Week 1: LMS Declaration

I will be using TalentLMS as my LMS. The rationale for this decision is that this LMS contains many interactive elements such as quizzes with a variety of question types (free text, drag and drop, multiple choice), discussion boards, and videos. I want my course to be self-paced with some discussion prompts, so this LMS fits this need nicely. I also want to experiment with some gamification in my course and believe that this LMS does a strong job with showing learners their progress in the course, which can be very motivating for learners. The messaging tools for learners to other learners along with instructors, will be a nice addition to answer any questions. Plus, because my course is around co-teaching, I like that learners can collaborate with their co-teacher(s) in this platform. I also like the certificates that learners receive at the end of the course in TalentLMS and the surveys that learners can take about how effective elements of the course have been. Finally, I envision schools potentially wanting to buy my course, so TalentLMS is a nice option for creating courses that clients can purchase. I have experience with Rise.com and Canvas, so I am also personally interested in exploring a new LMS.

My audience can expect an interactive course. There will be frequent checks for understanding throughout the course their engaging features such as drag and drops, multiple choice questions, and free text reflections. I will also be providing discussions through the course and potentially in small groups so that learners can collaborate with their co-teacher(s) or people with a similar role (i.e. special education teachers). Collaboration with co-teachers will be important as learners will be collaborating on a co-teaching planning document, so this LMS will allow for learners to do this directly in the course instead of having to use other means of communication. My course will be easy to navigate for learners with clear units that are completed in order, which is a strong component of TalentLMS' platform. Another component of my course will be the use of instructional videos, which I can easily put into this LMS.