Encourage eLearning student authenticity and track progress with learning management system solutions
The e-learning courses delivered in the school district learning management system can address various challenges faced by schools, including lack of curriculum, shortage of teachers in some areas, increase in classroom teachers, lack of AP courses and lack of physical space and tuition.
The downside is that plagiarism and other forms of dishonesty are more common in online teaching. Fraud occurs not only in online school management software, but also in online discussion forums, assignments, projects and other collaborative online teaching tools.
We in the e-learning community believe online learning
is the best way to teach, educate and test students ’understanding, but it needs to be done right. And often not. In most popular e-learning systems, when students score high on online assessments, we ask: is it an accurate indicator of student comprehension?
Studies show that 70% of American high school students admit to cheating on at least one test, and 95% of those who admit to cheating are never caught. Furthermore, 75% of college students report cheating during their college careers. In short, cheating is a great temptation that most people do at some point.
As instructors, online course developers and teacher educators, our goal is to provide useful and engaging content so that students are motivated to learn and accountable for failing when they try. But how do we achieve this?
A robust learning management system provides
the best tools for students to deliver their best and submit creative and original work. Fraud prevention tools and student progress monitoring are part of this solution.
The use of Web 2.0 tools such as discussion forums for student assignments is a feature of e-learning courses, especially at the university level. But it’s not enough to ask students to answer and ask questions, and make a “commitment.” Assignments must be coordinated in such a way as to ensure maximum responsiveness and originality. Without strategies to make workflows work and avoid copying them again, educational tools such as discussion forums and wikis become inadequate.
The best strategy for student engagement is to create effective material. Dynamic course assignments such as videos, audio content such as podcasts and other tools are an easy way to capture and engage students ’attention and interest.
But the most engaging courses and the most interactive
content must be maintained by finding ways to track and monitor student progress.
Once a learning management system is in place and its functions are understood, administrators can utilize tools to create a system that tracks student progress with ease. Once the system is in place, teachers and instructors don’t have to worry too much about grading and tedious traditional assignments.
An effective LMS not only automates training management, but also the way administrators can track student progress.
Ultimately, creating and maintaining great courses, tracking and monitoring student progress both need to be built into the e-learning system, but more school management system the intention needs to be there. It is something that should be actively sought, not passively rejected. A robust learning management system with automated tracking tools is great, but the best part is the combination of energy and effort of the people behind the content delivery.
