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New Admin to OL?

What is an LMS?

LMS = Learning Management System

An LMS is a combination of a bunch of tools that are used to share learning resources with students.  Within a typical LMS, you'll also get quizzes, gradebooks, messaging, discussion boards, tracking, and other tools that you can use with your students.  The big advantage of an LMS is that ALL of these items are integrated into a single secure environment, so you're not sending your students to multiple sites to find various learning tools.
 
Common LMS's:
    • D2L (Brightspace) - what we use for eSchool23.
    • Moodle - what we used to use for eSchool23 (prior to 2023).
    • Canvas - a popular LMS in other parts of the world.
    • Is Google Classroom an LMS?  It's similar, but lacks the features that most users would deem integral to a true LMS.

In 2022, the BC Ministry of Education & Childcare arranged a provincial deal with D2L, so that most school districts have decided to take advantage of this opportunity.   Historically (prior to 2022), Moodle was the most popular LMS in BC and there are some programs that still make use of Moodle.

To clarify, D2L is the company name, with D2L's LMS product being called "Brightspace."   Given that, you'll find that most people use the names interchangeably.
 
 

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Course Resources

An LMS is the structure to manage the course resources, and the majority of online courses offered to BC students are developed by BC districts through the WCLN.ca consortium.

The consortium started in 1999, when districts were looking for a way to offer online resources to students, but lacked the ability to design and build a full course catelogue within their own district.

As a consortium, the resources can be collectively made so that:

      • The costs were very resonable (each district chips in $4-10K per year and receives $300K+ worth of development).
      • Topic experts can be carefully sourced from all of the districts.
      • Programmers and media experts are hired to support development.
      • Development is facilitated to improve consistency and quality.
      • Teachers from the various districts can discuss resources, implementation, and improve their practice. 

Some districts personalize their WCLN courses by adding their own Intro Videos, as well as adjusting assignments or gradebooks to suit their needs.   As the Spero LTI system advances, it is becoming easier for teachers to customize various aspects of their courses.

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LTI Structure

LTI (Learning Tools Interoperability) is an education technology specification developed by the IMS Global Learning Consortium.

It allows an LMS (such as D2L, Moodle, or Canvas) to securely receive course content and tools from an external server.

Why does WCLN use LTI?
      • Courses are more up-to-date and students benefit immediately with new games, projects, videos, etc...
      • If one teacher reports an error, everybody benefits (as a consortium should).
      • Although reporting errors takes time, the individual effort to keep courses current is reduced.
      • Teacher ideas for improvement find their way to the Discussion Forum for conversation (Pro-D interactions). 
Spero LTI & Terminology

Rather than building/maintaining our own LTI system, we partner with Spero, who has been pushing ahead in the LTI universe for a number of years.   Their system aligns nicely with the goals of helping teachers maintain strong courses easily and in a flexible way.

To help with communication, please note this terminology:

      • The icons that you click in your course are called Lessons.
      • Within each Lesson, there are a number of Readings.
      • Each Reading has an identifier as a link in the bottom-left.

 

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Student Management

So, OL programs in BC will be using an LMS and MyEDBC, to serve their students.

A gap exists between these two systems that most OL programs find extremely time-consuming for administrators and teachers.   

The most common bridge for this gap is the WCLN SMS, which is a collaborative project where districts chip-into the project, enabling a continuously improving code base.   We contract Two Story Robot (TSR) to look after the programming and hosting of this system.

The SMS is an optional addition to WCLN membership that comes with the yearly extra contribution costs.   All money contibuted for the SMS is used for ongoing maintenance and development.


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Staff Accounts on WCLN.ca

The WCLN site is intended to be available for any staff from a member district.   As such, any staff can make an account on the site using the green button in the top-right of the site, using staff email address.

Some classroom teachers use the site for helping with interpretation of the curriculum and/or coming up with ideas for their students.

Teachers cannot use the WCLN.ca site for students.  If a teacher is wanting to use a course resource with their students, then they need to talk to their local admin about getting a copy of the course built for them on their local district server.   

If a teacher using the full resources, then they will want to:

    1. Go to the Discussion Forum and subscribe to the forums related to your course(s).   Otherwise, you will misout on updates and related discussions.
    2. If you want access to teacher keys, you can find (as a Confirmed Teacher) at the bottom of the Discussion Forums.   
    3. You will need to set the passwords in your course (see: WCLN.ca > Teacher Support).

Each district/program will have one (or sometimes two) Download Techs.    These folks are typically the technical leads within their program and will install courses for teachers.    As such, Download Techs have access to course downloads (found at the bottom of the Discussion Forums).   The Download Techs are assigned by the OL Program admin.


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Non-OL Use of WCLN Resources

WCLN member districts are welcome to use WCLN content both within their OL Programs AND within their local classroom, helping to support classroom teachers.

      • Successful incorporation of WCLN resources in districts includes:
      • Alternative education programs can be supported with WCLN resources.
      • Support teachers in school can use WCLN resources to adapt for students with health challenges.
      • Progressive classroom teachers can be more flexible (personalizing the learning) within their classrooms.

Incorporating the resource beyond your OL program is welcome, as long as the OL admin team takes responsiblity for:

      • Halting inappropriate use of the resources (uses where it would impact other teachers in the province and/or degrading the reputation of the WCLN consortium).
      • Use of the resources in an insecure situation.
      • Including the student count in your yearly membership.


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Last modified: Wednesday, 23 July 2025, 12:06 PM