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LMS

Three Ways A New LMS Succeeds

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

Ready to put an end to your learning management system? Tired of paying exorbitant fees for clunky features, low use, and high cost? You’re not alone. “Research shows that almost half of all organizations,” says Debbie Williams, feel the same way. In this blog entry, let’s take a look at a popular LMS and how it compares to Debbie’s three reasons why LMSs often fail today. The LMS? Microsoft Teams, which boasted a 251% usage growth in education.

Check out G2’s Learning Management System Comparison Tool

Get an overview of the Learning Management System (LMS) category at a glance

Reason #1 – LMSs Are Not Student-Centered

“The LMS is the biggest barrier to learning,” says Steve Dineen. The reason Steve offers is that the LMS meets the needs of the teachers. What happened to student-centered learning? Student-centered learning means more than teaching skills and strategies. It means that learners leave with skills and strategies that have an immediate impact on their lives. When LMSs focus on making course delivery or facilitation easier, they are off target.

To create student-centered learning opportunities, focus on increased relevance to the student experience. Make sure that students have a choice over they want to learn. And, last, keep assessment options open. The main challenge for teachers using learning management systems is one of control. They micro-manage learning components, many of which may be irrelevant to the learner.

Recent Microsoft Teams Updates

Let’s review how Microsoft Teams approaches both teacher and student support. The LMS that ensures student-centered learning wins. That said, easing the job of the teacher is also important. Here are some new developments that MS Teams announced in January 2019.

  • Faster grading and submission of grades into the district’s Student Information System (SIS). The SIS connection happens via the new Grade Sync tool.
  • Grading can happen via iOS and Android apps.
  • Quicker creation of new assignments and ability to categorize assignments
  • A Class Materials space that supports sharing of reference materials to guide students. This space prevents students from removing content.
  • Creation, import, and export of rubrics in Teams
  • Makes it easier for students to enroll in a class (a.k.a. “Team”) using a class code to engage in student-to-teacher chats.

The popular LMS from Microsoft introduced new integrations as well. These include Moodle , TurnItIn, and ThingLink. The last integration (ThingLink) offers more options for students. It can make creating interactive maps, presentations, and virtual 360-degree tours possible. What’s more, students can create infographics that incorporate text, images, sound, and video.

Microsoft Teams eases the creation of  student-centered learning. They can create in Microsoft OneNote in their own space. Their work gets graded in Teams or OneNote (teacher’s preference). What’s more, technologies like Immersive Reader ease students’ comprehension.

And let’s not forget that Microsoft made Flipgrid available to all educators free. It makes it simpler to capture video and audio creations, including student annotations.

 

Reason #2 – Maintaining an LMS Can Be Tough

As a technology director, I managed thirteen instances of Moodle. This was all done via command line interface (CLI) on a district-hosted, Ubuntu GNU/Linux server. As such, I know first hand what a monster self-hosted LMSs can be. Even when implementing LMSs in the Cloud, a school district can face certain struggles that may include:

  • Account management
  • Regular updates to the LMS code (e.g. PHP, HTML, MySQL)
  • Granting new rights to educators and students
  • Enrollment of students in the appropriate online course

These issues, simple to list, are tough in practice. Many districts lack the staff expertise, time, or single-minded focus required. That makes the decision to move easy. Districts have shifted from self-hosted LMSs to cloud-hosted, vendor-managed systems.

Microsoft Teams handles each of these with ease. Let’s review how below:

  • Not sure how to handle account management? Check with the School Data Sync team at Microsoft. This free service creates class teams for MS Teams and OneNote Class notebooks. It facilitates rostering and Single Sign-On (SSO) integration for many third-party applications.
  • Worried about your LMS getting hacked since you didn’t do an update? No need to worry. Let the Microsoft Teams support folks handle this for you. Wish you had a direct line to the project lead? Send a tweet out to Justin Chando (@justinchando).
  • Enrollment woes plaguing you? Get teachers and students sorted into appropriate virtual spaces by using automated solutions like School Data Sync to take the burden off.

Microsoft Teams makes LMS maintenance worries go away. Isn’t that nice?

Reason #3 – It Can Be Tough to Get Teachers Using It

Hit a brick wall getting teachers to use an LMS with their students? That obstacle is another piece of the wall teachers encounter. They encounter obstacles and so and reluctance grows. After all, no one wants to use something that adds time and effort to their workload.

