Breathing New Life into LMS Communication and Collaboration Tools

Abstract

Learning management systems (LMS) now contain social software tools (wikis, blogs, etc.) as well as the more traditional tools. However, there is little evidence in the literature to indicate that these tools are being used to their full capacity to fully engage students and promote learning. This session will share some techniques for capitalizing on the full affordances of LMS communication and collaboration tools in a graduate-level online course about innovations in distance learning. Session participants will learn how students in that course learn to apply effective e-learning approaches while experiencing those same approaches. Faculty from a variety of disciplines can apply these techniques to any delivery methodââ¬âface-to-face, blended, wholly onlineââ¬âto maximize student engagement with peers, course content, and faculty, all without learning ââ¬Ånewââ¬Â technology.