It is easy to think that Learning Management Systems (LMS) are only useful for fully online courses or those specifically designed to be “hybrid.” If you teach a class that regularly meets in person, why would you consider using an LMS? The answer is that online tools available in an LMS like Desire2Learn offer a one-stop solution for the out-of-class support students are expecting.

A 2009 survey conducted by Michigan State University’s Virtual University Design and Technology (VuDAT) group suggests that student expectations about what makes a good “in-person” course have changed with the increasing availability of online tools:

• Outstanding “in-person” courses are expected (by both students and instructors) to incorporate a wide range of online-support and online-learning activities.
• In-person course instructors are expected to organize and link to online external readings and relevant external Web sites, interactive problem sets, simulations, and games.
• Instructors expect and are expected to structure and guide online discussions and blogs outside of class in addition to their teaching role during the in-person class time. Students want to receive regular e-mails from their instructors, to be able to access syllabi, grades, and class lists outside of class, and ideally, to view slide shows or lectures presented during live class online.

A helpful visualization of the survey results is below, and the full report is available here.

These survey results interest me because they are consistent with my own expectations for a face-to-face course, which have been influenced by my experience as an online student and online instructor. I am interested in the factors that influenced the survey participants’ expectations and how many of them have experienced formal online learning. As an online student and instructor, I had access to most of the highly rated online tools mentioned in the survey. I cannot imagine taking or teaching a course, including a face-to-face course, without this robust online support.

To meet student expectations about online support, an instructor might employ a range of separate tools. For example, she could use an online gradebook tool, create a Web site, maintain a public Google calendar, organize student e-mail addresses in a mail client, and create a blog or message board for discussions. All of these tools would be scattered across multiple URLS, with various logins, degrees of security, and kinds of technical support.

In contrast to this ad hoc approach, a Learning Management System provides a central, organized location for online tools and resources—behind a secure login and with institutional support. If additional tools are needed, they can be linked from this one site and embedded in the context of the course. Use of the LMS relieves the individual instructor of many responsibilities and provides students with a streamlined experience of online course resources.

As DePaul transitions to a new LMS this year, those involved in the design and delivery of in-person courses should consider the available tools and how they can be used to support student learning beyond the classroom walls. Bill Gates advocates this combination of online support for in-person classes, in his 2010 Annual Letter: “So far technology has hardly changed formal education at all. But a lot of people, including me, think this is the next place where the Internet will surprise people in how it can improve things—especially in combination with face-to-face learning.”