Effective Design and Delivery of Learning Materials in Learning Management Systems - Web-Based Engineering Education: Critical Design and Effective Tools - page 175

Chapter 13
Effective Design and Delivery of
Learning Materials in Learning
Management Systems

Mehregan Mahdavi
University of Guilan, Iran

Mohammad H. Khoobkar
Islamic Azad University of Lahijan, Iran

ABStrAct

Learning Management Systems (LMS) enable effective design and delivery of learning materials. They
are Web-based software applications used to plan, implement, and assess a specific learning process.
LMSs allow learners to connect to and interact with the educational material through the Internet. They
enable tools for authors (instructors) to design learning materials that include text, html, audio, video,
etc. They also enable learner activity management in the learning process. Moreover, they provide
tools for effective and efficient assessment of the learners. This chapter explores learning management
systems and their key components that enable instructors organize and monitor learning activities of
the learners. It also introduces the authoring features provided by such systems for preparing learning
material. Moreover, it presents assessment methods and tools that enable evaluation of the learners in
the learning process. Furthermore, existing challenges and issues in this field are explored.

IntroductIon

way to create and deliver content, monitor learn-
ers' participation, and assess their performance.
Constructive learning is enhanced by interac-
tion with instructors and classmates, rather than
simply interacting with content (Alexander, 2008).
As a result, learners build new thoughts, ideas
and concepts making use of their knowledge and
experience (Beatty, 2003). An important aspect of
constructive learning is that it gives responsibility
and control over the learnt material to the learner.

Learning Management Systems (LMS) are Web-
based software applications used to plan, imple-
ment, and assess a specific learning process. They
enable learners to use the learning material at a time
and place of their choosing. Typically, a learning
management system provides an instructor with a