At Mira Costa, teachers use a variety of platforms to post their agendas and homework online. Costa Vice Principal Kristin Wolberg plans to unify all of these platforms under one learning management system that will benefit students and staff by streamlining online schoolwork.
According to Wolberg, Costa Principal Dr. Ben Dale started looking for one common online platform for all students, parents and teachers last spring. Under a learning management system, the teachers will have only one place to post their agendas, class notes and, depending on the platform, tests. Students will use their mbusdapps email, an assigned email given to to every student in the district.
According to Dale, implementing a unified LMS is a main goal for this 2015-16 school year. The use of an LMS at Costa would enhance student learning in and out of the classroom by consolidating online resources from different teachers in one place. In doing this, students will have one, convenient place to stay organized and up to date on all homework assignments and assessments.
As stated by Wolberg, the administration plans on the students having access to the LMS as early as the 2015-16 school year. It is commendable that the administration is devoting an appropriate amount of time to the selection and implementation of an effective LMS since it allows him to find the most effective system. According to Wolberg, possible program vendors presented program platforms to Costa teachers and administrators this summer in order to evaluate the most cost-friendly and efficient LMS available.
According to English Department Chair Alan Zeoli, certain teachers thought they deserved the professional rate, instead of the hourly rate; therefore, they did not go to the presentations. Since many of the potential platforms are costly and teachers would be frequent users of the system, teacher input is essential in the selection of the LMS to make the most optimal investment in Costa’s online academics. Teachers not attending the presentation prevents administration from picking the most teacher-friendly platform.
Once Costa decides on an online LMS, parents and students would only have to learn how to navigate one LMS instead of using a separate platform to get information from each teacher, such as Mr. Timberlake’s use of Edmodo, an educational website for students and teachers to communicate, and Ms. Park’s personal Art History website, therefore reducing the amount of confusion and inefficiency.
According to Wolberg, the administration plans on looking for a platform that can link with other programs such as Turnitin or Dropbox, websites allowing students to electronically turn in their work. This would be beneficial for both students and teachers because it would centralize websites, besides teachers website, that students use for academic purposes.
According to Wolberg, the administration is trying to select a platform that will meet the needs of staff members. The administration plans on picking a LMS that will allow teachers to express their teaching style through their unique customization of their individual pages on the LMS. By finding a LMS system with this feature, uniformity will be established for all online programs currently used at Costa.
The implementation of a school-wide LMS system would be beneficial, not only to students, but also staff members, as it would help facilitate organization throughout Costa’s academic community.
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