UNIT 5: Types of Online Learning Tools

Different courses use different tools, but there’s a lot of similarities. You should expect to encounter some, if not all, of these types of online learning tools.

5.1. Learning management platforms

The most important thing to have for running an online course is a strong learning platform. Many universities already use these, even for their in-person courses, as they’re a great way of sharing resources and accepting submissions. Programs like Canvas allow teachers to upload files, host discussions, send reminders, and accept work. Ideally, you want one that’s optimised for mobile use and many students, will access it through their smartphones.

Probably the most used LMS is “Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment” (Moodle). Open Source e-Learning Software Moodle is a course management system (CMS) – a software package designed to help educators create quality online courses and manage learner outcomes. Such e-learning systems are sometimes also called Learning Management Systems (LMS), Virtual Learning Environments (VLE) and Learning Content Management Systems (LCMS). Students need only a browser (e.g., IE, Firefox, Safari) to participate in a Moodle course. There are lot of materials to master yourself in Moodle, but first you should check the official site.

https://moodle.com/. For taking a course you should use  https://moodle.academy/ .

5.2. Video conference solutions

If your course involves any kind of discussion, seminar, or one-on-one sessions, then it’s worth ensuring you have good video conferencing solutions in place. It’s important to check what functionality you want – do you want auto-captions, breakout rooms, and the ability to manually mute people? Security is a huge part of this, too, as you don’t want your students’ data to be compromised or interrupt your meetings. It’s worth investing in appropriate hardware (good lighting, a good camera) to make sure to look your best in video calls too.

5.3. Messaging apps

Not every teacher will want to invest in a messaging app, especially those that rely on email, but it’s worth considering. This is especially useful if you want to encourage asynchronous communication between classmates since having a messaging app allows discussions to happen throughout the day. These apps are beneficial when they can be incorporated directly into the learning platform.

5.4. Design tools and presentation packages

Not every teacher is going to want to design their own resources, but many wills. Having access to good design tools is a great way to avoid sending out dozens of black and white text documents, instead of using infographics and worksheets. Presentation packages are helpful here, too, especially for those who prefer to share slides rather than recordings of themselves.

5.5. Interactive activities

This is an inclusive category and overlaps a little with the next one. Whilst they’re useful for all forms of online learning, it’s beneficial for younger students who aren’t prepared to sit and listen to extensive lectures. It includes:

• Quizzes
• Games
• Practical projects (i.e., coding projects)
• Simulations
• Augmented reality apps
• Read alongwith texts

5.6. Resource collections

In a way, interactive activities like those above are a subset of this – resource collections. Exactly as it sounds, this is a curated collection of resources that you can either use as part of a lesson or provide access to for further reading and homework. Relevant resources include:

• Educational videos and animations
• Audiobooks
• Free to access texts
• Journal collections (especially if your students have free university access to them)
• Worksheets
• Multimedia posters
• Printables
• Online study materials like StuDocu

Just as you would have these resources on hand in a classroom, having resource collections to draw upon makes online study much easier, and means there’s less pressure on teachers to create everything from scratch.

5.7. Shared storage

If there are specific resources you want your students to access that aren’t usually hosted online – perhaps a high-quality scan book chapter, or a self-recorded video – then you need some way to share it with them. Rather than manually emailing it to everyone, cloud storage platforms allow you to upload it, and then students can download it as needed.

Even with learning management platforms, there can be file limits so it may be worth investing in a separate storage solution if you plan on sharing a lot of things.

5.8. Recording tools.

Pre-recorded lectures require a different set of tools for video conferences. If you want to record yourself, you’ll need a camera (though a built-in webcam can do the trick if need be) as well as software to capture and edit the files. If you want to have audio over the top of a presentation, you’ll need audio capture software and editing tools.

Figuring this out can be challenging, especially with the Covid-19 pandemic forcing academics to adjust to online learning very quickly. It’s always worth seeing if you can find (or ideally, be provided with) training to improve these new skills.

5.9. Practical Assessment 

Take this into consideration:

• Do you plan to use quizzes as assessment tool?
• Do you plan to use homework from students to be sent as assignment?
• Do you plan to use videos made by you or students?
• Do you need to grade students, and to have feedback from their work?
• How to manage practical projects (handcrafting, coding, vet skills?)

Take this in account while choosing the type of platform!