TecHNiCaL PaPEr

Online Social Community – The Emerging Trends Among University Malaysia Sabah Student

Alice Wong

BK07110372
College E, UMS
88999 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
Hand phone: 0168953096

Alcwong3096@live.com.my

Pamela Sia Jhong Siang

BK07110383
College E, UMS
88999 Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia
Hand phone: 0168084599

Pamela_sia@hotmail.com

ABSTRACT

In this paper, we describe the Online Social Community – Learning Management System (LMS), University Malaysia Sabah. We will go through the survival of LMS among the popular social networking websites, the challenges that LMS facing currently, and the suggestions for improving the LMS services.

KEYWORDS

Online social community, emerging trends, UMS, survival of LMS, challenges, and improvement

1.     INTRODUCTION

Learning Management System (LMS) is the term used to describe a server-based system that is designed to manage learning content and learner interactions. The LMS enables the learning content to be available online, allowing students to view and interact with learning materials through a web browser on essentially any computer operating system with browsing capability.

2.     SURVIVAL OF LMS AMONG THE POPULAR SOCIAL NETWORKING WEBSITES

In University Malaysia Sabah, LMS or Smart UMS is a familiar online social community among the lecturers and students. LMS is useful; there are several modules that can use by students and lecturers. Lecturers can post notices and messages pertaining to courses taught or announcement such as class cancel. Lectures can post and edit lecture notes. Lecturers can also include brief information about the course such as course outline, list of lecture topics, schedules, references and further readings, methods of assessment and contact information. Besides that, there is tutorial module for putting tutorial materials online.

As a student, user can download all the notes, assignment and tutorial material through the website.  Students also can post their assignments onto LMS if asking by lecturer. To access LMS, students need login username and password with their metric number.

Here comes out with a question, if all above task are done by manually, is it easy for lecturer and student? To get teaching material like lecturer notes from lecturer directly is easy, but if the large number of student want to get lecturer notes from lecturer, what problems will raise out? In my opinion, lecturer may busy with their work other than giving lectures, it is disturbing if students always come just for get lecturer notes. Moreover, students may wasting their time if lecturer not in room. To convenient students and easy to lecturer, it is more efficient that putting all notes, assignment, tutorial materials onto LMS and let student download from website.

Announcements and notices apprized also important among to students. This is because students can know the news such as class cancel, assignment submit due date, mid-term test date fully out through this functionality. It is efficiency for students to be conscious of latest news through LMS.

Furthermore, LMS also provide functionality of forum, chat, journal, lesson and workshop to let students evaluate and communicate between each other. Through this forum functionality, students can write message, send message and reply message which is a place to give students discuss, sharing ideas and opinions.

In UMS, there is free wireless connection (UMS-public) in any school even in library. It is easy to access internet everywhere as long as in UMS. So, LMS is convenient for students in that it is accessible through internet. Even there is other online social networking website in UMS like open-committee which use by SKTM students, and yahoo group that also common used among some lecturer, but LMS still survival because it is efficiency and generally used by students in UMS.

3.     CHALLENGE OF LMS

Free wireless (UMS-public) is not stable and not strength if using among large number of students at the same time. The common problem is difficult to access internet using wireless, the poor accessible bring on problem that students cannot online not even LMS. Not actually cannot access LMS, but it is lag to access the downloading material from LMS. This main challenge result in students not often browse LMS but only use it when want download some material that posted by lecturer.

LMS have forum or chat functionality, and yet, students not active on discussion between each other through LMS. The one reason of this problem is student feel that forum online is too public and all the message will showed out in forum. Face-to-face discussion may better than do online forum through LMS.

Besides that, free wireless access not provides in whole UMS, it is not accessible in every hostel in UMS. Hostel has provided secure wireless which needs pay, but it is also not stable and not every block can detect the wireless. By this problem, students need bring their own laptop when go class or go library to online. It may burden students that need bring laptop just for access LMS to download materials.

4.     IMPROVEMENT FOR LMS

4.1     LMS’s Interfaces

How about the LMS’s interface? Current LMS’s interface been divided into three column which are first column is linkage for other features (In button likes), second column is the part that listed out the history for the subject’ name and short description that student been explored and student also can search subject just by type in the subject’s code. Lastly, the third column provides the login service.

So what the part that should be improve for the interface? Just combine the first (features linkage) and third column (login) together to improve the “vision’s quality” for the interface. Add in navigation bar to substitute the top part in the profile page to enhance “criterion” of the interface other than just listed out the link, account setting, logout, and so on in on row.

4.2     LMS’s Features

How about the features for the LMS? User should register first before they can explore LMS. User can upload or download the file in LMS, mostly lecturer will upload the lecture’s notes for student to download before or after the lecture even lecture can do the exam through the LMS and the student will know their score about 2 to 3 minutes after they answer the exam.

So what other features can be adds into LMS? Even we know there have the forum part in the LMS but telling the truth is seldom user will use it because when the user put on forum’s title they should check it everyday to seek the replies but not immediate because user don’t know whether the other user online status. Why don’t just add in the chat room in the LMS? Just like the facebook, user will know the other users’ status as they login their account. For example, sometime it is hard for students to make a appointment with their lecturers because of crash in time, if add in online chatting feature then student can chat with their lecturer even after the office hour as long as their lecturer login LMS so it give more convenient between lecturer and student in no doubt.

4.3     LMS’s Usage

How about the usage for the LMS? Not all the lecturer will use the LMS; some will use other online social community like yahoo group or open committee to upload their notes or other information. Why don’t just assign each subject for the student in a particular semester automatically and in each semester the taken subjects will be update with the new semester subjects. Some lecturers even complain that inside the LMS they can’t find the courses’ code that they teach and it is hard for them to upload the notes so they use other ways to upload the information. Hence, the administration for the LMS should always updates to improve the quality of the LMS.

5.     VISUALIZATION METHODS

 

Figure 1 Simple illustration for the LMS

6.     SURVEY

From survey, we find that students almost satisfy with LMS, but still have something need to improve. As a conclusion, even there are challenges of LMS; however LMS is familiar among students in UMS because it is easy for them to get lecturer notes. The table of the survey’s result will shown as below:

Table 1 Survey from the LMS’s user

STATUS
Satisfied	5
Not Satisfied	4
Do Not Know the System	1

 

7.     ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

First, we should thanks to Madam Siti Hasnah Tanalol because madam uploads the sample of ACM format for us to refer. Second, we say thank you to those students who help us fill in the survey form.

8.     REFERENCES

[1]    Madam Siti Hasnah bt Tanalol Sample of ACM Word Templatet. Lecture. University Malaysia Sabah, 2010.

[2]     http://lms.ums.edu.my/