Using Learning Management Systems (LMS) to
Enhance the School Learning Environment
Abstract
This paper will look at the following:
 What is a Learning Management System?
 What products are available - how do they compare?
 How do you choose an LMS?
 How can an LMS enhance the learning environment in a school?
Brisbane Grammar School has trialled a number of systems and has now implemented
Desire2Learn. This experience will inform the presentation/paper and some
examples will be presented.
What is a Learning Management System?
One could write many pages attempting to define a Learning Management System. It
is more appropriate here, however, to provide a brief summary.
LMS provide each student with a portal so that s/he receives curriculum information
aimed directly at the individual. A calendar is provided which may contain
organization events, subject-based events and personal events. Sequential learning
units may be created to guide students through content and concepts and discussion
forums on subject topics may also be created by teachers to encourage collaborative
learning. A quiz tool allows teachers to create quizzes that may be marked
automatically and give immediate feedback to students. Digital file submission is
managed to make the process of submission, drafts and feedback easy for both
students and teachers.
Background
Over the last three years a small but dedicated group of teachers at Brisbane Grammar
School has investigated the potential of e-Learning or Learning Management
Systems. The focus has been on whether these systems can value add to the learning
environment at the School rather than their potential for offering courses completely
online. The group investigated and trialled a number of systems including
Blackboard, WebCT, Moodle, Class Server, MasterFile, eduKate and Desire2Learn.
The group decided that a course-based system had more potential than a class-based
system. The Canadian Desire2Learn (D2L) system was chosen for implementation in
2006. D2L was installed over the 2005/2006 summer break and the trial group
participated in training using Webtrain and Voice Over IP (VOIP) in January.
What can an LMS offer?
The LMS trial has shown that these systems have the potential to:
 Provide more efficient management of digital file submission for students and
teachers.
 Extend the availability of subject documents and content outside the classroom
in a much more organized and sequential manner than is possible via an
Intranet.
 Assist in providing equal resources and experiences to all students within a
cohort, with less variation between classes.
 Extend opportunities for collaborative learning.
 Improve student involvement by engaging them in a one-stop-shop for all
subject resources and activities and also possibly for extracurricular and
administrative information.
 Better individualize instruction via automatically marked quizzes, sequential
learning units and feedback.
 Help students to better organize their time by providing a personal academic
calendar.
 Assist in addressing the current homework agenda at BGS.
 Provide parents with more information about their son’s academic progress.
The following table expands on some of these features:
File submission
assignments
There are a number of existing assignments and activities at BGS
where the work is digitally submitted. Compared with the use of
the Intranet or email, an LMS makes this far easier for both the
students and teachers and has been shown to reduce problems
and errors dramatically.
An LMS may also do much more than is possible using other
methods including management of a drafting process
File submission activities may also be used for homework
activities – though there is an increased marking commitment
outside of class time. A compromise might be to use a file
submission activity to check that the work was completed at
some level but still use class time for marking.
Content/document
publishing
An LMS has advantages over the Intranet:

student access is personalized so that
(a) only relevant content is available
(b) all relevant content is available quickly and easily
from one personalized home page.

Uploading content and documents is much easier for
teachers. No knowledge of Web page development is
required and it is realistic to expect every teacher to be
able to upload files. Hence it may also be possible to
have every document distributed to students also
available via the LMS

