Choosing a course management systems

If you are teaching a coordinated multi-section course, typically 1431 and below, be sure to check with your course coordinator whether a particular course management system is preferred or even mandatory. They may even provide you with course material templates (like sets of homework and quizzes) within that system, so that you're not starting from scratch. Described below are the course management systems in use by our department.

Moodle

Moodle is a general-purpose (not designed specifically for mathematics) course management system run centrally by LSU at moodle.lsu.edu. Its built-in class roster and grade submission support is integrated with myLSU, and Moodle access for students is also integrated with myLSU. Due to that integration, even if you end up using a different course management system for math homework and quizzes, you might still use Moodle for some aspects of your course: communicating your syllabus or exam dates, and for managing your gradebook. Your starting point for Moodle help is the LSU GROK article on Moodle. To get additional help with Moodle, contact the Faculty Technology Center, ftc@lsu.edu, 578-3375 (press option 2). The LSU Math computer staff does not have the expertise to provide Moodle support.

MyMathLab

MyMathLab is a cloud-based course management system, for use with Pearson textbooks, available at www.mymathlab.com. That website is your starting point to evaluate and learn the system, as well as to create and access courses. See our roster converter for help loading your class roster into MyMathLab, and our score converter for help extracting scores to transfer into Moodle. Beyond providing those conversion tools, please note that we do not have the expertise to provide any MyMathLab usage support, but local users with MyMathLab experience include Stephanie Kurtz, Julia Ledet, Frank Neubrander, Selena Oswalt, Phoebe Rouse, Dottie Vaughn, and Lindsay Waddell.

WebAssign

WebAssign is a cloud-based course management system, most commonly used with Cengage textbooks, available at www.webassign.net. That website is your starting point to evaluate and learn the system, as well as to create and access courses. Use "Instructor Sign Up" with institution code "lsu" if this is your first time using that system. See our roster converter for help loading your class roster into WebAssign, and our score converter for help extracting scores to transfer into Moodle. Beyond providing those conversion tools, please note that we do not have the expertise to provide any WebAssign usage support, but local users with WebAssign experience include Dottie Vaughn, Julia Ledet.

WeBWorK

WeBWorK is a course management system developed by the MAA but running within our department at webwork.math.lsu.edu. It is not specific to any particular textbook publisher and your publisher likely does not provide WeBWorK templates, so you will likely have to craft your own WeBWorK content from scratch. Please contact techsupport@math.lsu.edu to have your course created or archived, and use our roster converter to load your class roster into WeBWorK using our WeBWorK roster instructions. See our scores converter for help extracting scores to transfer into Moodle. Beyond running the server and providing those conversion tools, please note that we do not have the expertise to provide any WeBWorK usage support. Your starting point for evaluating and learning to use WeBWorK is the MAA website openwebwork.org. Local users with WeBWorK experience include Michael Tom, Dan Cohen, Gestur Olafsson, Dan Sage, Stephen Shipman, and Larry Smolinsky.

MapleTA

MapleTA is no longer in use nor available within our department.