[MUSIC] Welcome back to the Teach English Now! In the last video, we were introduced to the concept of technology as a teaching assistant. In that light, we want to introduce an entire bank of technology tools that are properly called Learning Management Systems, or LMSs. A learning management system is place where you as a teacher can keep all of your content in one place. This might include your lesson plans, your assignment sheets, your announcements to a class and even practiced activities. It might include discussion boards for students to share ideas and ask questions and it might even allow students to upload assignments and receive feedback. It is in a very real sense of virtual classroom space. Now, why would you want to house your material in an online virtual space when a handy dandy binder like the one I have here is sufficient. Paper, I just trust it more, don't you? Well no doubt there is security in having a paper copy of something. What if the computer or projector doesn't work? What if I cant turn it on? What if the power goes off? What if the Internet connection goes out? These are all important disadvantages to housing things digitally. And I won't pretend that those arguments aren't compelling or important. I myself have prepared wonderfully tech enhanced lessons only to discover that I couldn't give the lesson in the classroom for many of those reasons. And when you try to use online tools to give announcements to students. What happens if some students don't have equal access to those announcements or even worse simply pretend that they didn't receive an email or announcement at all? Teacher, I didn't get the announcement. Can I have another day to turn in the homework? Don't think that happens? Well then you might have a few things in common with newbie, are young and experienced teacher. All those arguments aside, I have found personally great success in using a variety of learning management systems. In fact, because much of my work now resides in online platforms, I no longer need carry around 50 binders with me. In fact several of the courses that we have developed for Teach English now were to be honest, based on binders of information that I've been carrying around with me for years. And now that is online and now I have it forever and I can alter my lessons with a click of a button or use ideas from one class and instantly grab it and use it for another. I love having my courses in the online virtual world. So should you create an LMS for your class or not? Here are four questions to ask yourself. Question one, am I ready for an LMS? If you keep any number of documents on your computer, you already have the beginning of a learning management system. An LMS is really just a place where you keep information. However, by putting things into an online environment, you are now able to share information with other teachers, students, parents, or whomever you'd like. Question two, are students ready for an LMS? This question is an important one if you are hoping for a learning management system that gives students a chance to learn virtually. While you may have Internet access and the ability to upload files, it is vital that your students have access to the Internet. Especially after school either at home, in an Internet cafe, library, or other resource. If students have access only once a week, for example, then that may limit the ability you have to make announcements or give assignments. However, it would still give you the chance to create a place where students or parents can check to see Important due days. Get additional help and so forth. Furthermore some students have limited technological abilities. So for example some of your students may not be able to type or open a browser. And that means if you want an LMS that works for students. You may need to do some extra training to help them out. Question three. What LMS do I choose? There are a number of online places where you can store information. Blackboard, Moodle, Google Classroom and Schoology are all examples of places where teachers can communicate with students in an online format. I have even seen creative teachers use blogs or Facebook as a way to communicate with students and post assignments. While that may be a rudimentary version of an LMS, that doesn't mean it couldn't work. But there are some things to consider when you choose a format for your LMS. First off, some of these may have a cost associated with them. While, others are free. Your school may already have an LMS that is required or encouraged, so you may need to find that out before searching one out on your own. And finally, there are simply very different ideas of what an LMS is. And you might want to consider what kind of assistant, so to speak, you want. Do you want an assistant that shares PowerPoint slides that you have created in your class? Do you want your assistant to post assignments, give grades, give quizzes, surveys? Question four, how do I use an LMS? The truth is, any LMS you choose is going to require you to invest some time learning and studying about it. There are tutorials widely available on the web for most of these systems. Google Class and Moodle, for example, are currently free. And I, personally, truly enjoy setting up a teacher blog as a resource for students as well. You can post pictures, create videos, and interact with students. Shoot, quite a number of teachers are inviting students to create and share their own blogs, as well, and then connect those blogs to the master teacher blog. Above all, you're going to have to make some choices. Learn and set up the technology. Experiment with it. And even be comfortable making a few mistakes along the way. Hey education is all about risk. And technology is a risk and your willingness to make mistakes and look ridiculous. Apply's as much to learning as a teacher as it does to technology. All right, we have started small so far, discussing the concept of an LMS and how it is analogous to having a teaching assistant. In the next view videos, we are going to expand on that concept and give you an even greater view of all of the possibilities that technology can create for you. We'll see you next time [MUSIC]
