Like Benoit in the case, I am personally not familiar with either platform from the viewpoint of the instructor, but am familiar with other platforms that aid in designing online learning experiences.
The primary question that Benoit should be asking himself is “What are the overall learning goals for students in this online course and how does this technology serve those goals?”. Every other subsequent question that he may ask himself before making a choice should support his answer to that initial question. This question defines the purpose of technology selection as well as its application. Additionally, his own instructional design will play a major role in whether or not these goals are realized (Coates, James, & Baldwin, 2005).
Subsidiary questions that Benoit could ask himself might include:
- How will students demonstrate their understandings?
- How can summative and formative feedback be provided through the system?
- Does Benoit have robust enough troubleshooting and support skills to fix any issues within the course himself (if using Moodle)?
- When considering Bates’ (2014) SECTIONS model:
- Students: Do students need any extraneous software to access the course? Is it device agnostic?
- Ease of Use: Assuming both products meet learning/teaching needs, which is easier to use? Does Benoit or his students require training?
- Cost: Benoit may not be paying for this with money, but with time. Which would be less taxing in terms of time invested? Is it best to endure red tape with support vs. no red tape, but no support either?
- Teaching function – What would Benoit like to include in the body of the course? Which technology makes this available?
- Interaction – What kind of interactions does Benoit want to promote? Between student and content? Student and teacher? Student and student?
- Organization – Does the technology provide affordances that fit Benoit’s style of organization?
- Networking – Can students network between one another and with Benoit to enhance their learning experience?
- Security – Is the technology secure and respectful of student privacy (including assessment and evaluation)?
Regardless of the amount of questions that Benoit could ask, he should always be returning to his purposeful question of student learning goals. This will keep him on track and in consideration of the primary stakeholder in the learning process: the student.
Because I’m a proponent of the no-red-tape route, in this case, I’d probably choose Moodle. I like holding more autonomy over how I design and implement courses, and I would frequently network with colleagues who use the tool, and use their own design and application experiences in order to improve my own.
How many weeks would this take?
I’m unsure here – it truly depends on the level of skill and efficiency with technologies for Benoit. I would say that he would need at least a week to tinker with the technology and to learn its affordances and constraints.
Following a gain of familiarity, I’d give at least a month (4 weeks) for development and curation of digital sources. If he has to create his own media content, I’d tack another 4 weeks onto that preparation time. Benoit should also be prepared to invest time into the ongoing design and maintenance of the course throughout the 13 weeks of semester that his students are enrolled, in order to make improvements as necessary.
References
Bates, T. (2014). Teaching in digital age, Chapter 8. Retrieved from http://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/
Coates, H., James, R., & Baldwin, G. (2005). A critical examination of the effects of Learning Management Systems on university teaching and learning. Tertiary Education and Management, 11,(1), 19-36.http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11233-004-3567-9
I enjoy reading your posts/emails/twitterfeed/… I appreciate that they share the similar reference point of elementary school, but that they also require that academic thinking be grounded in the boot camp of real classroom life.
I also thought Benoit, as you wrote, should choose Moodle. I also like autonomy, but also don’t like red tape or relying on IT that is slow/unresponsive.
Keri 🙂
Hi Keri,
Thanks! There is a perceived gap between academic education and applied educational practice, and part of my goal was to utilize MET to close those gaps in my original perception. Truthfully, the more that I play in the sandbox of academia, the more I realize that the goals are actually aligned; it’s the publication of literature that takes so long!
In the case, Moodle feels right because of Benoit’s experience in designing other online experiences, even if it was not for strictly academic reasons. It leads me to believe that he could be an adept problem solver in the absence of IT support. Additionally, relying on his network is another solution if his own skills are lacking in technical areas.
Have you decided which LMS you would like to use for our course assignment? Since I am sort of used to that “ultimate autonomy” route, I am leaning toward using Connect for my work. I think it will challenge me. 🙂
Victoria
I think I’m leaning toward Moodle. I have set things up like Moodle and Connect, in that I have created a course within iTunesU and within DiscoveryEds Board Builder facet . . . but I am pretty sure either one that we have to choose from will stretch my brain.
