education: A Systematic Review of Models, Methodologies, Milestones and Main Challenges

A decade has elapsed since the Learning Management System (LMS) technology permeated its way into higher education in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), offering new paradigms of both blended and online mode e-learning delivery. Parallel to other continents, the introduction of LMS stimulated acceptance and adoption intentions among stakeholders in higher education. This necessitated research into faculty members’ and students’ LMS acceptance and adoption intentions. While some research has been conducted in this dimension, the evidential facts are scattered. There is a need to agglomerate these studies to project a better picture of study patterns and results, to be abreast of the current state of the literature and better direct future research. This study sought to bridge the gap by way of a systematic review of previous studies within a decade of LMS acceptance research in SSA, placing them in contextual paradigms of models, methodologies, milestones, subjects, countries, findings and challenges. Results from a systematic review of 31 studies, revealed key determinants of LMS acceptance/adoption to be Attitude and Perceived Usefulness; followed by Performance Expectancy and Perceived Ease of Use; then lastly Social Influence. Major challenges to LMS implementation identified were ICT infrastructure; LMS usage skills and training; LMS system quality, LMS use policy and management support. TAM1 was the dominant model employed and students were the main subject of studies. Moreover, quantitative approach was the preferred design with Regression as the main statistical tool used for data analysis. The study recommended among others that more UTAUT or TAM3 based studies employing mixed method design with instructors as subjects, using structural equation modelling analysis are needed in SSA LMS research. Leadership and top management of higher education institutions should focus more on ICT infrastructure, LMS usage skills/training, LMS quality related issues, support and ICT policy formulation.

Hook, Line and Canvas: Launching a Professional Development Program to Help Librarians Navigate the Still and Stormy Waters of Online Teaching and Learning

ABSTRACTProfessional development is critically important for librarians trying to establish an embedded presence in online and hybrid courses. The institutional learning management system (LMS) provides a medium for enhanced visibility of both library resources and librarians as instructional collaborators and curriculum designers. This case study showcases one academic library's plan for developing an embedded presence in the LMS and scaffolding training and educational opportunities throughout the process. Important considerations and lessons learned from this initiative are also shared as well as future considerations for maintaining an ongoing and successful professional development program.

Abstract TP416: Does Hands-on tPA Education Really Improve Nurses' Knowledge Retention?

University Hospitals Comprehensive Stroke and Cerebrovascular Center (UHCSCC) Registered Nurses (RNs) in the Neurological Intermediate Unit (NIU) often care for patients after Intravenous (IV) tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) has been initiated. IV tPA is a high-alert medication that has potential bleeding risks. Due to the limited opportunity for initiating IV tPA, we identified the need for enhanced education among this group of RNs. Currently, NIU RNs complete an annual competency via an online learning management system (LMS). Our goal is to identify the best teaching method to heighten the ability for the RNs to retain and apply information. This project is to evaluate if an individualized hands-on educational approach improves the RN’s knowledge of IV tPA administration. In 2015, 36 NIU RNs were given a 20 question pretest that assessed their baseline knowledge on dosing, administration, monitoring, and complications of IV tPA. Each RN then completed the annual LMS competency. Eighteen RNs from this group were randomly selected to participate in an additional 30 minute one-on-one instructional session that included both verbal information and hands-on practice. Approximately 2 weeks later, all 36 RNs completed a 20 question post test to assess knowledge retention. All of the 36 NIU RNs had some education on IV tPA prior to this study. The years of experience working as an RN varied from 6 months to 20 years. Group 1 consisting of 18 RNs that solely received LMS education averaged 50.8% on the pretest and averaged 83.3% on the post test. Group 2 consisting of 18 RNs that had the additional hands-on educational session averaged a 42.2% on the pretest and averaged 95.8% on the post test. The data was analyzed using paired t -tests, and the difference in scores were significant for both groups (P=0.000). Additionally, a 2-sample t -test found significant difference (P=0.004) in the score changes from pre to post when comparing hands-on instruction to the LMS training. Both methods of education were associated with significant increased scores on the post test. Our data suggests that the hands-on approach along with our current practice improves knowledge retention. Further research would be useful to assess retention several months post education.

Examination of Factors Impacting Student Satisfaction with a New Learning Management System.

The purpose of this study was to determine factors that influenced student satisfaction with a new learning management system and to identify which of these factors were most important. The data was collected using an an online survey tool that was administered to students enrolled in courses designed and taught by faculty who participated in a pilot group testing a new learning management system (LMS). The findings support previous research in this area, indicating that usability of the LMS and availability of technical assistance is strongly correlated with student satisfaction. Study findings will be used to improve LMS training and institution-wide technology support.

LMS projects: A platform for intergenerational e-learning collaboration

Intergenerational learning (IGL) is the process of bringing seniors and juniors together in a collaborative space. Universities have been known to create a stimulating context for generations to share and acquire skills. The purpose of this paper is to present the results of research in the field of intergenerational learning and skills sharing. The topic is important as the ideas of teacher-student (T-S) and teacher-teacher (T-T) collaboration based on the principles of interdependence and reciprocity between generations have become acute in the era of the information society when the generation gap is widening. Learning Management System (LMS) projects are believed to enforce human development and collaboration of adults and young learners in universities. The paper dwells upon the importance of needing to be aware of peculiarities of human development in applying IGL policies to education. Better understanding of such internal psychological factors as motivation, creativity and intelligence will allow the level of generation integration and knowledge creation to rise. The paper proposes the idea that LMS training sessions and LMS products as a virtual platform can be effective tools for intergenerational learning collaborations. In this paper we are mainly interested in presenting the results of the projects aimed at increasing ICT competence of teachers. The description of the LMS programs, project outcomes and the LMS product itself are given in the paper. We think that LMS projects can be an effective and proper platform of intergenerational e-learning in universities.