Patterns of educator learning management systems use in a secondary school: a description of use and comparison between educator subgroups
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2017-11-08
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Towson University. Department of Educational Technology and Literacy
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Abstract
As K-12 public school districts seek to expand their technology infrastructure, they have invested millions of dollars in Learning Management Systems. A Learning Management System (LMS) is a web-based tool that can be used for planning, implementing, and assessing course content. Tools such as LMS have become useful to school systems because of the capacity to collect and analyze assessment data. Despite the recent adoption of LMS in schools, guidelines have not been set to aid educators in the design and implementation process of LMS. A mixed methods sequential explanatory design was used to identify the current uses of LMS in secondary classrooms as well as the educators’ perceptions of their use. LMS use of 35 middle school educators was observed for 22 weeks. Educators were categorized into subgroups by grade level, content area, years of experience, perception of LMS, frequency of use, and course ability levels. Correlational analyses were used to identify associations between educator subgroups and course homework submission and scores. One of the key findings of the study was that educator use was found to be associated with time spent in school, not away from it. Second, educators reported to have increased use of the LMS, but they do not feel use impacts the classroom. Therefore, results indicate there is limited interactive LMS use and there was no significant correlation between total educator use and course homework submissions. However, subgroups, such as mathematics educators and grade six educators, were found to use LMS more frequently than the other subgroups. Rogers Diffusion Theory provided a conceptual framework regarding educator use of LMS platforms. Personalized, small-group professional development led by educators is suggested to help educators to use data from LMS to improve the design and implementation of LMS in the secondary classroom.