“I also am seeing that if you just blanket present something to an entire staff and have expectations of using immediately, it won’t happen… I always tell my admin pick a ‘beta’ group have them use and share with PLN see how it works for you..if it comes from the teachers….(Source: Tweet from Liz “@TechCoachBoyd” Boyd)

The best approach to increasing LMS usage isn’t to find the most expensive one. It’s not about threatening teachers or cajoling them. Rather, it’s about getting an LMS in place that is designed for learners AND teachers.

Microsoft Teams supports integration of various Office 365 tools. That’s expected. Microsoft’s push has also been to allow easy access from third party tools. Choosing popular integrations (e.g. Flipgrid, ThingLink) makes selecting Teams an easy choice. The easier these tools are to use, the more that students will use them.

Three Ways a New LMS Succeeds

Wondering how your own learning management system stacks up? Whether it’s Microsoft Teams, Google Classroom, or Instructure’s Canvas, choices abound. What are three points to keep in mind when choosing an LMS?

Here are my top three criteria:

  • Easy to open gates: Most resembling walled gardens, traditional LMSs limit access. They limit the ability of learners and teachers to share out and bring content in. I’m more inclined to choose an LMS that makes adding third-party content easier. Even better, the LMS makes sharing outside of itself easier.
  • Turnkey account management and support: Make simple, powerful solutions. These solutions should not demand a teacher wait on someone else. If a teacher doesn’t have to rely on an over-worked technology department to get the job done, then we all win.
  • Mobile and cross-platform: An LMS must be mobile and device agnostic. From Chromebooks to iOS/Android smartphones and tablets, an LMS must be mobile. For students, it has to be easy to submit content (e.g. video, audio, text, and web links). For teachers, grading and assignment creation/management are essential.

What are your top criteria for LMS selection? And how do you stop yourself from selecting an LMS for each grade range?

References

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Microsoft Tips and Tricks

Remote Work with Microsoft Tools

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

Work from home? If you teach in K-12, probably not. But remote work is a growing trend. Let’s explore Microsoft tools that make it easier.

Let’s review statistics about remote work.

Remote Work Statistics

Here are a few studies  on people who work from home:

  • Eighty-six percent of those asked said they “hit maximum productivity” when working at home alone.
  • Thirty percent said it allowed them to do more in less time.
  • Twenty-four percent surveyed said they could do more in the same time.
  • Eighty-two percent of workers reported less stress.
  • Researchers observed a fifty percent decrease in employee turnover.
  • Eighty-seven percent of remote workers felt more connected via video chats.
  • Twenty-three percent of employees (2015) reported doing some work at a remote site.

Without technology, this kind of work would be difficult.

Remote Work with Microsoft Tools

If you work in an Office 365 environment, here are some essential tools for you.

  • Get Feedback with Microsoft Teams: Now that Teams is available for free, just like Slack, give it a try. Use Microsoft Teams to get feedback on work projects, shared documents, and more. Add tabs to Microsoft Teams to pull data from anywhere (e.g. Dropbox, Google Drive, Flipgrid). See TCEA Resources for Teams.
  • Make Your Digital Workspace with Microsoft OneNote: If you are not using OneNote to organize yourself, you need to start soon. Educators, take advantage of OneNote’s power. Use integrated Class or Staff Notebook functions. OneNote is the “one-stop shopping” solution to creating curated content, and more resources. View TCEA Resources for OneNote.
  • Be Mobile-Friendly with Microsoft Sway: With responsive web design, you can work alone or together. Create mobile-friendly presentations and newsletters. A clear interface makes placing audio, images, and videos a cinch. Open TCEA Resources for Microsoft Sway.

Keep It Organized

If Teams, OneNote, and Sway make teamwork potent, Forms and To-Do serve as organizational helpers.

Is Remote Work in Your Future?

Chances are, you will find yourself working from many places. Some may be your office or classroom. Embrace these tools. Lower your stress, connect with the team. In short, get more done.

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Teams
Microsoft Tips and Tricks

Microsoft Teams Updates

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

Want to learn all about Microsoft Teams? Perhaps you want to differentiate assignments for students in your class. Or manage your virtual classroom space. Then Microsoft Teams may be the tool for you. Take a moment to review some of the latest updates for Microsoft Teams, a classroom collaboration tool that facilitates lesson management, easy sharing of resources, and more.

Did You Know?

Have you signed up for the 2018 TCEA Microsoft Academy? If not, you can do so online.

Let’s explore my top three favorite Teams updates.

Update #1 – Differentiate Assignments

Differentiating instruction involves making adjustments for “student’s learning style, readiness, and interest” (Source). They allow you as teacher to connect with all learners while tailoring assignments for each student’s learning style. You can use Microsoft Teams new feature to create tiered levels of assignments that address individual students’ needs. This means you can create an assignment, customizing it for various students who may need either a simplified or more advanced task.

