FUNCTIONALITY OF LOOMEN LMS: CROATIAN EDUCATORS’ PERCEPTION AND EXPERIENCE

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Paper categorization: Original scientific paper

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Abstract:

Various shifting paradigms dictate the manner in which education systems are established, (re)organized and implemented. The emergence and increase in the popularity of learning management systems (LMSs) represent a noteworthy example of teachers coping with the challenges of change. This study focuses on the Loomen LMS, an open-source, e-learning system in which teachers, together with their students, create and manage strategies, methods and tools to optimize the teaching process. The objective of this research was to evaluate the functionality of the Loomen LMS through the analysis of the perceptions, opinions, impressions, observations and experiences of Croatian educators who have used the platform since its implementation in public schools. This qualitative research analyzes the responses of 181 educators from both primary and secondary levels of education from each of the 21 counties in Croatia. The data were collected through a validated questionnaire survey in an online form. The results indicated that the Loomen LMS was most rarely used for those features for which it was primarily designed, that there was a difference in several aspects of usage between the two levels of education, and that the frequency of usage was not asymmetrically proportional to the amount of educators’ overall working experience. The data from this study provide new academic research evidence regarding the Loomen LMS and its need for improvement in several aspects concerning its functionality.

Keywords:

Croatia, educational system, e-learning, LMS, Loomen