Abstract:

Most universities provide students and faculty with some type of learning management system (LMS) to enhance learning and teaching. For many colleges and universities, an LMS has become an essential feature of the educational enterprise. However, one of the primary challenges with an LMS is that the vendors that distribute them must make their tools flexible enough to function in all institutions. This means that the tools often do not meet the specific needs of any one college or university.

Following a presentation from an official from Google, Inc., the question was asked: “So why doesn’t Google develop a learning management system?” The official responded: “We have considered developing an LMS, but we have concluded that to be effective, an LMS would need to be integrated with all of the essential data systems at the university. That would require individualizing each LMS to each institution. So we have decided not to enter that market” (personal communication, Google representative, July 25, 2011).

During the past two years Brigham Young University, a research-oriented private university with an enrollment of 35,000 students, has developed its own LMS entitled BYU Learning Suite. The tool is integrated with 42 different web services that permit users to communicate with all of the relevant data systems at the university. For example, when a faculty member creates a course schedule in Learning Suite, all of the applicable university events are automatically included in the schedule, such as holidays and forum addresses. In addition, faculty can submit final grades to the registrar’s office with a single button. The university’s bookstore, library, testing center, and course catalogue are also integrated into the tool.

Of particular note is the way Learning Suite integrates with the university’s Learning Outcomes website. When a faculty member develops a course syllabus, the learning outcomes for that course automatically appear in the Learning Suite syllabus feature. This permits students to see how each assignment and exam are designed to help them master the intended learning outcomes for the course. In addition, once the syllabus is created, it can be posted to the university course schedule and catalogue, allowing students to see in detail what a course will include before they actually register for the course.

Although Learning Suite is not a proprietary product and will not be marketed or distributed beyond the Brigham Young University campuses, any institution using an LMS could benefit from what we are learning about how to use an LMS to benefit both faculty and students. The purpose of this presentation will be to describe the design and testing of this new LMS. Data will be shared from a beta test of 32 faculty who used the tool during winter semester, 2012. In addition the results of a student survey of 2,503 respondents during spring term of 2012 will be described. Of particular interest for this presentation will be the results of the following question: “Did you or your instructors use the BYU Learning Suite in a way that enhanced your learning? If so, describe how it enhanced your learning.” The presentation will conclude with recommendations for the design and development of learning management systems with special emphasis on how such tools can be used to improve student learning.

Keywords:

Learning management systems, Instructional design, Technology in Higher Education.