Update #2 – Resubmit Assignments

“The mastery of how to think requires trial-and-error learning,” says Professor James Pennebaker from the University of Texas at Austin (Source).”When people are trying to learn new skills, they must get some information that tells them whether or not they are doing the right thing. ” Students can now submit assignments and then receive feedback from the teacher. Afterwards, students can resubmit the assignment. Providing feedback becomes more effective if teachers do the following:

  • Provide specific feedback. Teams makes this much easier since it allows for the teacher to enter detailed feedback that the student needs.
  • Give immediate feedback. Teachers can review student work just-in-time and then respond as quickly as possible or necessary. Teams make fast feedback possible.
  • Set growth in a larger framework. Students need to understand how progress on specific tasks translates into overall movement toward overarching goals. Teams makes organizing tasks and goals easier with its integration into OneNote Class Notebook.
  • Empower student ownership of their learning. Students learn best when they own the process rather than perceive it as teacher-directed.

Update #3 – Schedule Assignments

“Am I able to create and schedule assignments in advance?” asked Molly, a teacher in one of my Microsoft Innovative Educator (MIE) sessions. Microsoft Teams has now made that possible. As the teacher, you can share assignments with students to match your scope and sequence.

Teams Updates

These Microsoft Teams updates empower teachers to do more with assignments. Stay tuned for more updates that enhance the functionality of this amazing tool.

 

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Microsoft Tips and Tricks

Expand Classroom Possibilities with Microsoft

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

Fundamental transformations to how we approach teaching and learning occur daily. In Office 365 classrooms, the teachers and students have ever increasing opportunities to learn and do more. Teaching and learning are often about inspiring learners. Another key aspect of inspiration is the juxtaposition of new tools that make the previously impossible or difficult less so. For example, consider that just a few months ago, it was unlikely you that students could hear their device read to them in their own language. New updates to Microsoft products now make that a reality.

Let’s take a quick look at updates to three powerful tools (Teams, OneNote, and Immersive Reader) that Microsoft has just announced and how they expand classroom possibilities.

Base: Total Respondents. Details: page 23 in the full report. State data here as cited by Scholastic
This research suggests an increasing need for tools like Microsoft Teams, OneNote and Immersive Reader
that seek to meet the needs of all students.

Expansion #1: Microsoft Teams Adds New Features

Image Source

Given the wealth of learning management systems teachers have at their disposal, standards are high. Microsoft has listened to feedback from teachers to continue improving Microsoft Teams, which replaced Microsoft Classroom at the start of the 2016-2017 school year. As a result, helpful teacher tools (e.g. join codes) have found their way into MS Teams.  Here is a list of existing new features announced earlier:

  • List View of Assignments
    • Teachers can view assignments for an entire class.
    • Students can view assignments for all their classes.
  • Multiple class assignment distribution
    • Teachers in Teams are now able to create and assign a single assignment to multiple classes at once.
    • Once distributed, an assignment sent to multiple classes can be edited and/or deleted within an individual class.

There are even more Teams features!

Here are some of the added features just announced on January 22, 2018:

  • Join Codes for Class Enrollment

    • Students now have access to join codes. Teachers can invite students to a class and the latter can join using a code.
  • Mobile Assignment Viewing and Creation:
    • Students, via their mobile devices, can “now access upcoming assignments, receive new assignment notifications, and turn in their work.”
    • Teachers are able to “create new assignments, as well as review and make edits to existing assignments” via their mobile device.
    • Upgraded assignment search feature for both students and teachers is now available.
  • On Demand Translation
    • Students and teachers can turn content in a chat or in a team channel into the language that their Office 365 tenant (setup) is configured in. The power in this feature is that it allows “teachers and students to converse comfortably in their chosen language,” removing all language barriers.
  • Assignment Analytics
    • Real-time assignment tracking reveals who has viewed or turned in assignments.
  • Reusing a Team as a Template
    • Have a MS Team space setup the way you want it? Teachers can now use that Team space as a template.
    • Team creators can also decide what (e.g. channels, tabs, team setting, apps, and/or users) they would like to copy over.
  • Decimal Grading
    • Teachers can “provide grading feedback in their preferred way using Decimal Grading.”
  • Integration with Powerpoint and Microsoft Stream
    • Teachers can “use PowerPoint to build immersive class content (that includes ink, animations, and audio/video narrations), add Microsoft Forms–based quizzes,” then
    • Publish it to their Stream channel as a video. This makes their content available in their Teams class to distribute to their students.
    • Automatic captioning will also become available in MS Stream, increasing accessibility for all learners.

