Proposal

Introduction

In our District, two of our Achievement Goals have been to increase the use of technology in the classroom and to increase digital literacy in our students. I am proposing that our district support the use of a Learning Management System (LMS) district wide. The LMS that I am proposing we use is Moodle. Below, I will outline the reasons why Moodle will best serve our district using the SECTIONS Framework (Bates & Poole, 2003) for evaluating each system. For the purposes of this proposal, I will focus on Students, Ease of Use, Teaching and Learning, Interactivity, and Cost as being the major factors for our district.

SECTIONS

Through my Master of Educational Technology, I have been introduced to a method of evaluating a delivery platform for an institution using a given framework. The framework I will use is based on SECTIONS by Bates and Poole (2003). The framework focuses on evaluating a LMS based on the following criteria: Students, Ease of Use, Cost, Teaching & Learning, Interactivity, Oganizational Issues, Novelty, and Speed.

Why MOODLE?

Based on the platform evaluation framework, Moodle comes out as a clear choice for our district:

• Moodle is easy to navigate, which is important for students and parents
• Moodle can compliment a variety of learning styles which is important when looking at implementation across the K-12 spectrum
• Moodle is free!
• Moodle provides support for teachers, parents and students
• Moodle provides online discussion space to help increase interactivity with students

Moodle is an acronym for Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment, an open source Learning Management System (LMS). Created by Martin Dougiamas, Moodle was specifically developed with constructivist learning principles, social networking, and the needs of both learners and teachers in mind. As a result, Moodle is naturally positioned to interface with Web 2.0 offerings (UBC Wiki).

The Positives of Using a LMS in a Blended Classroom

This proposal is not intended to have Moodle or any other LMS replace the face-to-face classroom. Rather, it is being proposed as a means of adding another element to the learning environment and creating a blended learning situation where teachers use the LMS as a means of connecting and communicating with our students, our parents, and even other teachers in our district.

Moodle serves as a terrific organization and communication tool for teachers, students, and parents alike. Everything is laid out for students to see. Communication is ongoing, clear, and meaningful. Teachers can add links to just about any resource (e.g., readings, databases, video clips, assignments) for the students to share with their parents. This allows students to have a second or even third view of content that you go over in class. Using an online LMS also helps with student accountability. Moodle tracks all submissions—students can’t claim they handed something in when they didn’t. Moodle automatically marks quizzes, sends reports to students, and generates assessment records for teachers. Teachers can view student activity logs and see how often their students access the platform and how much time they devote to their learning.

We have set out to increase the communication between our parents and the school. Over the past couple of years, many new techniques have been tried, such as e-Newsletters, which have been successful. Moodle provides a wonderful way to communicate with parents and to increase their understanding of instructional strategies and expectations. Parents can be invited to go online with their children to see what students have been working on and to conference with them.

Using an LMS will enable teachers to communicate what they are doing in their classroom to other teachers in our district. Moodle provides a great place for teachers to collaborate and create units and lessons that stretch across our large district. Currently, teachers are able to get together a couple times a year at workshops on our PD days, but with the use of an LMS, like-minded teachers can be collaborating constantly.

The following rubric can be used to evaluate the suitability of Moodle for our District.

	Criteria	Excellent	Adequate	Inadequate
Students	Meets all needs of students at the K-12 levels Includes a variety of delivery methods to accommodate learning styles e.g. auditory, visual, independent vs. group
Ease of Use	Built in support/tutorials for student e.g. for navigation, for learning modules Allows for easy access to media, diagrams, audio, etc. Easy to maintain
Teaching & Learning	Supports student-centered activities Supports oral, reading, and writing activities that allow for assessment for learning, assessment of learning, and evaluation Assessment can easily be customized to fit needs of the course
Interactivity	Has built in functions that support both threaded discussion forums and private collaboration Built in functions that allow users to interact through synchronous and asynchronous communication methods e.g. live chat, voice tools, discussion rooms Built in function that allows users to store their course content e.g. readings & assignments
Cost	Cost is within budget for start-up, infrastructure, and upkeep

Moodle in Action

Middle School Social Studies teacher, Molly Tipton uses Moodle in her classroom to increase interactivity and access to online resources.

References:

Bates & Poole. (2003). “A Framework for Selecting and Using Technology.” In Effective Teaching with Technology. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Chickering, A.W. & Ehrmann, S.C. (1996).  Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as Lever. American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 49(2), 3-6.

Chickering, A.W. & Gamson, Z.F. (1987).  Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education.  American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 39 (7), 3-7.

El-Ghareeb, H.A. (2009).  E-Learning and Management Information Systems Universities Need Both, eLearn Magazine. Retrieved September 26, 2010  http://www.elearnmag.org/subpage.cfm?section=articles&article=96-1

Panettieri, J. (2007). Addition by subtraction. University Business, August, 58-62. Accessed online 11 March 2009 http://www.universitybusiness.com/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=845

Perkins, M., Pfaffman, J. (2006). Using a Course Management System to Improve Classroom Communication. Science Teacher, 73(7), 33-37.

Rubric. (n.d.). Scribd. Retrieved September 22, 2010, from http://www.scribd.com/doc/37171728/Rubric

UBC Wiki retrieved from http://wiki.ubc.ca/Moodle Sept. 29, 2010.