Proposal
Learning Management System (LMS) Proposal
Stakeholders: Learning Innovations and Academic Development (LIAD) & School of Dental Health
Purpose
This proposal is requesting the support and approval for the implementation of an open-source Learning Management System (LMS) referred to as Moodle, to deliver courses within the School of Dental Health. The college wide 2020 strategy is to enhance educational technology through the implementation of online courses to ensure the college is meeting the learning needs of the current and future student. This pilot project supports the implementation of online learning and has been developed using the Bates and Poole’s (2003) SECTIONS framework as a tool for identifying key criteria required for evaluating various technologies. In addition, consideration has be given to the National Educational Standards NETS (2008) developed for teachers to utilize as a tool to implement technology into the classroom. Moodle has the capabilities to support a virtual learning community that will promote constructive learning activities, opportunities for reflective practice, collaborative learning, and social networking.
Rationale
Moodle is an established Learning Management System, formally known Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment. Moodle is a free, open source Learning Management System with a substantial user/developer base that continues to grow each year. The LMS can be downloaded to a computer or server. The Moodle platform provides online documentation, and tutorials that can assist a teacher through step-by- step instruction for launching the learning platform with no programming required. Additional information can be obtained from http://moodle.org and http://docs.moodle.org/en/Teacher_documentation.
The Moodle site will offer organized relevant content and learning activities to ensure effective pedagogy is offered to the students in the dental programs. The development of portfolio evaluation strategies and learning opportunities for reflective practice are forefront, a learning site such as Moodle will provide easy access and a rich storage space for students to build and display a collection of their learning as they move through their educational journey (Chickering & Ehrmann, 1996). The integration of Moodle will support principles of good teaching practice for undergraduate education; it will improve contact between students and faculty, offer active learning techniques, provide students with prompt feedback, emphasize timelines for completion of work, communicate expectations around learning and respect diverse learning styles (Chickering & Gamson, 1987).
Various Learning Management Systems, such as Web CT, Blackboard, Desire-2-Learn and Jenzabar have been considered as possible options for this project. I have concluded from my analysis that Moodle is the most cost effective, user friendly, reliable and offers sound pedagogy best meeting the needs of this project.
Considerations and Strategy
The Bates and Poole’s (2003) SECTIONS framework used to evaluate technology and project needs determined the following:
Students will be provided with both face-to-face and online orientation to ensure all users can download and access the Moodle site. Access to technology has been investigated and there are many options for students to connect to the web on campus, such as computer labs, common areas that house computers, and the learning resource centre. Many students will have the option of using their own personal devices, such as laptops, tablets and smart phones, all compatible with Moodle software.
Ease of use – Moodle is user-friendly for both the student and faculty. The website is well structured, easy to navigate and intuitive for the user to use.
Cost being one of the most important criteria to assess, Moodle is a free password protected platform that can be downloaded at http://moodle.org. It comes with installers for Windows and Mac operating systems. The download also offers the web server Apache and database MySQL applications that it is built on top of. To ensure technical support is available at all times for both students and faculty I suggest that it be hosted on the schools network, cost is approximately $12,000.00. Moodle also provides numerous partners that offer Moodle Hosting Services where it is installed, maintained and fully serviced in a secure environment. There is a fee of approximately $100.00 per year for a class, $9.00 per student or $1000.00 per year for the department (Perkins & Pfaffman, 2006; Panetteiri, 2007). These partners are all listed on the website.
Teaching and learning will be delivered through a constructivist learning style. Moodle supports constructivist learning, flexibility and individual engagement. The platform supports a range of teaching and learning styles delivered through the interactivities of Web 2.0 tools. Moodle
Interactivities are vast; Moodle supports design templates that are divided into two categories: “resources” and “activities”. Resources are external sites where information can be uploaded to the site, such as PowerPoint, Word documents, Really Simple Syndication or Rich Site Summary feeds (RSS feeds). Activity pages capture student participation through assignments, quizzes, discussion forums, real time chat, wikis, e-mail, and messaging, audio, and social networking capabilities (Perkins & Pfaffman, 2006). Discussion forums and other collaborative tools offered through Moodle will replace the hard copy of reflective journals and case reports that the students currently complete. Students will use the e-portfolio tool to build a repository of skills and experiences.
Organizational considerations would involve the IT department to download the software on computers; this takes approximately fifteen minutes and is compatible on a variety of browsers. However, it would be requested that the IT department host and manages the Moodle site, providing support to both students and the faculty member.
Novelty of using a Learning Management System such as Moodle will be positive for the students as they embrace technology as part of their educational and social environment. Moodle was first released in 2002, and currently has 43 million users. The platform is continuously upgraded providing the most current technology applications. Moodle
Speed of implementation and learning is an advantage of this type of learning site. It involves minimal time to launch the site, can be updated regularly and easy to maintain (Bates & Poole, 2003).
The timeline for this project is to download, develop and test the Moodle site in March and April 2012, launch the course at the beginning of the spring semester in May 2012 as a pilot project. The senior class will be the users (target group) of the course. At the end of the course, feedback will be solicited from the students and the course will be evaluated to identify the successes and challenges. A detailed report will be submitted in July 2012 outlining the outcomes of the project.
References
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. Accessed online 15 January, 2012
Chickering, A.W. & Ehrmann, S.C. (1996). Implementing the Seven Principles: Technology as Lever. American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 49(2), 3-6. http://www.aahea.org/bulletins/articles/sevenprinciples.htm
International Society for Technology in Education (2008). Nets for teachers 2008. Retrieved Jan. 17, 2012 from http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers/nets-for-teachers-2008.aspx.
Moodle. http://moodle.org
Moodle in Education http://docs.moodle.org/en/Teacher_documentation
Panettieri, J. (2007). Addition by subtraction. University Business, August, 58-62. Accessed online 15 January, 2012
Perkins, M., Pfaffman, J. (2006). Using a Course Management System to Improve Classroom Communication. Science Teacher, 73(7), 33-37. Accessed online 15 January, 2012