Where appropriate, content may be presented
sequentially, and if desired, with restrictions then force
students to view the content in a particular order or even
to “pass’ a test on one module before being able to
proceed to the next
Learning Units
Learning units can be built that include content, Web links,
quizzes, discussion forums and assignments. These may be
sequenced and may be used both as consolidation/extension
activities to complement classroom work and to duplicate
classroom activities for students who are absent
Quizzes
In an LMS quizzes may be deployed to students. Provided there
are no extended answer questions the LMS will mark these – but
allow the teacher to override if required. This feature has been
used effectively for homework exercises and is time efficient for
teachers, especially if the workload for setting is shared between
teachers in the cohort
Providing
students with a
personalized
academic
calendar
Events such as due dates are added to the student calendar
automatically when an assignment or activity is deployed and
may also be added manually by teachers to indicate an event
outside the LMS. The result is a personalized calendar for each
student that indicates all his, and only his academic “events”
Discussion
forums
Discussion forums allow students to contribute to an online
conversation. This has been used with some success in History,
Science and Japanese. Teacher involvement means an extra time
commitment. The trial has shown, however, that without a great
deal of teacher involvement, discussion forums may be useful for
students to share ideas and problems with each other – to learn
collaboratively.
Chat
Real-time chat has not been used to any great extent in the trial.
It seems that chat would require a significant time commitment
from teachers to be used effectively. One could imagine,
however, occasionally using a chat session for a special purpose.
Perhaps, for example, inviting an outside expert.
Surveys
Surveys allow students to anonymously vote or comment on an
issue. These may be used both in real time as part of a lesson or
as an activity outside the classroom.
Parent Portal
Parents are able to observe the content and activities provided for
their son, the calendar and the boy’s submissions and responses
and results and teacher comments.
A broad cost-benefit schema
This diagram aims to present a summary of the advantages and overheads of
implementing an LMS in a school environment. The arrows aim to represent a
situation where some elements/instances of the object could be classified differently.
Existing operations
where an LMS
saves time/makes
easier
Value add as well as saving
time or time neutral
Existing digital file
submission
assignments
Value add but more
time commitment
required
New file submission
assignments,
activities &
homework
Online quizzes (for homework?),
marked by LMS
Sequential “Learning
Units”
Discussion forums, student only
Discussion forums
with teacher
involvement, Chat
sessions
Distribution of
content/documents/assignments
Student Calendar
Email communication/messaging
with students
Parent portal
How do you choose an LMS?
The choice of an LMS is a complex process. There are a number of systems
available. These include:
 Blackboard/WEbCT – These course-based products were among the first
LMS. The two have recently merged and have a large share of the
educational market. Microsoft has an interest in Blackboard.
 Class Server – this class-based system is the Microsoft product aimed at
schools. It now forms the LMS within the Learning Gateway product.
 Moodle – this course-based product is open-source and free when hosted on
school severs. Hosted solutions are also available.
 eduKate – this Queensland product is a class-based system that was designed
specifically for Australian schools.
 MasterFile – another Queensland product that provides many features with an
LMS as part of the system.
 Desire2Learn – a Canadian system that combines class-based and coursebased features.
The decision is an important one as the difficulty in changing systems means the
choice is essentially final. There is not necessarily an LMS that is the best in all
situations. Schools need to choose an LMS that suits their needs and will need to
develop their own set of prioritized criteria. The following set, however, may be a
useful starting point.
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Quality of interface (must be clear and concise)
Activity/content/ lesson/test question editor that allows embedding of images,
media content, flash etc
The ability to have “classes” within a “cohort” (groups within a course) where
activities/lessons/etc/etc may be assigned to the whole cohort or to individual
classes - Each class should have a teacher associated with it. Ideally there
should also be a coordinator who can view all classes
Teachers able to view only own class for marking
Integration with Student Information System. The integration should include
student details, staff details, subjects studied linked to courses, class
information linked to class groups within courses, year group information
Synchronized logins with LAN or single sign in
Ability to create custom groups and courses across Year groups etc
Ability to import users external to the Student Information System
Flexible management of file submission assignments – including drafting
process, individual extensions etc
Calendar with – automatic activities/assignments/ content notification but also
the facility for teachers to add calendar items.
Calendar should include items from all courses the student takes.
Announcements on home page.
Transparency of content/activities between teachers of a course – ie if a
teacher sets an activity for either the whole cohort, or for their class, all
teachers in the course should be able to see it
Sophisticated test/quiz development and marking. (Multiple choice, Fill the
Gap, Matching, True/false, extended answer etc
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Ability to create sequenced Learning Objects with controlled release. The
release conditions should be many and varied
Collaboration tools such as discussion forums and a chat tool with
whiteboard/canvas
Internal messaging system
Survey tool that may be set to anonymous mode
Parent portal with own login and access to one or more students
Criteria for assignments – eg an assignment might be set with two criteria
(such as Research and Presentation)
Teachers should be able to award grades separately for these criteria and also
award an overall grade.
Flexible and customizable grade types (eg numeric; A  E; A+  E-;
Completed, Not Completed; Comment to student etc
Conclusion
Learning Management Systems have considerable potential to enhance the learning
environment in a “face-to-face” school. There are overheads for teachers, however,
and the improvements do not necessarily come without extra effort. Choosing an
LMS from the many systems available is a complex process and one that demands
considerable time and effort to find the system that best suits a particular school.