Exceed the Limits of LMS.

Many higher education institutions currently use learning management systems (LMS) to organize courses and track their students’ progress. But the challenges with communicating still exist in and out of the classroom.

Research data shows that 48% of college students feel not engaged with instructors, and 41% feel a lack of interaction with other students. We know engaging students in class and maintaining active communication are critical but challenging. In this article, we would like to discuss why you should use a communication platform to supplement your LMS.

LMS and Communication Platform: Basics and Differences

LMS is a software or web based technology built to handle all aspects of the learning process. It allows users to plan, organize, and deliver their own course content online and track students’ learning progress. A communication platform is a software solution that facilitates external and internal messaging. For educational use, it helps build learning environments that foster growth and collaboration through communication.

LMS and communication platforms are similar in terms of providing a learning environment to educators and learners, but they are different in some critical aspects. The main difference between LMS and communication platforms is the purpose of each platform, which differentiates their functionalities. LMS focuses more on course management from the perspective of the educator, whereas the communication platform takes a learner-centered approach.

3 Reasons Why You Should Integrate a Communication Platform into Your LMS

Many people are under the impression that an LMS is sufficient on its own. However, students cannot communicate well with instructors and peers due to the often limited features of most LMSs. LMS offers its own channels for messaging, but they are not specialized for enhancing interactive communication. For example, Canvas has different channels for communication, such as discussion board, chat, and inbox conversation, but they are scattered in multiple places and not made to be interactive. Since communication is one of the essential components of teaching and learning, communication platforms can play a key role in offering a more enriching educational experience than an LMS.

1. Increase student engagement

Communication platforms have specialized features that millennials and post-millennials can easily engage with. For example, CLASSUM, our communication-centered learning platform, has a chat-based interface where everything — asking questions, sharing links, uploading images, or attaching files, for example — is a part of classroom communication. CLASSUM also offers SUMojis, which are our own emojis, as a way to express positive reactions. It makes classroom communication a lot more integrated, interactive, and comfortable for students than an LMS can. Another unique feature of CLASSUM is the option to post anonymously. CLASSUM thus provides a safe environment for students who may feel uncomfortable asking or answering questions in class. Of course, admins can still check the real names.

2. Gain learning insights from communication

LMSs provide data regarding student information and grading, such as assignment progress, test scores, and attendance. The scope of the analyzed data should go beyond the LMS and include deeper insights about the individual student and course. CLASSUM provides data based on learning behavior and language that can produce actionable insights and improve your course, such as the questions students most commonly raise and the difficulties they face. Analysis based on behavioral and language data leads to proactive response from educators, adapting to their better understanding of the courses and learners. Through CLASSUM’s thorough data analysis, it is possible to quickly identify and help learners with low motivation or confidence.

3. Save time by organizing redundant questions

With the help of a communication platform such as CLASSUM, students can access past conversations using the archive feature. All the Q&As, discussions, and shared materials are archived and categorized in separate channels, so students can easily find answers to questions that have already been answered in the past. Moreover, when asking new questions, students don’t have to wait for the instructor’s response since classmates can also answer each other’s questions. CLASSUM’s AI assistant, Dot, helps instructors by grouping and recommending similar or redundant questions. It is a great way to save educators’ time by replying automatically to those who are asking common questions. As a result, educators can focus on what matters.

4. Design your own way of teaching and learning

Learning takes place in a variety of ways. In CLASSUM, conversations can be organized into various categories and forms depending on topics or context. You can create CLASSUM spaces for different learning modes, both formal and casual, self-paced and cohort-based, or instructor-led and learner-centered. CLASSUM helps people create their own way of learning. An email or invitation code is all you need to invite external instructors or guest speakers to host various educational events. By integrating CLASSUM into your LMS, you can easily set up a space for professional development, mentoring, research projects, and community events, whereas an LMS on its own is solely built for managing instructor-led, class-based learning.

Can CLASSUM Be Used On Its Own?

Because CLASSUM is an all-in-one learning platform, it can also be used without a separate LMS. It offers user-friendly LMS features such as announcement, live session, and VOD, and quizzes in addition to specialized communication features so that anyone can use it for their teaching and learning as a substitute for a LMS. To conduct coursework in an online or hybrid setting, you can easily host a live Zoom session directly in CLASSUM or use the auto-saved live session feature as a recorded class. You can easily manage multiple courses by sharing material in one place and gaining insight from class data (e.g., number of posts) and student data (e.g., attendance, learning progression). With CLASSUM, it is also possible to link directly to external tools such as Kahoot, Padlet, and Gather to enhance student engagement.

Summary

Communication platforms such as CLASSUM allow instructors to create and maintain a classroom environment where all learners are connected and engaged in learning. CLASSUM can be integrated into your LMS and provides an enhanced level of communication that most LMS do not include. With CLASSUM, a class is no longer just a space for the transfer of knowledge. Instead, it becomes a forum where students ask, answer, and discuss creative ideas with each other.

Learn more about CLASSUM 👉 www.classum.com

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