Popularity of Course Management Systems among Online Courses

Many people are interested in knowing why the Internet has become so popular and why it is a part of our daily lives and apart of everything we do. Well, as humans we tend to be very lazy. We like things that are fast, efficient and things that require us to do little to no work at all. Unfortunately, the Internet does all those things and more. This explains why we have incorporated it into the classroom.

Honestly, I feel as if it could be an enhancement to the learning environment but having the Internet become the teacher is really pushing it. When we allow the Internet to become our very own personal professor that is when things start to take a turn for the worse. We become lazy, we continue to allow the Internet to do the work for us as opposed to trying to actually learn and making information stick to memory and then we find short cuts and ways around things because the Internet is good for that.

Economically, the Internet has become very affordable which allows a lot of families the privilege of being able to have it in their own homes. When kids know that they have wireless internet in their own homes that is when they feel that they can take on an online course. They know they can do the work at school, at home or whenever they please.

Moving away from the Internet and focusing on the wide spread of course management systems we can say that these types of tools that are used for virtual school or just for most college courses in general are used because of the convenience for the teacher. Let’s take Blackboard for an example. Blackboard is paid for by the school so that is another incentive to use it for both professors and students. Then looking at Blackboard on a technological scale we can see that it’s a pretty neat site for students and professors to navigate through. It does not require much brain power to function which is another reason why most universities choose to use it as their primary source of communication for the teacher and student in regards to course material.

In an online academic journal titled Whats new with learning systems it compares all the learning management systems used in different universities to each other. It gives you some insight on what each management system has to offer without you downloading them all and testing them out. Looking at the article, I learned that sites like Haiku, Canvas and Schoology offer a free version for individual professors. Knowing that small bit of information I automatically see why these course management systems are used by the professor. For example, the article states that Canvas, a course management system is compatible with iOS, Android and kindle. Also Canvas offers other features such as announcements, calendar, chat, checklist and many more efficient tools.

I have used Canvas before, but not for an online course. However, I definitely see it being used in an online course because it has a checklist of assignments that the student has to do and as they turn in the items it checks it off the list for them. Also talking to the teacher using this app is extremely quick and easy. It comes right to your phone just like any other notification. It is course management systems like these that make it easier for both the teacher and student when taking or teaching an online course. I know for a fact I wouldn’t feel lonely or lost if Canvas was used for any online course that I decide to take.

Chart from "What's New with Learning Management Systems" portrays the comparisons of Blackboard and Canvas. 

Mersand, Shannon. "WHAT'S NEW WITH LEARNING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS." Tech & Learning 35.11 (2015): 48-49. EBSCOhost. Web. 12 Nov. 2015.