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"Abstract: The course management system (CMS) reinforces the status quo and hinders substantial teaching and learning innovation in higher education. It does so by imposing artificial time limits on learner access to course content and other learners, privileging the role of the instructor at the expense of the learner, and limiting the power of the network effect in the learning process. The open learning network (OLN)-a hybrid of the CMS and the personal learning environment (PLE)-is proposed as an alternative learning technology environment with the potential to leverage the affordances of the Web to dramatically improve learning. Author Name(s): Jon Mott David Wiley"

R. Stannard reviews the CMS Edmodo platform, which let's you set up a virtual learning environment for students quickly and easily, and it's free. Edmodo is a wonderful for creating a class community, as well as setting assignments, creating quizzes, polls, and rubrics.

This is more detailed on things available at the Edmodo CMS site.

Edmodo is a social networking site that can work as an LMS or CMS. It has a number of features, including mobile apps that seem to make it superior to more complex systems. Recommended by teachers I know, and specifically oriented to educational contexts.

Excellent explanatory article covering various options, including Cloud storage and how to get around its problems with an app or QR, creating a bookmarked Landing Page, and using features of a CMS, such as Edmodo or Schoology. Guest post from Beth Holland of EdTechTeacher.org. Comparable work-arounds would be available for non-Apple smart tablets as well.

S.L. Davis promotes the idea that "students should be learning note-taking as a way of organizing data and curating information they need for a defined purpose. Students should sift and cull, summarize and synthesize. Students should learn how to take notes in ways that correlate with real-life situations. Finally, students should master the skill of making meaning from their notes and finding the best ways to share that meaning with others."

"CK-12.org is a non-profit organization dedicated to education. Their website offers a large collection of resources for students and teachers like Brain Genie which I previously shared. The bulk of their resources are math and science centered where students can learn about chemistry, physics, algebra, and geometry just to name four. They also offer resources for other content areas as well including history, English, and SAT prep. Their website is free to join and offers a wealth of learning resources and activities. Their site offers articles, quizzes, interactive lessons, videos and students can keep track of their learning as they complete lessons and activities and members can upload their own resources to the site as well. " This looks like a good attempt to crowd-source materials for K-12 in the U.S. Could have uses for ESL/EFL, particularly with content- and project-based learning.

A list of 100 links to great tools with an attractive pictoral interface. Includes InstaGrok, SchoolTube, etc., with a brief abstract telling about each one. Unfortunately, there is no organzing principle to help you explore them. Scan and test.

A good review of both LMS tools. Winning for me is Schoology's iPad connections and, especially, it's good was to create and thread discussions (with embedded media). Teachers can also see which students participate by using a filter, and share discussions across classes/courses.

Although this article is about the Common Core State Standards in the U.S. (similar to the European Union's common standards), it discusses how to apply the standards in ways that promote the integration of technology as well as active and meaningful class participation -- good advice for all teachers.

"Students use PeerWise to create and to explain their understanding of course related assessment questions, and to answer and discuss questions created by their peers." Register yourself as teacher and then sign in your students. Instructors easily view student participation. The site has screencasts to show what students do and what instructors think about their work.

This article makes the point that Moodle just isn't that good, and recommends a handful of really great LMSs that might work for you. Especially noteworthy is Frog Trade, which is an adaptable interface much friendlier for K-6 or K-12 than Moodle.

What makes a great "social LMS"? " Does it provide a means to rate and prioritize the social learning interactions? Does it allow for evaluating the effectiveness of the social learning experience? Does it integrate with and enhance an organization's existing system? Does it track the history and outcomes of the social learning process? Does it allow for open collaboration and knowledge sharing? Does it improve productivity? Does it make learning easier?" All the reasons whya traditional LMS may not work well in an educational setting. Can Moodle adapt?

Penzu was a nice and easily managed blog space. Now they have created Penzu Classroom that lets a teacher manage assignments, make inline comments (highlight/pop-up) on writing, tag student work, and share entires with students online and with email; students can give feedback and discuss each others entries. This look to be highly functional and would be well worth a try, especially for a teacher just getting into elearning.

India shows the way to leapfrog and share infrastructure

R. Byrne discusses this tool in several posts and includes the how-to video in this blog post. Socrative is useful for a flipped or online classroom as a feedback system. Students sign in to a virtual class where you can post questions. "If you haven't tried Socrative, it's a free service that replaces the need for expensive "clicker" feedback systems. Socrative works on any device that has an Internet connection. Students sign into a virtual classroom in which you can post questions and they can reply either anonymously or with their names depending upon how you want to use the service."

R. Byrne offers an overview of OTUS, a mobile learning environment to distribute assignments, quizzes, polls, readings, etc., to iPads. It can now also be used with browers on laptops and Chromebooks. The Otus YouTube channel has detailed directions for how to use the various elements of the service.

"Free mathematics software for learning and teaching " - downloadable

Yet another course management system. Might be worth a try. Claims to combine social networking with learning management, and has a very nice interface. And it's free.

A nice instructional video by Michael Coughlan. Links from this page will take you to other tutorials by Michael.