Social media killed the LMS: Re-imagining the traditional learning management system in the age of blogs and online social networks

Danielle M. Stern; Michael D.D. Willits

doi:10.1108/S2044-9968(2011)0000001020

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Cutting-edge Technologies in Higher Education

ISSN: 2044-9968
Series editor(s): Charles Wankel

Subject Area: Education

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Social media killed the LMS: Re-imagining the traditional learning management system in the age of blogs and online social networks

Document Information:
Title:	Social media killed the LMS: Re-imagining the traditional learning management system in the age of blogs and online social networks
Author(s):	Danielle M. Stern, Michael D.D. Willits
Volume:	1 Editor(s): Charles Wankel ISBN: 978-0-85724-649-3 eISBN: 978-0-85724-650-9
Citation:	Danielle M. Stern, Michael D.D. Willits (2011), Social media killed the LMS: Re-imagining the traditional learning management system in the age of blogs and online social networks, in Charles Wankel (ed.) Educating Educators with Social Media (Cutting-edge Technologies in Higher Education, Volume 1), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp.347-373
DOI:	10.1108/S2044-9968(2011)0000001020 (Permanent URL)
Publisher:	Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Article type:	Chapter Item
Abstract:	The advent of Web 2.0 technologies invites educators to fundamentally rethink the systems we choose to manage our courses. Although many scholars have examined the democratizing functions of online and hybrid learning (Hall, 1999; Kibby, 2006; McCormick, 2006) and offered case studies of successful social media integration (Dunlap & Lowenthal, 2009), a need exists to theorize about how faculty and students actually envision the changing role of learning technologies, particularly the LMS and now social media, in their everyday education. Grounded in critical pedagogy and building from a brief history of the learning management system and new media learning technologies, we examine which features have been most beneficial to the shared learning experience between faculty and students. Through this discussion we provide a working model of a re-imagined learning technology platform that integrates the best tools of the LMS with the more shared, democratizing features of social media in common use among today's students and faculty. We envision a shift from that of a management system to a dynamic platform built from the ground-up to integrate traditional course technologies such as grade books and testing, with the open, collaborative nature of social media. Toward this end, the chapter includes examples of combining Wordpress, Buddypress, and Twitter into a tri-fold approach that reaches beyond the physical classroom walls to build a community of learning where students are the educators via content creation and critical analysis of cultural institutions.