Synthesis & Reflection
At the start of ETEC 565 I outlined in my Flight Plan that I was interested in creating a hybrid learning environment. I specifically wanted to learn more about what Learning Management System, blog space or website would work well for this application. See Precis:
I have been a business education and technology teacher in Burnaby BC since 2007. Outside of teaching I work part time as the corporate secretary for a publicly traded junior oil and gas company where I am responsible for shareholder communications and corporate governance. One of my main goals as an educator is to teach my students skills that they can apply in the business world. I find that many business functions are moving online as new technologies allow for easy communication; and so in embracing this concept I joined the MET program to learn more about how to create a hybrid learning environment for my students where face to face instruction is combined with online learning.
I signed up for ETEC 565A as the course overview described how students would be exposed to a range of learning technologies, platforms, web-publications, learning management systems and communication tools. I feel that these are all areas where I need more experience if I am going to be successful in creating a hybrid learning environment. I specifically would like to learn more about using a learning management system. I have noticed that some teachers in my district are creating class websites or blogs where students can go to discuss course material or access readings and handouts. If this is the route I decide to go I would like to explore what free options are available in this regard. Additionally, I would hope to learn more about how to select and present engaging digital tools to my classes.
Having spent the last 13 weeks learning about learning technologies, selection, design and application I can say that of the questions I had at the start of this class relating to creating my hybrid learning environment have been answered. I am looking forward to following through with my Moodle Planning 10 course proposal and approaching continuing education with my request for the trial development.
Additionally, my goal is to create a class blog for my business students where I will have assignments posted, embedded videos, discussion questions and wikis so that I can host a hybrid learning environment in September 2013. The experienced I gained working with WordPress to create this ETEC 565 E-Portfolio will be extremely beneficial when I start putting my site together. As outlined by Chickering & Gamson (1987) in developing my online course I will try to create a collaborative learning environment that incorporate active learning opportunities, communication and prompt feedback from me.
In completing my course proposal for my Moodle site I compared Blackboard and Desire2Learns learning management system to Moodle. I found Bates and Pooles (2003) Section Model extremely helpful in helping me to decide which platform to use and on a going forward basis I will definitely use their Section model to help me select appropriate educational technologies to incorporate into my teaching.
Use of Bates and Pooles (2003) Section Model
to evaluate Moodle for My planning 10 class
| S -Students: | The adult students enrolling in planning 10 will be looking to gain employment skills. Using Moodle 21st century communication tools (chat, email, whiteboard etc, video) students will gain valuable experience using industry standard technologies. |
| E – Ease of use and reliability | Once installed on the districts web server Moodle will be available 365 days a year 24/7 as long as the server is up and running. Moodle is a very stable program mostly free of glitches or errors and was “specifically designed with educators in mind, allowing for easy setup and maintenance” (Driscoll). As long as the district server in functioning the Planning 10 course will be available to the enrolling students.
Assignments can be uploaded and time stamped and students can easily navigate the site.
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| C – Cost: | Moodle is open source and free to download. We would require support from a network specialist in order to initially set up Moodle on the districts server and troubleshoot any firewall issues. |
| T – Teaching and Learning | Moodle comes with many standard modules such as a course calendar, assignment area, glossary, forum, chat, workshop, wiki, quiz, survey, resource, and lesson areas and 3rd party modules can be downloaded (Driscoll).Moodle’s platform allows teachers to create assignments and course content that applies to the diverse learning styles and needs of the Community and Continuing Education students. |
| I – Interactivity: | Moodle is extremely interactive and allows for the use of forms, chat, email , discussion threads , video, flash, PPT , MP3/4 files, peer assessment of documents and much more. |
| O – Organizational issues : | Moodle is easy to install, however, it will require a network technician at the district level to help initially deal with firewall issues and setting up the web server .
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| N – Novelty: | Moodle has been successfully used by many educational institutions and as new technologies and modules are developed Moodle’s platforms allows for their incorporation. |
| S – Speed : | Moodle allows students to interact, communicate and learn in a timely fashion using numerous tools. |
I found the assignments in ETEC 565 were well thought out and I specifically enjoyed working with Moodle, however, I think it would have been beneficial for us to have had the opportunity to work with another LMS maybe Vista or Connect so that we could have compared an Open Source program to a paid program. Additionally, I really enjoyed creating the digital story. I am definitely going to spend more time reviewing Alan Levine’s wiki 50 Web 2.0 Ways to Tell a Story as I found that the time allotted to this activity in the class should have been longer in order to allow time to explore the amazing educational web 2.0 tools. In addition to the use of blogs, wikis, websites these web 2.0 tools provide an excellent medium to apply Chickering and Ehrmass’s (1996) 7 principles for good communication and I look forward to incorporating many of these programs into my lessons. As someone who is somewhat new to many of the programs introduced and outlined in this course I found the eLearning toolkit very useful and I especially enjoyed reading the sections pertaining to LMS, Wikis, and Weblogs. I think it would have been useful if there was more information provided on using Moodle and possibly even a how to section with regards to many of the advanced features of creating a Moodle site that looks more like a website as I found myself struggling with this.
As a technology leader in my school after the completion of each MET course I always look forward to sharing the new educational technologies I have been introduced to and will likely host a professional development workshop on selecting and incorporating educational technologies into the classroom based on my learning from this course. As this course comes to an end I am half way finished the MET program and excited about what I have learned to date and the learning the will continue for 5 more courses and throughout my life.
Alan Levine. (2007). “50 Web 2.0 Ways to Tell a Story.” Retrieved November 11, 2012 from: http://cogdogroo.wikispaces.com/StoryTools
Bates, A.W. & Poole, G. (2003). Chapter 4: a Framework for Selecting and Using Technology. In Effective Teaching with Technology in Higher Education: Foundations for Success. (pp. 77-105). San Francisco: Jossey Bass Publishers.
Chickering, A.W. & Ehrmann, S.C. (1996). Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as Lever. American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 49(2), 3-6. Retrieved November 15, 2012 from:
http://www.uwo.ca/cstudies/instructorresourcesite/learningresources/pdf/IMPLEMENTING%20THE%20SEVEN%20PRINCIPLES.pdf
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. Retrieved November 15 2012 from:
http://www.lonestar.edu/multimedia/SevenPrinciples.pdf