As I am no longer a classroom teacher, I was having a bit of a hard time coming up with a focus for my LMS. When doing some research about the benefits of using an LMS, I found the following quote to be most helpful:
"Look at the LMS as an overall strategy rather than just a tool."
After taking that into consideration, I was able to have a more focused approach to developing my LMS. I decided that I would use my LMS as a "bulletin board". I will be posting assignments, announcements, and resources that the students of the program I oversee can view and complete to show understanding of newly implemented policies and information needing to be shared.
I have decided to use Google Classroom as my LMS. The current, and only, issue that I am having is the inability to invite/add users outside of my domain. Though this wouldn't necessarily be a problem, as all of the students I would be adding to the class are within my domain; sharing it with my professor and peers of my graduate course is impossible. I have resorted to taking screenshots and sharing my posts that way.
I see the importance of using an LMS in the classroom, especially as the push, or rather the path towards technology implementation in education is rapidly growing. The idea of a "flipped classroom" is supported with the use of an LMS, as it allows students to access lessons, videos, and activities out of the classroom; allowing the in-class focus to be on sharing and review.
