Benoît case study

Moodle or BlackBoard Connect?

Benoît is teaching Business Writing as a sessional instructor in the Department of English Language, of a large, research-intensive university. He has experience in using WebCT Vista in his face-to-face course for distributing lecture notes and copies of course readings.

Benoît’s course has been very popular and the Department’s head thinks that offering an online version of Business Writing course will bring more students to the department. Se is informed about a wide range of services provided centrally by the university IT department , and asks Benoît to make a short report, outline for her what resources are normally required for developing an online version of his course.

He knows that University is no longer supporting the version of the LMS which he is familiar with. Instead the university centralized support is provided for BlackBoard Connect (an enterprise software run and developed by Blackboard Inc.) and Moodle (a free and open-source software learning management system distributed under the GNU General Public License).

BlackBoard Connect is the only LMS supported by the centralized cervices of IT Department. Instructors, who are teaching online courses also can rely on a centralized support from the Office of Learning Technologies, where the teams of professionals (designers, course managers, etc.) provide expert advice and training in online instruction. Though the IT Help Desk can be slow in responding to requests and some instructors are unhappy about BB Connect limitations, and design, this service is slow but generally reliable.

Moodle is hosted within the Faculty of Arts, and operated as a stand-alone tool with only local technical support available. Instructors who chose Moodle are restricted in their access to on-site assistance, and have to rely on online Moodle help services to learn the skills they need. Instructors appreciate their academic freedom is not compromised in the process.

Benoît questions

1. What would be your advice to Benoît about the LMS choice in this context? Explain your reasoning.

One of the reasons I chose to discuss Benoit’s case was because I have experience in both the Blackboard system as well as Moodle, at two different schools. I found the Blackboard (BB)  system to be very clunky, and limited in its range of options. I tried to make the interface more user-friendly, intuitive, and inviting for my students but found that the degree of ‘buy-in’ was quite low for my students. I taught at a Pre-University “Matriculation” program to international students using BB, so they were all around 18-20 years old – much like the age group of Benoit’s undergraduates – and my experience with blackboard was not entirely positive. Students were expected to keep up-to-date with announcements that were posted on BB, but many were left uniformed about activities and events on campus becuase of a lack of willingness or interest in using BB on a regular basis.
In the context of Benoit’s desire to conduct a business course online, I would advise him to use Moodle. It has the flexibility and ‘customizable’ nature that would allow him to create an online course that suits his particular needs. In my experience for the last 4 years using Moodle, when there is something I want to do, I have been able to do it. I have been able to find out, through YouTube tutorials, or informal chats with colleagues, ways of designing and implementing an online-only course – in much the same way Benoit wishes to deliver his course – in a way that suits my particulary area of study. Although there seem to be more ‘tech services’ directly available to him for BB – just as there was, for me, at my previous institution – he will likely find that Moodle’s help services online are often quick to respond and have the expertise to deliver help if and when needed. I have personally accessed Moodle’s online help once or twice in the past and have found that they were relatively quick to respond (within 2-3 days) and were able to sort out problems that I faced. He would be well-advised to heed his colleagues appreciative stance that their ‘academic freedom’ is not comprimised when using Moodle. He will likely find that Moodle is a powerful tool as an LMS and offers and affords the flexibility that he will need as he converts his course to online delivery.

2. What will be the key steps in his work of transferring his face-to-face course in online format?

He would be well-advised to lay out all of his units of study in a systematic way, with units of study broken down into modules/subunits, assignments, readings, discussions, etc clearly aligned with a set of pre-determined dates ‘nested’ neatly and sequentially. Once the entire course is laid out, and topics (“big ideas”) have been subdivided in a way that makes sense to him, he should seek the advice and recommendations of colleagues or department heads, and those who run online courses. Can someone new to the topic look at the structure of his course and make sense of it? Are expectations clearly spelled out to students? Organization is key to a successful online course. In my online course, I use a simple table on the homepage that links to Modules sequentially, with dates listed very clearly for each Module:

Modules that are currently in session are highlighted, while those that have finished are ‘greyed out’ (it is June, so my course is finished… which is why the modules are all grey!)

