LMS at SNC
Since 2009, St. Norbert College has been using Moodle as the primary learning management system (LMS) for students and faculty across campus. It has evolved from being a self-hosted solution, to being hosted by a number of different platform providers. Moodle enables faculty to share content, administer assessments and communicate with students. It is very customizable and was very beneficial during the lockdown in 2020 due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, causing students to leave campus and continue the rest of the semester remotely.
2003 LMS
Educator through Ucompass
Hosted through Ucompass
2009 LMS
Self- Hosted Moodle
Self-Hosted
2013 LMS
MoodleRooms
Hosted through MoodleRooms
2017 LMS
Moodle through EThink
Hosted through EThink
2020 LMS
Moodle through Open LMS
eThink acquired by Open LMS Hosted through Open LMS
LMS Marketshare
Learning Management Systems have been very widely used around the United States by Colleges and Universities since the late 1990’s. The following “squid diagram” shows the most recent market analysis of Learning Management Systems for U.S. and Canada. Highlights from this most recent version of the analysis include:
Canvas leads with 36% of US & Canadian higher ed institutions, followed by Moodle and Blackboard at 19%, and D2L at 14%.
Separating Open LMS (formerly known as Moodlerooms, and formerly owned by Blackboard but now by LTG Group) as its own line.
Peer, Aspirant, & Waicu Schools
As part of our research, we gathered data from our Peer and Aspirant schools, as well as schools belonging to the Wisconsin Association for Independent Colleges and Universities (WAICU) consortium. The following are graphs showing LMS usage from these schools in 2017, and 2022.
Peer schools include: Albion College, Central College, Goucher College, Gustavus Adolphus, Lake Forest, St. Mary’s, and Stonehill College
Peer schools were recently updated in 2023 and include: Augustana, Gustavus Adolphus, Hope, Knox, Lake Forest, St. Johns, St. Mary’s, Luther, St. Michaels, and Stonehill
Aspirant schools include: Augustana, Drew, Lawrence, Luther, Reed, St. John’s, Wooster, and Wheaton
WAICU schools include schools listed on the current member directory.
The Student experience
In November of 2022, a Student Moodle Survey was conducted. 234 students filled out the survey resulting in a 12% response rate, with roughly twice as many first-year students filling out the survey compared to students in the other classes. Students overwhelmingly indicated that Moodle is helpful to their learning, with an 85% response rate, and the majority of students (82%) use Moodle to keep track of their assignments.
67% of students found Moodle easy to navigate. Those that found it more difficult to navigate cited things like: variety of course layouts (too many), course materials difficult to find, and platform inconsistency (balancing Moodle, Google Classroom, Websites, etc) as some of the biggest challenges.
Things that students identified as being most helpful with Moodle include:
- Having one place where information is published (one stop shop).
- Electronic assignment submissions
- Task lists with due dates
- A gradebook updated in real time
Having a platform with a robust mobile app is important for today’s student. Anecdotally, we anticipated that few students were using the mobile app that works with our Moodle installation (OpenLMS). Our survey proved this to be true, with only 31% of students using the app.
In addition to conducting a survey, listening sessions were held with the Student Government Association, Student Athletic Advisory Council, President Council of greek and social groups, and student representatives from the Office of Academic Success, Support and Accessibility. These listening sessions affirmed the results of the survey but raised some additional requests that students are looking for in an LMS that include:
- Consistency in courses – platform and theme
- More faculty use
- Accurate grades
- Grade prediction
- Better calendar
- Better mobile app
- Training during orientation
- Lecture recording for athletes or students who are sick
LMS Usage Amidst The Pandemic
Like all colleges, St. Norbert saw an increase in usage of the LMS during and following the pandemic. We saw a significant spike in usage between March and April of 2020, when teaching shifted to being delivered completely online. While St. Norbert was uniquely fortunate to be able to return to in person classes in the fall of 2020 our LMS usage increased even more with the focus being on hi-flex learning to accommodate students in quarantine and isolation. This is when the college also acquired Zoom and Kaltura to support the recording of class sessions to better accommodate students through the pandemic. This usage remained steady throughout the year. There was also not a spring break in 2021, thus you will not see the drastic dip in usage during the month of March like you see in other years.
While the usage has dipped slightly following 20-21, research shows, along with SNC data, that increased usage and demand for a robust LMS are here to stay.
