MET Blog of Louise Thomson

To: Decision Maker

RE: Choosing a Learning Management System for the delivery of Grade 5 Socials curriculum

Dear Ms. Maker,

My colleague and I, both grade 5 teachers, are proposing to design an online delivery format for the curriculum for grade 5 social studies as a way to make the process more engaging and learner-centered for the students.  This means that we will need to critically examine the options for Learning Management Systems (LMSs) available for our use.   For the past several weeks I have been reading reviews of two different systems and looking at the current literature on their application strengths and weaknesses.  This proposal will recommend that we, as a district, choose and provide support for teachers using the LMS known as Moodle (available for viewing at Moodle.com).

My initial research began with an examination of both Moodle and another LMS known as WebCT/Vista.  Both offer many similar features but reviews of Moodle and my own observations show intuitiveness in the Moodle platform that is not present in WebCT/Vista (Edutools and Mac Update sites).  Moodle also seems to require little in terms of administrative support based on these reviews.  This platform will allow my colleague and I to upload web-based tools, utilize its online testing system, and have our students create weblogs and wikis and have chats with their classmates about their projects (Perkins, 2006).  In terms of constructivist learning the Moodle platform will allow the students to collaborate on their learning and to co-create products as they work through the modules.

Moodle’s main advantage over WebCT/Vista is that it is an open source product and does not require the district purchase a license to run it.  The district is currently using an open source software (OSS) product called Open Office for word processing, spreadsheet applications and presentation tools in our schools.  As you know, OSS products are not proprietary.  The District’s server will be able to host Moodle which will allow for administrative ease (Perkins, 2006) and discussions with the technology department have demonstrated that little will be required on their part to upload the software.  Ongoing technical support will be available through Technology Services.

As we would be setting this course up for our own use we would not require anything in terms of release time for pre-term setup but we would ask that during the initial course phase of course implementation we would be allowed four half days each of release time with TOC coverage so that we could consult and attend to challenges that arise as we begin implementing this project.

The long term goal for this project is to create a dynamic learning space that other teachers can share and build upon and that will inspire an interest in the field of social studies in our students.  We feel that this format will help us create a community of learners who will construct meaningful learning experiences.  We hope that you will support us in this endeavour.

Sincerely,

Louise Thomson

Resources

Edutools.  Retrieved May 31, 2009 from http://www.edutools.info/static.jsp?pj=4&page=HOME

Mac Update (Moodle and Blackboard Reviews).  Retrieved May 31, 2009 from http://www.macupdate.com/reviews.php?id=12048

 Perkins, M., et. al. (2006), Using a Course Management System to Improve Classroom Communication. The Science Teacher.  v. 73 no. 7, p. 33-7.

I have had quite a bit of experience with DVD creation and burning software.  I have made several movies in this manner.  Despite using DVD – Rs I am unable to play any DVD I create on my home DVD player so always need to take them somewhere else to test them.  Also, I have had several problems with burning the files as my computer seems to struggle with the large files and will often stop and present me with an error message. 

On the plus side I find that the actual creation of DVDs is quite enjoyable and allows for alot of creativity on my part.  My past experiences have taught me alot about which order works best for adding content to the timeline.  When you are beginning this process it can be quite time-consuming to edit clips and music/audio but this depends greatly on the number of images you are using and how particular you are about the polish of your final piece.

It used to be on flights that you got a bag of honey-roasted peanuts but the poor peanut has gone the way of the Dodo these days.  So too, do technologies and applications come and go.  This week we have to decide between Moodle and WebCT/Vista.  An interesting set of choices when you don’t really know anything about managing either of them. 

I had a discussion with a team member who said that he didn’t want to focus on the cost aspect of LMSs as they tended to cloud the other issues.  My concern though is that we, as educators, must be grounded in reality.  Unfortunately, in days of dwindling budgets cost may just be the biggest deciding factor for many decisions…including the choice of a learning management system for a school.

My decision to choose Moodle for my LMS was simple.  It was free.  My school district is out of cash and the reality is that if Iwent to them and said that I wanted to spend money on another platform the answer would not be positive.  I have used Moodle before as a student and am somewhat comfortable with how it functions. 

Setting up my own Moodle course has been interesting.  I have found the toolkit instructions to be very user-friendly and Moodle itself to be fairly intuitive.  I have had some trouble getting the discussion to show up as “graded” but will hopefully sort this out. 

At this point I am not sure what I am going to design this course for because I am an elementary teacher without my classroom so don’t really have a target to shoot for.  This still needs to be worked out.

I am a fairly new teacher but not a fairly new person (!) who is currently teaching at an elementary school of 300 students in a small community.  I had to fight pretty hard to get into this course and am quite happy to be here but I also have some fairly high expectations from this new course.  I am a practical person who often refers to herself as a “bottom line kind of girl”.  Thus far, I have found my experience in the MET to be predominantly theoretical in nature.  While I agree that understanding the theories is key to being a good teacher most of us have probably already encountered these theories in our Education degrees.  I was particularly attracted this course because of the promise of practical applications.

I have some limited experience with synchronous communication but really want to gain more in this area.  My experience with LMS is limited to its use as a student.  I have never had the opportunity to design or manage one of these environments and am hoping to gain some proficiency with this here.  I am not a social networking user.  I have not tweeted or poked anyone.  While I have no real interest in these applications personally I am openminded to their potential use as an educator.   In terms of assessment I am always interested in exploring new ways to assess student learning and have a real commitment to a variety of assessment tools in order to address a wide variety of learning styles. 

My broader goals for my MET experience is to gain knowledge and skills that I can use to join the tech leaders in my school district.  I want to be a 21st century teacher in my 20th century school district.

To attain my goals of becoming proficient in the technologies we will encounter in this class I will need some human resources.  The support of classmates with a variety of expertise has proven very helpful in past MET courses and I fully expect that the depth and variety of experience of my fellow students will prove invaluable on this part of the journey as well.

Often have people tell me that they could not do an online course because they would feel too isolated and disconnected from their fellow learners. I have not found this to be the case in the MET program.  I don’t “know” my classmates in the traditional sense but we all share an interest in using technology and many of us share family situations and challenges as we work through this, often daunting, adventure.

All of our courses begin with an introduction phase during which we post our bios and goals and any personal details we wish to disclose.  I am not sure if these always work out the way the instructor intended but they almost immediately become a support system as we compare where we are in the “program” and which other courses we are, or are not, taking this term.

This term when I disclosed that I am taking 3 courses in some misguided attempt to move this train forward some of my classmates and I had a very funny discussion about how my summer camping experiences would require WiFi-enabled campgrounds.  A fellow student sent my this cartoon as part of this thread.  I love it! 

 

Visions of July!

Today is the first day of summer term courses.  I am really looking forward to ETEC 565A as it promises to be more hands-on and practical than its theoretical cousins.  I can’t wait to explore some different software tools that I have not had experience with yet.

I find that everyone who finds out that I am working on this degree assumes that I must have a great deal of knowledge about different software apps but my experience with the MET has been that the tools are secondary to the theory that underpins them.  I am glad to have this opportunity to make use of the applications!