Microsoft continues to add more features. What feature am I looking for? How to mark assignments with letter grades.

Expansion #2: Microsoft OneNote

expandWhat tool has changed most radically from all others? The answer is, in a word,  OneNote. Curious about what you can do with Microsoft OneNote? Read TCEA’s TechNotes blog entries. In the meantime, be aware that Microsoft OneNote has had over 15 million notebooks created since the start of the 2017-2018 school year. Some welcome improvements include:

  • Page locking in OneNote Class Notebook. This oft-requested features empowers teachers to provide students with read-only access of pages.
  • Assignment integrations.
  • Grade integrations with a variety of Learning Management Systems (LMSs) and Student Information Systems (SISs).
  • Interactive math calculators, which includes Desmos interactive math calculators (fabulous tool!).
  • New stickers.
  • Immersive Reader for OneNote for iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

Expect to see many more additions to MS Teams and OneNote with increased integration.

Expansion #3: Immersive Reader

If you haven’t seen Immersive Reader, you are missing out on a powerful tool for second (or third) language learners. Microsoft describes it in this way:

Immersive Reader, included in OneNote Learning Tools, is a full-screen reading experience to increase readability of content in OneNote documents. Learning Tools is designed to support students with dyslexia and dysgraphia in the classroom, but can support anyone who wants to make reading on their device easier. (Source)

Consider the impact of the following features on language learning in the classroom:

According to Microsoft, Immersive Reader supports an additional 10 new languages. It is also coming to even more platforms in 2018. Immersive Reader appears on Word for Mac, iPhone, Android platforms. The chart below provides some additional insights.

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Microsoft Classroom
Microsoft Tips and Tricks

It’s Microsoft Morphing Time

by Miguel Guhlin
written by Miguel Guhlin

On May 2, 2017, Microsoft made several exciting announcements that were just plain incredible. Now that the dust is settling, interesting assertions about Microsoft Classroom are being made based on evidence not widely published or shared. What a perfect opportunity to shine some sunlight and see what we can see!

What’s the Change?

Amidst other incredible changes announced, Microsoft Classrooms (still in Preview mode for many districts) will now be merged into Microsoft Teams. Let’s read what Microsoft has to say on this:

The new classroom experiences in Teams will help teachers manage their daily workflow more easily than ever before. Using Teams, they can quickly and efficiently create classes with automatically populated student rosters from their school information system; share files and teaching materials; make announcements; divide the class into project groups and monitor progress; create, distribute and grade quizzes; deliver personalized learning with OneNote Class Notebooks; and distribute, collect and grade assignments.

And because Teams is a digital hub, students can work together anytime, anywhere, and on any device; teachers can connect with their peers and continue their own development in Professional Learning Communities (PLCs); and school administrators can communicate and collaborate with their entire staff…Teams gets even better with partners, and today, we’re announcing four new integrations from education tech leaders busuu, Canvas, Flipgrid and Kahoot!

Now that’s pretty exciting! But wait, let’s take a moment to think it through. This has implications for school districts that are currently using Microsoft Classroom or had planned on implementing it next year. Let’s review those implications:

  • On July 31, 2017, support for Microsoft Classroom Preview will be discontinued.
  • Microsoft Classroom Preview will continue with current functionality until July 31, 2017.
  • Teachers will not be able to create notebooks or assignments after July 31, 2017.
  • Current classes and associated content will continue to be available as Office 365 Groups.

That’s pretty incredible. Teachers who have created information-rich OneNote Class Notebooks will need to take action. Let’s review some ideas for that.

What Action Should Be Taken?

Classroom teachers should probably create a regular OneNote Notebook, then use OneNote 2016 to copy their instructional content from the Class Notebook(s) into the regular OneNote Notebook. This is solid practice because it gives you a OneNote you can copy content into Class Notebook. The same goes for any campus/district administrators using Class Notebook as their school policy handbook repository. On the back end, School Data Sync remains, so we can hope that few changes are needed.

What Should We Hope For?

With this change, we can hope for better integration between Office 365 and Teams, as well as new features. As I have mentioned before, I hope that MS Classroom/Teams will provide some features that TCEA members have long requested, such as an assignments list with grades in traditional gradebook view and improved integration with OneNote Class Notebook. It would also be great to see better OneDrive integration, Microsoft Forms quiz functionality, and grades integration. Educators have long wanted quiz grading results from Forms dropped into MS Teams/Classroom gradebook. Finally, let’s hope that this roll-out happens quickly and K-12 education users are not stuck in preview mode for another year.

Learn more about Microsoft Teams for Education online.

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