One of the benefits of this assignment for me personally was the ability to really dive into what a learning management system is and how to go about choosing the right one for a particular task. When I first came into this course I had no idea what LMS even stood for. I was surprised to know that I had been using a variety of them for years, but hadn’t really considered why I had used them. Having taken a much closer look at the work by researchers like Bates and Chickering and Ehrmann, I have a much better foundation that I can look to when choosing an LMS in the future for myself or my students. With so many options now available, having sound research or a guideline like SECTIONS is so beneficial when choosing an LMS. Pairing that with a well structured rubric and you’re really setting yourself up for success. Of course no LMS is perfect and you most likely will encounter issues, but doing the upfront work I feel will pay off. I’m hoping this will help guide my thinking in the future of this course as we work on our future assignments.
I found the group work aspect informative when we had the chance to meet, but I unfortunately missed one of the early meetings and felt a bit lost. The group was very accommodating and had left a part of the assignment that I could complete once I was able to touch base with them all. They all worked quickly and effectively to finish the assignment and it was nice to have a conversation about the course as well as hear more about their backgrounds. Way to go team!
Jamie