Evaluation of Moodle for Distance Learning

I have no experience with other learning management systems (LMS), but I have found moodle to be very easy to both navigate and add content. It seems flexible in course structure and there does not seem to be any glaring deficiencies.

As far as online learning is concerned, moodle does not get in the way at all. This will allow instructors to be free to design and implement courses and not be bogged down with LMS issues. I have found moodle be very helpful in organizing the on-campus classes I have attended thus far. All the information for the course is in one area and I don't waste any time looking for specific information.

We are currently evaluating LMS's for our seminary and we are trying moodle for the upcoming semester. We will use both a blended and fully online structure for our classes. This has been a real help for us and will enable us to extend our 'classroom' across many miles.

As far as which type of media works best with moodle, I can not say that any one type is better than another. Again, moodle seems to work well with just about any format we have tried thus far. This is great because instructors can use whatever technology they believe will make the course most effective without any concerns with moodle.

I am looking forward to the potential that using moodle affords our seminary. The final determining factor, of course, will be the students evaluation. But once again, I believe that the evaluation will be centered around content and not delivery (moodle).

Bloom's Digital Taxonomy

The first post I read was the one that discussed being a responsible digital citizen. I thought it made some very good points, such as being responsible and choosing your words carefully on the internet. My parents reminded whenever I left the house to remember my name. It was some time after High School that I finally understood what they were trying to tell me. It is a lesson I have never forgot and I always try and remember that my actions always affect more than just me.

This is my first experience with Bloom's Digital Taxonomy. I do like the worksheets and the logical path it takes the learning experience.  I don't have some of the classroom experience that my colleagues have, but I the pyramid suggested seems logical and effective.

The article on the 21st century teacher certainly indicated that the teacher in this generation needs to apply technology and adapt to a changing student. The video entitles Learning to Change emphasized this fact.

What this site has made me think about is the content of my teaching, including the moodle site. Sometimes I tend to get wrapped up in how the site appears and not as much in how the material will be received. This website will make me think more about the content of the moodle lessons as well as the delivery.  It also tells me that the strategy I use with the groups of kids that I have this year may not work with the group that I have next year.

I will certainly try and be flexible and creative in my approach and incorporate some of the technologies that my students are familiar and and comfortable with, such as texting and mobile devices.

Reaction to How to Steal Like an Artist

I know we did not have an assignment to blog about this article, but since I took the time to read it, I thought I would respond. Alot of common sense advice, not that 'advise' was the goal. I especially like the part about keeping life simple and marrying well. I have realized that my wife is alot smarter than I will ever be and when I am wise enough to ask her before I open my mouth, it usually goes alot better for me! She has a sense that I simple do not possess. I also believe we need to choose our friends carefully. I have alot of people that are in my life, teaching tends to expand your influence a bit, but only 3 or 4 people that I would call 'friends'. I have told them that on more than one occasion. I appreciate their influence in my life. They are kind of guys that you can not hear from for a while and then you get together with them and it's like you saw them yesterday. Friends are comfortable, I can be me without fear of judgment. They can give and receive advice without sounding like they are better than me. I love my friends and am thankful for them.

I also agreed with the author about information overload. Wow, in this era of having information at your fingertips, it is easy to gather a mountain of data and get lost in it. I am the king of this ailment. I need to research every decision to death, get all the information I can and then make an informed decision. What often happens is that I get all the information, get confused, forget the original decision and give up!

The other part of this article that I found interesting was the keeping a journal. I am involved in a writing class at CCSU now and I have to admit that writing for the simple pleasure of writing has NEVER occured to me. I have a rather guarded personality and am a little wary of opening myself up for others to see. But I am going to start keeping a journal, not for the world to see, but to start taking some risks, as Dr. Valerie puts it. I often encourage my students to have no regrets, don't come to the end of a segment of your life and say 'I wish I...(fill in the blank)'. Writing for fun is that part of me that I have always been apprehensive about trying. Until now!

Thank you, Dr. Sponder, for posting this article.

Faculty Perspective on Using Moodle

After the reading the article, I have the same reaction to Moodle. I don't any experience to Blackboard to compare it to, but I think Moodle is very easy to set up and start using. Dr. Ulasewicz's comments from a non-technical perspective, where interesting. I thought the experience that some of her students were concerned about the workload that Moodle forums add was something I had not considered. It is work to formulate a response to a forum topic, but as the article pointed out, it gives students who have a difficult time responding in a group environment a thread to express their input on any given topic. I think it's a great assessment tool for any teacher to find out where their students are and how they are absorbing the content in a lecture or lesson. I thought the group class in using Moodle was a good idea, it tends to take the mystery out of technology and encourages more participation.

Dr. Beatty comes from a technical background and his impressions were understandably different. I agree that the flexibility of Moodle makes it a great alternative. That can save a bunch of money and time. I have found that most software houses are rather slow in making changes. In Moodle, there are thousands of developers all over the world working on new modules. And as is pointed out n the article, the spellcheck plug-in was implemented overnight.