Some other things Benoit needs to consider: Is there sufficient proof that there is formative and summative assessment that is aligned with the ‘regular’ course? Does he have a way of tracking student participation (e.g. when and how many times a student logs in, contributes meaningfully to discussion, etc)? These are only some of the questions that need to be answered. He needs to make sure how and when communication lines are to be opened between instructors and students, and between students. He needs to make clear all expectations and policies regarding student participation, expectations… and privacy.

3. What kind of support he might need during the process?

He will need the technical support and advice from colleagues who are currently using Moodle. A ‘sit-down’ with some members of the Faculty of Arts who run Moodle courses will be the quickest way for his questions to be answered (once he has worked out, as much as he can, the details described in question 2!).

He would then be advised to start with a template that works well (a ‘tried-and-tested’ course at the school), and customize it to suit his needs. He should explore all options, links, ‘widgets’, add-ons, that Moodle offers… a sort of ‘sandbox’ of exploration, before settling on a theme, and a layout for his course.

Once he has implemented his course in a way that works for him, he should then have some volunteers within the school, as well as perhaps his head of department, test out all links within the course. Are any links broken? Are any descriptions of assignments etc unclear? Are the privacy settings in place (can anyone join the course, or do they require a ‘code’, or are they added manually, etc)?

While he may get ‘stuck’ and find himself in a situation where he has incorrectly entered some HTML, or done something that ‘messes up’ his course, he can then seek the help of IT services, his colleagues, or the Moodle online help, to work out problems he may encounter. He could also ‘export’ his course on a regular basis and restore from a backup file if necessary (I’ve had to do this myself!).

4. What criteria for his workload estimates would you suggest if the plan is to offer the online version of the course next semester.

If he is offering the course next semester, and it is the first time he has run an online course, he may be advised to treat the course like 1.5 or 2 ‘face-to-face’ courses, in terms of time dedication. He will find that there are unanticipated problems, ‘kinks’ that need to be sorted out that he could never plan for. He will find that he needs to commit quite a bit of time to reading and responding to questions and discussions from his students… more time than he may have expected. He and his department head would be advised to limit the enrolment of this course to 15-20 students – at least for the first semester – so that he does not become overwhelmed. My ICT 8 course has 96 students and I spend more time managing this course than any of my other ‘face-to-face’ courses!

5. What would be your estimation of the development time (in weeks); how much time it will take Benoît to develope an online version of the course (Business Writing)? Explain the facts and contributing factors which you considered making your estimation.

The time needed to develop and implement his course is highly dependant on Benoit’s current workload. If he is currently teaching and preparing for a full course load, he will need a lot more time to prepare the course than if he is currently on his ‘time off’.

He will need at least 2-3 weeks just to lay out his course sequentially, with all units of study, assignments, mark weightings, discussion topics, described in detail. He will need to determine which readings need to be made available, and whether or not students need to purchase ‘paper-copy’ textbooks. He will need 3-4 weeks to become accustomed to the Moodle interface, and at least 3-4 weeks to fully integrate all the components of his course online, in a way that makes sense to him (and volunteers who are willing to ‘test’ his course before it goes online!). He will want to ‘tweak’ things, choose an aesthetic layout, and make all sorts of small (and perhaps some large!) changes before things work just the way he wants them to. I would give another 2-3 weeks (at least) to work through these.

Totalling all of this time, I would say Benoit will need around 4 months to go from designing, to implementing, to testing to running his Business Writing course online. If Benoit is not ‘tech savvy’ and has trouble using technology in general… 6 months!

In their examination of the effects of LMS on university’s teaching and learning practices Coates, James & Baldwin (2005) argue that technologies are not pedagogically neutral, but through their very design, they influence and design teaching.

1. Have you been experiencing some of the pedagogically restricting effects of LMS in your own practice?  
2. Give the examples of the restrictive and the choice-widening LMS features, which affect the learners’ experiences.

