According to the NMC Horizon Report, (nmc.org, 2017) , key trends accelerating technology adoption in Higher Education are blended learning designs, increase in collaborative learning, a growing focus on measuring learning, redesigning learning spaces, advancing cultures of innovation and deeper learning approaches. As these trends emerge over the next one to five or more years, use of emerging technology will be driven as these trends gain more and more traction in Higher Education.One emerging technology that is projected to be widely adopted within the next five years is Next Generation LMS. I was introduced to Next Gen LMS this week, and was pretty piqued about my introduction to the concept.
An LMS is a Virtual Learning Environment, such as Blackboard or Canvas, that consists of software and web applications as a vehicle for the delivery of online course materials as well as the tracking and reporting of student participation. It is typically where students access syllabi and readings, submit assignments, check grades, and contact peers and instructors (nmc.org, 2017). Faculty and advising personnel monitor student engagement and performance at individual and course levels.
Next-generation LMS, also called next-generation digital learning environments (NGDLE), speaks to a more flexible type of LMS that can be personalized, and play a greater role in the assessment of learning. Traditional LMS platforms do not currently allow learners to access resources from within them, so typically information about where the learner is going online to supplement learning is not captured to make the LMS grow more intuitive or useful for helping others to learn the best sources of deeper learning among learners. For example, more faculty and students leverage tools such as Google Apps, WordPress, Slack, and iTunes U(nmc.org 2017), but these apps are generally accessed outside of LMS. Next-Generation LMS will likely lean more towards capitalizing on what is being called learning ecosystems where access and learner usage can be tracked within the LMS to help further analysis of learning itself.
This is pretty exciting stuff! An example of how that Next Generation LMS technology could potentially be utilized in an instructional environment is almost in functionality like RSS where there will eventually be an aggregation of the most useful resources that students use for any given learning task or assignment. This would allow for truly much deeper analysis of learning. The learning theory that I consider to be the likely foundation for the implementation of this emerging technology relates to Vygotsky's Social Development theory. Vygotsky’s theory is one of the foundations of Constructivism. It asserts three major themes regarding social interaction, the more knowledgeable other, and the zone of proximal development.
More specifically the use of resources outside of the LMS platform would allow learners to organically integrate the use of Google Apps, Wiki platforms, blogs, etc as that MKO (More Knowledgeable Other) The MKO refers to anyone who has a better understanding or a higher ability level than the learner, with respect to a particular task, process, or concept. The zone of proximal development for any learner is this range of activities that are difficult but not impossible and which you can do if you have a little bit of help. And in Next Gen LMS this help and guidance, can lend structure, and help advance the learner so that that zone of proximal development moves into increasingly more challenging activities and material (Laureate Education n.d.).
Juliet
Sources:
~Transcript for “Theory of Social Cognitive Development” (Laureate Education n.d.)
~The New Media Consortium Publications: http://www.nmc.org/publications