Abstract:
Learning management systems have the capabilities
of creating, fostering, delivering, and facilitating learning at
anytime and anywhere. Although these systems have allowed
students to engage in online discussions and collaborative
activities, many academics believe that this online space has
essentially remained a content repository. However, the fact that
many academics simply use a learning management system as a
content dumping site cannot be generalized across the board for
all academics. No, such a blanket statement would prove to be a
grave injustice to those few academics that are trying to improve
their teaching abilities and promote student engagement and
learning, especially through using a variety of tools which have
been seamlessly integrated into many of these systems today. The
purpose of this paper is to highlight how an academic in electrical
engineering is still effectively using an institutional learning
management system to promote student engagement through the
use of four major features that are currently available in this
platform. An ex post facto study is employed along with
descriptive statistics involving quantitative analysis of the
collected data. Results indicate that both academics and students
engaged with all four primary features of the learning
management system. However, the predominant features were
accessing content followed by completing online assessments. A
significant correlation was established between these two features
and the final grade marks awarded to students at the end of the
course. These results tend to suggest that some academics are
widening their horizons and creating interactive experiences for
students to enhance their learning. It is hoped that their
experience and enthusiasm in using a variety of educational
technologies will rub off on fellow colleagues to the greater benefit
of students in higher education.