The main restriction I have found in the use of the LMS that institution has adopted (Moodle) is its appearance. It is ‘clunky’, and my complaints mainly centre around the difficulty in making the site look the way I want it to. Students have become used to a certain aesthetic, such as those being used in social media platforms (Twitter, Facebook, etc). The restriction I find most problematic is making a website for my courses that has an influence in student’s “buy-in”: I want them to actually use the site as much as possible.

Restrictions of LMS
The ‘top-down’ style of most LMS systems is also problematic. It would be great if students could comment, “Like”, etc on my current LMS but this is not available. Discussion boards, which can be restrictive and students are likely intimidated by the rigid structure (they don’t want to post anything that may not be a requirement, or may be marked, etc) of Discussion Boards. I used Schoology (which has a more “Facebook-like” interface) for a year but found students were not using it much, so went back to Moodle.

I will often refer students to the site for the online Google calendar (I have it displayed on my Biology page), for assignment due dates etc. Recently, I had a quiz in my class and two of my students had no idea there was a quiz! It had been on the Calendar for several weeks, and I had made mention of it in class… This tells me that not everyone is keeping up with the Calendar (which is also provided to them for incorportation into their devices… they can add the calendar to their iPhone’s native calendar app!).

Choice-Widening
I have hopes for the Google Classroom LMS, as it allows for a “Feed”-style homepage, and integrates well with Google Apps (like Google Drive). I just wish it had more options for adding things like Calendars, and delaying the posting of assignments (ie. post-dating assignments)… Although with the idea of ‘agile’ learning, maybe posting everything at once isn’t such a bad idea…? I do know that students at my school are particularly driven for academics, so if they see all the assignments posted at once, some of them may go for a 50-hour run and attempt to work far ahead of the class..

3. What are some of the advantages and dangers of the process of standardization of knowledge and instructional practices?

The danger of standardization, in general, is its restriction on the highly contextual nature of education. Using the internet as a prime mode of content delivery risks ‘deadening’ the material. Coates, James & Baldwin (2005) say that, “the textual nature of the internet may reinforce conceptions of teaching as the transmission of decontextualised and discrete pieces of information”. Students may feel that using a standardized model for education means that learning means accessing the conduit of information and downloading information. This removes the actual human beings involved in the transaction. It becomes a mechanical process.

Advantages would seem to lie mostly with the administration of such a system. Schools can promote the accountability to interested parties (government, parents, etc), and this will allow schools and school boards (in the eyes of some) more reliability and quality assurance. As Coates et al (2005) point out, “[m]any systems are owned by large publishing houses which are understandably interested in the development and distribution of copyrighted material.” The use of an LMS can be directly tied to corporate interest, thus focussing education into a commodity.

Cpiro notices a growing interest to more flexible and personalized learning designs, and sees it as a trend which is already replacing the “one-size-fits-all” principle of LMS architecture.

4. Would your conclusion be different from what Cpiro gets from his observations? Give examples to support your judgment.

Cpiro is supportive of personalized, self-directed ‘agile’ learning. I strongly support such a notion, but I don’t necessarily see the use of an LMS as counter to this philosophy. If designed in such a way that allows for maximum personalization, an LMS can actually provide the very kinds of personalization that Cpiro supports. If the design of an LMS takes into account learner’s individual wishes and concerns and is customized to suit the contextual nature of a class and its learners, allows for transition into mobility (the site can be viewed on multiple devices, for example), and, importantly, allows learners choices about how they will learn content (I try to use as many forms of media as possible when delivering content: slideshows, eBooks, animations, interactive websites, Ted Ed videos, discussion boards, Google Docs / Drawings / Sheets) I don’t see why the LMS will necessarily “die” the way Cpiro predicts.

Here is where I will be posting my Structured Reflections! Keep an eye out for new posts, and please feel free to Comment.

In Unit 1, we were asked to complete 2 readings and give some insights into our own technology proficiency: a sort of self-assessment. The instructions were as follows:

Digital-age teaching professionals.

