Students and faculty in the community are adjusting to Toddle, the new learning management system, which was implemented this school year. In previous years, students and faculty used the Darlington website coursework page, created by faculty member Stefan Eady. The implementation of Toddle took place this fall; it handles assignments, portfolios, grades, comments and messages.
In a blog previously posted on the Darlington website, Eady described the reasons for implementing Toddle as the solution to the past concerns and challenges with the coursework page, such as students missing important tasks or struggling to find past assignments.
“We chose Toddle because it represents what we would have built ourselves given unlimited resources: integrated learning tools with clear communication and functionality, built around educational research that aligns with our teaching philosophy,” Eady said.
When talking about the coursework page and its difficulties, Eady mentioned that “technical limitations made it difficult to fully integrate the gradebook.”
It can be a challenge for students to adjust to the new system, especially if they have been used to the old coursework page. Junior Sara Jo Pierce shares the challenges of having to learn to operate Toddle.
“It has been difficult because it is hard to locate some assignments and I am just used to the coursework page,” Pierce said. “I do not like how you can not see the overall average between all the classes, but it has gotten easier the more I use it.”
Toddle is also new to first-year students, coming from other countries and not being used to having an electronic gradebook and assignment planner. Sophomore Eduardo Ferri shares his experience with the new website and how it affects his learning.
“I think it is a good new way to see your grades and your homework and just develop better as a student,” Ferri said. “And it is easier to find all my assignments online so I think it is a good new acquisition that the school has made.
Students have seen positives and things they like about the new system, and also how it is beneficial to staying on top of their assignments. Ferri shares on how the implementation of Toddle has helped him stay on top of assignments and keep him from procrastinating.
“I like that we can see all our homework and descriptions of it so I can see what to do and how to do it,” Ferri said. “I don’t have to email teachers and ask what to do and then wait for their response, I can just look at Toddle and it tells me everything I need to know about an assignment.”