K 🙂
Hi Victoria, nice post and I like the way you incorporated SECTIONS. I suppose my post focuses on the C (though more about time than cost).
I saw that you and I were the only ones so far signed up for Connect, but now reading that Moodle is “Open Source” has changed my mind so I’m trying to see if I can go with Moodle. Wouldn’t an open source LMS, less entangled with admin and technical support staff, support the “ultimate autonomy” route more?
Hi Randy,
Yes, you’re probably right. I haven’t used either platform, but have always built open-source resources throughout MET, so I thought it would be interesting to experiment with a platform that wasn’t to get a feel for affordances, constraints, etc.
Whatever platform I use for this assignment, I’m unlikely to be using the content that I develop on it moving forward. Our school is a GAFE school and we have been working toward using Google Classroom, class websites, student blogs/portfolios for some time now. Since these are not options, it honestly didn’t matter what I chose – I think I was curious about just how restrictive it might be, though. However, if I’m going to be on my own and have no peer support group around me as we progress through the assignment, I’d definitely be open to switching, too.
Hi all,
I can see you are all leaning towards Moodle, in Benoit’s case. The prevailing factor seems to be the preference for autonomy, to a potential wait for help. Do you think it is better to rely on the community and networking than on the official support? BlackBoard support people may be slow in response, but they also have the responsibility to provide service. What if no one from the community is responsive?
What is your experience with working on open source platforms?
Natasha
Natasha,
I think Benoit needs to figure out what he wants the next few years of his life to look like. If he wants a small amount of risk, then staying with what he knows will probably be his choice. If he wants to push his learning, has the network of people, and feels like he can handle the challenges along the way then he may choose Moodle. If he holds some sense of affiliation/loyalty to his current employer (university) then he may try to have some kind of crazy blend of both worlds to tie him over or create something new. There isn’t enough detail in the scenario for me to draw any other conclusions.
K
Hi Natasha,
This is a great point, but I have to agree with Keri that sitting with employer-specified technologies may mean missing out on other possibilities. I would want to utilize the information from Porto (2015) and Spiro (2015) to overcome the impending consequences of “LMS inflexibility” and incorporate a more personalized learning experience for students.
That said, I do know that sometimes networks are unresponsive to calls for help. However, I would venture to guess that the network has also provided resources that don’t necessitate a real-time, synchronous meeting; for example, one is able to find dozens upon dozens of YouTube videos that address Moodle support issues. Certainly, this might not pinpoint the exact nature of Benoit’s potential troubles, but it might come close. Regardless, it doesn’t seem like there is a utopian option, support-wise, either way.
Victoria
It is great to see that you are not expecting to always have perfect and immediate answers from the dedicated support but you also rely on your own skills to find the solutions on your own.
Natasha
I will play devil’s advocate here, as Connect is more similar to the LMS I am used to working with (D2L) I don’t know that they are exactly the same (maybe someone that know both will enlighten me) but from what I’ve seen so far, they look like they have the same functionalities. I wonder, as far as security goes, how do both LMS compare? I know that when the ministry of education in Ontario chose an LMS for its schools, one thing that was a concern was where the LMS company stores it’s data, because as we know from reading Bates, if data is stored in another country, it is bound by that country’s laws, therefore, could become public or government property at any given time. So if we are to use Bates SECTIONS like Victoria suggests, should we ask where do both platforms store their data?
Also, Victoria, you wouldn’t be alone using Connect, it will also be my choice.
Véronique
Hi Veronique,
After talking with a few colleagues, I have made the switch over to Moodle. I would like to be able to access my course shell after being done with MET.
As for Benoit’s conundrum… Despite FOIPPA in BC, a vast amount of my UBC MET program has taken place on public blogs, assignments expected to be submitted via YouTube links, etc. These are clearly not housed on Canadian soil, and I don’t recall ever signing a form that said that that was okay. (Truthfully, I have no problem with it at this time, though.) Perhaps these matters are dealt with privately between student and instructor, but I have never seen a student contest this and opt to only participate in fora that are housed in-country. This is not to make light of a security situation – a valid point – but rather, to highlight the fact that an institution’s technology choice can be seen as authoritative in nature and something a student cannot dispute. What are your thoughts on this?
Victoria