Try to assess your “technological proficiency’ using the criteria listed in the ISTE (2008) document and in the Chickering & Ehrmann’ (1996) article, see to what extent these “ideal types” represent your digital competencies and skills acquired and used in your professional or educational context .

Which of the sets of criteria seam the most informative and relevant to your experiences?
Are there any other criteria that you normally use for assessing your technological proficiency?
What are some of the “digital-age” skills that you plan to learn and start practicing, or want to further develop?

My post to the discussion board is as follows:

Which of the sets of criteria seam the most informative and relevant to your experiences?

As a current teacher in science and ICT, I found that I am actually already doing many of the strategies that are suggested by ISTE. I recently attended the NCCE conference in Portland, and while I did learn a few ‘tricks of the trade’, such as apps, Chrome extensions, and software (I learned how to use Adobe Illustrator, for example) I found that many of the things I’m doing at my current school fell in line with current theories on the best usage of digital tools. I run my courses using LMS systems effectively, and I have spent a lot of time continuously improving the overall look, design, and functionality of the pages I manage. I am constantly seeking feedback from my peers and students about how my courses can be improved, and also regularly encourage (and require in many cases) student self- and peer-assessment for formative feedback.

ISTE suggests that we “Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity” using “real-world examples”, which I am doing on an ongoing basis with my Biology students. We are always looking at current and future technologies in the sciences (such as genetic screening, gene therapy, ecological issues, applying knowledge of plate tectonics to the disaster in Nepal, etc) as well as digital technology courses. My students in ICT 8 recently completed a group project on Web 2.0, where they worked in teams to produce a website/project to the class. For example, they built a Facebook page to talk about Facebook, and the built a Weebly page to talk about Weebly. They discussed things such as digital citizenship, privacy and safety online, e-bullying, and how these tools are being used in a local and global context. For Grade 8 students, they were surprisingly well-versed in the global nature of these technologies!

I also connected with the ISTE article’s idea about creating digital learning environments in which enables students “to pursue their individual curiosities.” Instead of a final exam, all students in Biology and Chemistry are being encouraged to design and conduct an experiment on a topic that interests them (built around a loose theme – this years theme is “Green”). They are currently collecting data and will digitally present their findings to the class, in the form of a blog/website/slideshow or another method of their choosing (which may not directly involve the use of digital technology, although all groups are tracking their progress and collaborating on the project with their laptops, and many of them collect data with digital Vernier sensors).

I found the Chickering & Ehrmann article to be more relevant to my teaching experiences. The “Seven Principles” they referred to are things I am doing on an ongoing basis: “1. Good Practice Encourages Contacts Between Students and Faculty” = I am always encouraging students to email when they have problems and regularly communicate with students using email. “2. Develops reciprocity and cooperation among students.” = this is something that thankfully seems to happen on its own. I, my colleagues, and our school, have created learning environments that foster and encourage such behaviour. “3. Good Practice Uses Active Learning Techniques” = as I mentioned above, students write journals and self-reflections regularly.”4. Good Practice Gives Prompt Feedback” = I am a big fan of immediate feedback. For online quizzes I use an extension (available on Google forms) that marks and submits immediate feedback via the student’s school email (it’s called Flubaroo – recommended!). This is especially useful in my online ICT 8 course. These quizzes are almost exclusively formative. “5. Good Practice Emphasizes Time on Task” = in early grades I do think students need constant supervision and oversight regarding their time ‘on-task’ and screen time in general. However in later grades, I let students know that they have due dates, they have test dates, and when it comes time for a more loosely structured ‘review time’, it’s their job to get to know the material. “Facebook time now, and study later, but I’m here for questions and feedback now, so make good choices!”. “6. Good Practice Communicates High Expectations” = always. Students know what is expected of them, as I always provide a rubric or some way to let them know how they will be evaluated. Like I said, I’m a big fan of examples!! “Good Practice Respects Diverse Talents and Ways of Learning” = Students have different ways of learning – I always think of Gardners Multiple Intelligences – so I am constantly looking for ways of delivering content (and allowing student work) in different modalities. I love giving students choice (how they want to present a topic – dramatically? stop-motion? a website? an oral presentation? etc)

Are there any other criteria that you normally use for assessing your technological proficiency?

