Tech Tip: Branch Out
TECH TIP
BRANCH OUT
If you enjoy long lectures, chances are you’re an auditory learner. What if you’re a visual learner who needs charts, graphs, and videos—and these are missing from the lecture? Or what if you’re a hands-on learner who performs best when you are involved in a project and can work with others? Your two-year college may have a course management system (CMS) or a learning management system (LMS). A CMS or LMS is a Web site that boosts your ability to connect with your instructors, classmates, and the material you’re studying both in class and out.
THE PROBLEM
You don’t understand what a CMS/LMS is, or have no clue how to use one, and you’re skeptical.
THE FIX
With an open mind and patience, this technology can work for you. Figure out your learning style, for classes that complement your strengths and find ways to adapt to teaching techniques that lie outside your comfort zone.
HOW TO DO IT
Think of all the advantages that a CMS/LMS offers like ways to help you connect with your instructors, your classmates, and the material. It lets you keep track of your grades and assignments. It offers a digital drop box for safely submitting your work. It also makes a lot of fun things possible, like online discussion forums and interactive group projects. These will allow you to do things like sketching ideas on whiteboards that other students can view or even collaborating on written assignments in real time. Some CMSs/LMSs make videos, recorded lectures, or even your instructor’s lecture notes available. The basic ingredients of a CMS/LMS—video, audio, and text—appeal to different learning styles.
- If you’re an auditory learner, you’ll love CMS/LMS audio recordings. To get the most from texts, read your notes and textbook passages aloud as you study. (You can even record them to play back to yourself.) While you’re at it, listen to audiobooks and join a study group for discussions. To get the most from video clips, listen to them once, and then again with your eyes closed.
- If you’re a visual learner, you’ll love CMS/LMS videos, pictures, maps, and graphs. To get the most from audio recordings and text, take notes and illustrate them, playing up key points with colored highlighters, pictures, or symbols. Or create a graph or chart to display important concepts.
- If you’re a hands-on learner, you’ll enjoy CMS/LMS labs and group projects. To get the most from audio, video, and text, sit in the front row in class take notes, and read things aloud as you study. Build models or spreadsheets. Take field trips to gather experience. Get creative!
KNOW THIS
Once you learn how to log into the system, do it often. CMS/LMS use varies from one instructor to another. If you’re having trouble logging in or figuring out your username and password, ask your instructor for help.
Figure how much online activity you can handle. If you sign up for face-to-face classes, you might only use a CMS/LMS for a few things, like submitting assignments or swapping essays for peer review. If you enroll in a hybrid course, a course that uses both face-to-face and online instruction, your instructor may post outside reading material or create online discussions on your CMS. In a fully online course, you might do everything on the CMS/LMS, including taking exams. Before you register, think about which type of course suits your schedule and learning style. Not every student can be successful in an online course. You need to have the required technological knowledge, systems, and tools. Taking an online course demands time management and discipline as online courses have no scheduled meeting times.