LMS Proposal
My context is that of an alternative school teacher teaching elementary and high school social studies and IT. Our school is very short on funding and is rumored to be on the chopping block in the upcoming school year. Morale among staff and students is low and funds are extremely tight. This LMS site will be used to teach social science 7. This proposal is addressed to the powers that be at the fictitious SD#99.
To John Smith, IT Services.
I am currently developing an online curriculum for grade 7 social sciences for the “NV44” alternative program in SD#99. The “NV44” program has a variety of learners who are responsible for their own learning progress. By creating an online environment we are able to monitor their progress quite accurately and provide relevant feedback regardless of their location. We are also providing an academic framework that fosters creativity. The students will be responsible to complete all assigned work which will comply and meet all Gr 7 Social Studies IRP’s in British Columbia.
Due to the funding shortfall that the district is experiencing we have decided to use Moodle as our LSM system. Moodle (Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment) is an open source product that requires a minimal operating budget. The computer systems that we have in place are sufficient to maintain this course with minimal upgrades needed in future years. In collaboration with my IT 11 class and the Social Science 7 class we will be constructing the core web-pages and uploading all of the required coursework and curriculum. Due to the collaborative nature of our school this is a project that will help bridge the gaps between the age groups and provide the school district with an example of a modern community knowledge based learning group. The question I ask you to consider is “Can a classroom function as a knowledge-building community, similar to the knowledge-building communities that set the pace for their fields? (Scardamalia and Bereiter, p.270)” This is a project that will show SD#99 as being ahead of their time in terms of LMS based education and construction.
We will be requiring a hosting service to hold the website. This is priced very competitively compared to commercial LMS hosting sites. Due to the open source nature of Moodle the rates are 865$ per year “http://www.remote-learner.ca/hosting/shared_hosting”. We are able to host Moodle at this affordable price because of the size of NV44. We have approximately 135 enrolled students, of which 40+ are primary students that will not need access to this service. Other services run at 60$+ per month, but do not offer as much as this particular service in terms of storage and technical support. It is likely that within 2 tech support dialogues that we will be financially ahead of the other options.
Due to the fact that our current computer systems have adequate power there are no upgrades needed at the time. However, in future years as the course develops we will be requireing a main computer system to keep all course development work stored. This system will need to have upgraded video and sound capabilities from our current systems. Course assessment will be transparent and allow the students to receive dedicated feedback that will enhance their ability. The majority of assesment techniques will revolve around coursework an online activities rather than standardized testing. Our school philosophy is that of creativitiy and discovery, however, all curriculum based IRP’s will be met. According to current reasearch “ in experimental studies in which students have either studied exam-based or assignment-based courses, the quality of their learning has been shown to be higher in the assignment-based courses. (Gibbs and Simpson, p.7)” With this in mind the course will be developed.
We would not require any additional funding to get the project rolling, as our IT 11 students are more than capable and have used the Moodle interface before. It is very user friendly and similar to standard office software in certain ways. “Moodle’s editor provides most features that one expects from a word processor, so changing fonts and colors and inserting links and images are intuative. (Perkins and Praffman p.35). It provides an excellent intro to office software for the younger students and they will be required to submit written assignments using word and submitting them as a pdf. Feel free to examine the trial site for this project at http://moodle.met.ubc.ca/course/view.php?id=120.
Thank you for your consideration.
David Berljawsky
Works Cited
Perkins, M. & Pfaffman, J. (2006). Using a Course Management System to Improve Classroom Communication. Science Teacher, 73(7), 33-37.
Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (1994). Computer support for knowledge-building communities. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 3(3), 265-283.
Gibbs, G. & Simpson, C. (2005). Conditions under which assessment supports students’ learning. Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, 1(1), 3-31. Accessed online 11 March 2009. http://www.open.ac.uk/fast/pdfs/Gibbs%20and%20Simpson%202004-05.pdf