I am someone who learns by doing. Many of my students are the same (they’ve said so!). Answering polls and giving feedback to questionnaires is one way, but sitting someone in front of a program, website, etc and just seeing how far you can get (without any help) is one way to test how proficient you are! I have found that in most cases, the learning curve can be sharply leveled by simply trying things out and experimenting. This is the same with students: just throw it out to them and they tend to pick things up faster than you might think!
The set of criteria set out in these articles is useful in a more abstract, theoretical sense, and the benefit of their way of assessing proficiency is that the definitions and terms they use are very ‘hazy’ and can be applied to many many settings. The downside is that because they are not specific about which tools they are referring to (exactly) it may be difficult for someone to gain a solid understanding of theirown abilities using guidelines like this. I think there needs to be a more applied, specific context to a set of guidelines for it to be useful in any meaningful, tangible sense. I love examples!

What are some of the “digital-age” skills that you plan to learn and start practicing, or want to further develop?

I plan on improving my online course (ICT 8) and offering new ways for students to engage with each other and with the school. We have introduced an “IVY” program at our school that involves creating online portfolios and student reflections, and I would like to incorporate these ideas into my course to give them something more tangible to ‘take away’ from the ICT 8 course. As it is now, it is mostly just a series of tasks (like journal entries and quizzes). The course is delivered through an LMS platform (Moodle) so I would love to improve the overall design and interactivity of the course. This may involve improving my knowledge of Java or HTML…?

I’m also currently putting together iBooks and am interested in making them study guide/notes resources for my students. Currently I think they’re good (feedback from students has been overwhelmingly positive) but I’m always looking for ways to improve them!

My first post in the ETEC 565 was an introduction:

This is my 3rd course in the MET program. I have previously taken ETEC 500 & ETEC 511. I’m also taking ETEC 510 this summer. It’s going to be a bit trying to get all the work done in both courses while teaching full time, especially as this time of year is quite busy, but I’ll give it my best!

I have been teaching, in one form or another, since 1999. This is the 5th country I’ve taught in – I love to travel and work abroad.

I am looking forward to learning more from everyone here, and the instructor, especially as I am currently managing/instructing in an online-only ICT 8 course, a Vancouver independent school.

I put this video “digital story” together for a different course, so I thought it would serve as a better introduction than my first post (it’s short!)

Transcript: Hi, my name is Chris Quarrie. I’m a teacher here in Vancouver. I started my teaching career as an ESL teacher in Japan, working for a large company called NOVA (the less said about them, the better). I then decided to get a teaching degree at UofT, and taught science in London England (that was a baptism by fire, for a science teacher!). I then decided it was time to try another country and I moved to New Zealand and taught science, math and electronics. I was then offered the opportunity to teach Grade 12 Ontario-curriculum Biology and Chemistry in Malaysia at a school called the Canadian International Matriculation Program. I taught there for seven years. About 4 years ago, I was given the opportunity to work in Vancouver at an independent school. It’s a great school, I’m here now, and I teach science and IT. As a science teacher, when it comes to technology, I’ve been doing things like having students create stop-motion videos for Biology class, and that’s been a lot of fun. They really enjoy doing those. I also use a lot of Google Drawings, Google Docs, Google Graphs: collaborative online programs. We have Google Apps for Education. I’ve also been spending a lot of time building iBooks using iBooks Author, which allows you to put in videos, 3D animations, links to websites… As an IT teacher, I teach an online-only Grade 8 course, which is broken into modules. I run that all year long and meet with the students about 5 times in a year. I also teach IT 9, where we do things like Photoshop, SketchUp and programming with robotics. I’m looking forward to meeting everyone, thank you!