Here are the questions I would ask:

1. How would rate Moodle in it's ability to enhance traditional face to face classes?

2. How many courses are strictly on-line classes? Do online classes at SFSU follow a normal semester schedule? 

3. How has using Moodle changed the way your traditional class flows in content and schedule?

Interesting article, although I thought it was limited in it's scope. Most of the article seemed to be centered around forums and discussion posts. At least Moodle has increased the edit time from 15 to 30 minutes on posts.

How creativity is understood, regarded and perceived in my cultural/educational tradition

Creativity, in all it's definitions, can be viewed in several different ways. While I believe it is the life blood of any progressive organization, it can, at times, be met with resistance. While we all like to feel we are open and ready for change, the fact of matter is that change, which goes hand in hand with creativity, can often produce fear and apprehension.

If creativity is limited to how a particular teacher does their own job, then it can be invigorating to the teacher and the student. Once it involves others, the issues above come into play and often will leave the creative teacher frustrated and defeated, stifling any future attempt to bring fresh ideas to the classroom. I have seen this happen repeatedly in both the business and educational sectors.

I know that in my situation, creativity is encouraged and supported. Since we are not governed by state regulations, we have more flexibility in how the material is taught in each classroom. But we still fight some of the issue mentioned above. So how do we incorporate change and creativity in our classrooms effectively? Here are some suggestions I have learned over my career in business and education.

1. Involve your administrator very early in the process. If you have his/her support, it can greatly facilitate the idea you have for your classroom. If you can not get their support, try and convince them of the benefit to the educational experience, which will only make their job easier and is a positive reflection on them as well.

2. Implement your changes in phases. If the idea you have is too large to implement in one step, break it down and implement smaller phases. This also gives those involved an opportunity to observe how effective the initial phases are and, if successful, will allow any subsequent phases to be implemented quickly.

3. Be sincere and humble when discussing your ideas. Don't try and be the one that is always blazing trails. Encourage and help other teachers implement some of their idea's as well. Fostering a team environment will only help in any future idea's you may have.

4. Be patient and diligent. If your initial idea's are not approved or don't work, learn from them and keep trying. Not every idea is good one, but it may be one that can be tweeked, by you or a coworker.

Implications of the Web on Cultural Differences

We live on an increasingly more connected planet. In a world as diverse as the one in which we live, I believe we need to aware of the content on our websites. While I believe it is impossible to know with any certainty how our site's content will be received by every culture, I think we have a responsibility to be sensitive to potential differences. If the site is culturally significant, if it's purpose is to provide an opinion or a different perspective on topics that could be interpreted differently by different cultures, than I believe we have a responsibility to be careful in how those views are presented. Here are a few suggestions:

1. Be honest about the bias of the site. Letting people know where you are coming from can help in the acceptance of the material presented.

2. Be clear as to any sources you use. Be specific on where you got the information. If it is from printed material, give enough information so the reader can verify the source. If you are quoting someone, try and find a reference that cab be verified, ie another website.

3. Be sensitive to how the information is presented. When you are giving an opinion, state that it is your opinion. Don't make it sound like everyone agrees with you just because you believe a certain way on a particular topic.

Unfortunately, we live in an increasingly radical world where people will present ideas as absolute truth without supporting documentation. People believe very strongly about issues that affect them, and as much as we would like to think that some of these issues can be resolved with calm dialogue, it is not reasonable, in my opinion, to expect that to change in the near future.

I will post some websites that I believe are contrary to responsible content in the near future.

Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning Review

I can't say that I found much in the article that surprised me, based on the other readings that were done as part of the class. Most of the article was confirmation of what was already presented in prior readings. I found the evidence suggesting that online classes were equally effective to traditional classes helpful in supporting our church's decision to offer online classes. The following were the benefits listed in the article that we would be able to capitalize on immediately; availability, cost and outreach. For small institutions such as ours, they are essential to the success of any education effort that we pursue. The article confirmed our decision to use on-line training for our ministry.

What I found most interesting and helpful was that blended classes were most effective in learning. The interaction with a teacher, which would give the student the opportunity for clarification of difficult subject matter, is the apparent reason that blended courses were more effective.

The article also points out that online quizzes were more effective in the learning process. I am not sure that offering online quizzes to enhance the learning process, but rather facilitates the requirement of testing whether or not the content was learned.

In addition, the observance that K-12 was not found to be as effective is not surprising. The benefits listed for online courses were availability, cost and outreach; not areas that the average K-12 student would be interested in.

As I stated in another review of online classes, I believe the subject matter is a key component in determining whether or not a particular online courses is successful. Courses teaching motor skills, for example, would be less effective as online.  Examples include chemistry, music or any specific skills, such as carpentry or plumbing. That does not mean that online courses could not be utilized for specific areas within those disciplines.

What this article does bring out is that as educators we can often get in the way of the learning process. We can wax eloquent on subject matter we are most comfortable with, or in an attempt to show the student how much we know, we often hinder the learning process. Unfortunately, I have experienced this problem, particularly in seminary classes. Bible classes tend to lend themselves very nicely to application and what I often find is that the teacher will lecture for the entire class when application of truth reinforce the material.

Finally, regardless of the subject matter or media used, whether online or traditional, the design and implementation of the course is the most important aspect of teaching. If an online class is poorly designed and the corresponding traditional class is well designed, then the traditional class will be more effective.