The average
learning management system (LMS) has been in place for eight years and about
15% of institutions are looking to replace theirs in the foreseeable future, according
to a new study by the Educause Center for Analysis and Research (ECAR). Most
schools want systems providing improved functionality.
However,
the study determined that faculty and students don’t use all the available features
in their current LMS, creating something of a conundrum in deciding what a
higher-level system should constitute. Being able to post content (for faculty)
and access content (for students) in the system generated the highest
satisfaction for more than 75% of both groups. When it came to advanced system
tools, though, satisfaction ratings took a plunge.
Both
instructors and students told ECAR researchers they don’t know how to utilize
LMS features beyond the basics. Most received sketchy training on their system
and were left to explore the LMS on their own. Despite that, both groups still
believe the LMS helps teaching and learning and they’d like to take greater
advantage of its capabilities.
“To meet
users’ needs and expectations, the next-generation LMS should be mobile friendly,
personalized, customizable, adaptive, intuitive, integrated, and designed to
enhance student learning. These systems will function as digital learning
environments for students, administrative systems for faculty to manage their
courses, and interoperable systems that institutions can integrate into their
administrative IT portfolio to leverage analytic applications,” the report
concluded.
Students
showed enthusiasm for LMS features that would enable them to interact and
communicate with each other more easily, such as instant messaging, video chat,
online tutoring, and social group discussions and forums. Faculty were more
interested in tools to help manage classroom tasks more efficiently and to
recommend new or different academic resources.
The study, The
Current Ecosystem of Learning Management Systems in Higher Education: Student,
Faculty, and IT Perspectives, is part of a larger Educause initiative, funded
by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, to explore the next iteration of
digital learning and identify where efforts should be focused.
