Award-winning learning management system (LMS) developer itslearning, is updating its user interface and onboarding processes to ensure that K-12 teachers and students will find using the system easier than ever. Teachers will be better able to manage their content and resources regardless of whether the material is stored within or outside of the LMS. New features provide “to-do” guidance for students so that they feel supported in their learning. Teachers also have onscreen guidance as they first navigate through the different sections of the LMS. Schools will have the option of piloting these new features this summer.
User Interface
The itslearning planner now serves as a hub that connects files, resources and activities stored inside and outside of the LMS. The planner makes the right content available for students at the right time, in the right context.
“This type of planner is unique to the itslearning LMS,” said Arne Bergby, CEO of itslearning. “We can readily describe it as the collector, the hub or even the presentation layer for content.”
As part of that “presentation layer,” the planner now contains a new plan viewer that allows students to see the learning goals, resources and activities in a plan as a “step-through” sequence and that allows them to easily navigate through the resources and activities that their teacher has set. The itslearning LMS has also brought the planner’s resources and activities columns together to facilitate teachers’ mixing resources and activities in the best sequence. “Play Plan will allow students to manage their tasks in the right context of resources,” said Bergby. “And, of course, on every device.”
The LMS has also integrated homework tags into its task lists; assignment tool and test tool so that students can easily see which tasks or activities are designated as homework. Also, when students log in, they will now see a “This Week” module that outlines what they should be doing for that particular week and that also features homework tags.
On the teacher side, a new Quick Add feature makes adding tasks, assignments, tests, files and plans even easier. This new task took can be used to create homework and quickly assign it to the whole class, small groups or any individual student.
Onboarding
New onscreen support will guide teachers new to the LMS through core tasks. For example, when those teachers are setting up a course, the system provides a checklist of all the essential tasks involved. And when they click on a list item, an arrow automatically points to the tool or resource that they should click on next, so they immediately understand where to go and how to fulfill each task.
“Different areas of the system, such as the library or the mobile app, have their own onboarding support, but this checklist provides the essential steps to use the platform from day one,” said Bergby. “At itslearning, our customers’ experience with our system is what we think about 24/7/365,” concluded Bergby. “
