¡Dame[1] Moodle!
Creating a Moodle course for a Spanish 11/12 split course: A Proposal
Dear Mr. Rick Jones (principal of Chilliwack Secondary School),
I am writing this letter to you to propose implementing a digital method of course delivery that can take on either a full or blended approach. The technology that I am referring to is an online learning management system (LMS) called Moodle.
Proposal:
When creating upcoming school timetables, administrators are faced with many decisions such as how many students want to take a certain course, who will teach the courses, when each teacher will receive their requested linear or semestered prep block, etc. Sometimes, administrators have to make the decision to split courses due to low enrollment. This is the exact scenario that occurred this year. This is not the best learning environment for students because they are often either bored from doing similar tasks they did the year before (a Spanish 12 student) or they are overwhelmed by the advanced grammatical concepts that they are exposed to (a Spanish 11 student). Therefore, for the sake of learning and what is best for my students, I propose an LMS for the split Spanish courses. To begin the process, the most advanced of my split courses, Spanish 12, would take a blended e-learning approach facilitated by Moodle.
Rationale:
BC has a strong education system and is in the process of modernizing its current education system in order to best prepare its students for the current and future world (BCEdPlan). The BC Education Plan states that “we will see greater flexibility in how a school operates” (2011). Traditional school structures which designate time, place and groupings of student may become obsolete in the future which is why flexibility is important and needs to be addressed before a problem arises (Pearson). Incorporating Moodle into schools now will facilitate the implementation of the new Education Plan where students need to learn how to survive and thrive in our now digital world.
Second Language Acquisition (SLA) is important to BC in order to survive globally. BC is currently readjusting its Second Language Curriculum to incorporate the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR). One of the main components of the CEFR is student owned language portfolios. Offering courses via Moodle would facilitate the creation of these portfolios because of the various module plug-ins it offers such as VoiceThread and Covcell for speaking interaction, Wikis and Discussion Boards for incorporating collaboration into reading and writing skills as well as imbedded audio/visual activities for the students to improve their listening comprehension skills. Moodle would also aid the students in creating digital portfolios, which is what twenty-first century learning is all about – “using technology to demonstrate students’ learning in order to show how they themselves reflect upon the impact language learning has had on them and then sharing [what they have learned] with others through technology that they use to create their own projects” (Eaton, 2010, p.14).
BC’s Language Curriculum is also based on the Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) method. The CLT method’s primary role is in promoting communicative language use and the use of authentic materials. Today, authentic materials are not limited to the cereal box a teacher found while on vacation in a country of the target language. Today, all of these tangible materials that teachers have collected are available via the internet with the use of images, online newspapers, YouTube, etc. They can be more easily shared via an online LMS, which reduces the amount of waste from photocopying numerous copies of these materials for students.
Evaluation of the technology
In my decision to implement Moodle as a platform to use with my students, I have considered Bates and Poole’s (2003) SECTIONS framework which helped to evaluate how and why Moodle is a good technology to implement in terms of
Students. It allows my Spanish 12 students to have their “own” class separate from the split face-2-face atmosphere.
Ease of use and reliability. Moodle has been very well tested and is intuitive nature. It may take a couple of days to become acquainted with it, but this is true even for becoming acquainted with new teachers.
Costs. Moodle is Open Source software which means that it is FREE. However, there are some costs associated with its implementation. “Moodle is server-based. This means that there must be a local server where the software can be installed, or that storage space must be purchased from a vendor” (Brooks-Young). However, knowing that the district already uses Moodle, the cost would be minimal (there are only 20 students).
Teaching and Learning. Language learners need to develop reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills. These skills will be attained through a combination of direct and indirect instruction, interactive instruction, experiential instruction, and independent study. Content will be presented in multiple formats including basic linear notes, podcast lectures, discussion boards, collaborative work spaces, etc.
Interactivity. Moodle offers various plug-ins such as Covcell to facilitate audio/visual conferencing between students which helps to develop both speaking and listening skills. It also contains wiki collaboration tools and discussion boards. As CSS has already purchased an online friendly textbook series (Descubre), Moodle will only help to increase the interactivity, teaching and learning possibilities.
Organizational issues. I will need help setting up the server and may require help later when populating the course. I will not require training, and our current tech helpdesk already has experience with Moodle as it was used at the Distance Education site.
Novelty. Moodle is an LMS that has been used by various school districts and universities since 1999. It has since gone through numerous revisions and upgrades in order to keep it up to date with current technology and teaching standards.
Speed. I chose Moodle because of its versatility and ease of use, both which aid speed. Units or learning modules can easily be changed and/or passed on and shared with other teachers.
References:
Bates, A. W. & Poole, G. (2003).A Framework for Selecting and Using Technology. In A.W. Bates & G. Poole, Effective Teaching with Technology in Higher Education (pp. 75-108). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 4.
Brandl, K. (2005). Are you ready to “moodle”? Language Learning & Technology, 9(2), p. 16-23. Retrieved from http://llt.msu.edu/vol9num2/review1/
Brooks-Young, S. (2008). Got Moodle? THE Journal. Retrieved from http://thejournal.com/Articles/2008/04/01/Got-Moodle.aspx?Page=1
Eaton, S.E. (2010). Global Trends in Language Learning in the 21st Century. Calgary: Onate Press. Retrieved from http://www.eaea.org/doc/news/Global-Trends-in-Language-Learning-in-the-21st-Century.pdf
Government of Saskatchewan. (1991). Instructional Approaches: A Framework for Professional Practice. Retrieved from http://www.education.gov.sk.ca/adx/aspx/adxGetMedia.aspx?DocID=3890,88,Documents&MediaID=10882&Filename=Instructional+Approaches+-+A+Framework+for+Professional+Practice+-+1991.pdf
Ministry of Education, BC. (2011). Draft Curriculum September 2011. Retrieved from http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/irp/drafts/french.pdf
Ministry of Education, BC. (2011). The BC Education Plan. Retrieved from http://www.bcedplan.ca/assets/pdf/bc_edu_plan.pdf
Moodle.org. (2011). Retrieved from http://docs.moodle.org/20/en/About_Moodle
Myrick, J. (2010). Moodle 1.9 Testing and Assessment. Packt Publishing: Birningham, UK.
National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_for_Teachers_2008.htm
Panettieri, J. (2007). Addition by subtraction. University Business, August, 58-62. Retrieved from http://www.universitybusiness.com/viewarticle.aspx?articleid=845
Pearson. (2012). Pearson Canada Inc. Retrieved from http://www.pearsoncanadaschool.com/index.cfm?locator=PSZqH3
Perkins, M. & Pfaffman, J. (2006). Using a Course Management System to Improve Classroom Communication. Science Teacher, 73(7), 33-37.
Richards, J.C. (2006). Communicative Language Teaching Today. Cambridge University Press: NY, NY.
The International Society for Technology in Education. (2008). National educational technology standards and performance indicators for teachers. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Teachers_2008_EN.sflb.ashx
[1] Dame = give me in Spanish