eflect for a moment on the LMS used for the quests in this skill. Then, list each tool available within the LMS in your blog. Which tools would be most valuable in the online classroom? Which would be of least value?

I would say that there are more tools which are valuable than not. Having used Blackboard as both a teacher and a student I have a strong opinion about the tools which are most valuable in an online classroom and which are the least valuable. 

Having just completed a two-year master’s program online, I spent many hours using Blackboard.  Here is a list of the most valuable tools:

• Email- this asynchronous tool was the most valuable communication tool used.  Although personal email accounts could be used, I used the one provided in the LMS of the university.  It was easier to find other students in the course for collaboration. 
• Discussion Boards- this is an extremely valuable tool for collaboration on projects.  In my instructional design class, we worked on backward design projects and posted them on the discussion board.  We gave each other feedback and reposted until we had corrected or edited our mistakes. 
• Blogs- Also effective and useful in commenting on topics studied in the course. This was a tool that most frequently used in my Assessment Design Course.  I enjoyed replying to others students’ work and appreciated the comments from them as well. 
• Calendar- useful tool for organizing time in order to meet deadlines for assignment submissions.
• Quizzing/testing- excellent tool to use for pre/post as well as formative assessments. There is a wide variety of quiz formats, which are appreciated by the students because of the instant feedback. 
• Self-assessment/surveys- this was a tool I used often in my Action Research Course as we would self-assess our research as well as critique our partner’s research as well.  I learned a great deal by critiquing other students’ work. 
• Rubrics- As a student I know how much I appreciate rubrics when completing assignments. Because of this, I make sure to provide them when I am in the instructor mode.
• Gradebook- I used this tool on a daily basis in order to keep up with my grade average.  Also, if I noticed an error, I would email my instructor to ask questions. 
• User progress- also a valuable tool that gave me a breakdown of the percentages and allowed me to review instructor comment.
• Report Generation- This tool allows me to access reports from the gradebook and exports to Excel as well as progress reports. 
• Commenting/Feedback- Love entering open-ended feedback for student assessment.  When I used the Voiceboard discussion boards, I would reply in Spanish or French when giving feedback.  The students loved this.
• Integrated Rubrics- Again very useful especially when integrated with the assessment in the gradebook
• Weight/percentage- Very useful as I could choose the method of grading.
• Dropbox- As a student, I submitted the assignments in the assessment or assignment tools.  As a teacher, I am constantly using Dropbox for myself as well as when I teach a professional learning course.  It’s also convenient to share documents with other colleagues as well.  I can see this tool as being effective and valuable for both students and teachers.

The following are the tools I find to be the least useful:

• IM- Although synchronous, when several students are answering questions, I think it is cumbersome.  It’s not as effective in my opinion as discussion boards and blogs. Students my like it as they are used to using Facebook Messenger and texting.
• Social Profiles- although becoming more popular, this feature was not attractive or useful for me.  Students may appreciate it more than I did and I would offer it as an instructor.
• Alert/Notification Systems- I found that the announcements or emails my teacher provided were effective and don’t see this as an essential tool. Although, maybe useful for alerting deadlines for registration or payment notifications.