Learning management systems: are online students at a disadvantage?

Learning management systems are the wave of the future. With distance education on the rise, many learning management systems such as Vista and Blackboard Learn (BBLearn) have allowed for not only distance education to have its own classroom but also allowed for hybrid students to become familiar and aware of the possibilities of online education.

For some schools, learning management systems are not widely used; however, instructors are creating websites and using them to present information to students. Other schools have adopted using a learning management system such as Vista, BBLearn, or their own type of Virtual Campus. Whether a school chooses to use an instructor made website or popular learning management system, there are pros and cons.

I have been fortunate enough to experience the best and worst of each online learning environment. During my undergraduate studies at The University of Texas at San Antonio, I had instructors use their own personal websites to share class material and as a collaborative learning area for students wanting to continue discussion outside of class. This being my first introduction to any form of online learning, I was hesitant to jump in and take charge of my own learning. Neither was it a requirement nor as established form of collaboration with other students and the instructor in order to pass the class. It was simple enough to download class materials, print, and take it to class when needed, but when it came to collaboration, postings were similar to leaving a comment on a blog. Very few of my instructors looked toward hybrid learning as a teaching method, and thus my experience with online learning was cut short.

After graduating with a BA in English in 2005, I entertained the possibility of returning to school for a higher degree, but at the time, local universities were not offering a degree in which I was interested. I began to weigh the pros and cons of the degree I really wanted to the degrees in which I has access and came across a revelation: distance learning. Online universities such as Walden and University of Phoenix were widely advertised, but to me, they did not seem credible. After many hours of online research, I was able to come across a distance learning program at Northern Arizona University. NAU offered everything I wanted: my degree of choice and the time and flexibility to attend class from the comfort of my own home (especially since I live in Texas). With this new experience I was introduced to Vista as my classroom. In the beginning, I was nervous to learn in an online environment with a system that I was unfamiliar with no orientation or how-to guide. I needed to explore the system and learn how to use the classroom on my own. Thankfully, I am a self-learner and am determined to learn on my own terms. But, it makes me think about students who are not familiar with Vista—did I not have a “how-to” guide because I was a distance learner? Do students enrolled in a hybrid class have an orientation on how to use the system? In my opinion, students are put at a disadvantage for not being given instruction on how to enter their classroom. From the beginning, unless you are familiar with Vista, you, as a student, are already at a disadvantage.

NAU has since stopped using Vista as their main learning management system and has switched to BBLearn. In many ways, this system allows for better group collaboration with the use of chat rooms, but at the same time, the class toolbar is set up by the instructor. Instead of an easy click on the toolbar for My Grades or Mail, many pages need to be scrolled through unless the instructor has placed this on the toolbar.

Distance education is on the rise all across the world and it is important for everyone to have the knowledge and expertise in learning management systems prior to enrolling in an online class. Vista and Blackboard Learn seem to be a fundamentally and commonly used management system across higher education. With that, intuitions should have “how-to” guides for students first enrolling in online education. Without the technology of how to work the classroom, the potential to succeed becomes limited.