Happy New Year! I hope you had an enjoyable, restful break and your transition back to school is going smoothly. Below is a special Moodle update. Mona and I attended the annual NESA Virtual School Meeting prior to the winter break. This update reports some of the topics discussed at the meeting and CAC’s current and planned use of Moodle. This Moodle Update consist of information on the following topics:
What is Moodle?For more information on these topics browse the descriptors below or visit our Tech Update Blog’s special Moodle entry at http://cactechupdates.blogspot.com/ Please let me know if there is a topic you would like me to address in a future Tech Update.
How is Moodle use at CAC?: Our Vision
CAC Moodle Implementation: Update and Next Steps
Moodle Management: Teacher’s Task
Moodle Survey:What is your current use
Moodle Matrix: Plan your use of Moodle
Moodle Training: “Just in time” option
Moodle Tips: My Moodle, Moodle Idenity, Email settings
Week Without Walls: Moodle Courses
Moodle Modules: Not all are created equal
Nesa Virtual School Update: Regional Pilot Projects
Moodle 2.0: Coming next summer
Moodle Tip: Use Firefox as your Browser
Blue Dot Quote
What is Moodle? Moodle stands for Modular Object Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment. It is an Open Source Course Management System. Some may call it a Learning Management System or a Virtual Learning Environment. It is a virtual classroom space for teachers to store their digital materials. A container for online digital tools, resources and media. It can be deployed in a variety of ways ranging from a dynamic website to augment face-to-face with a class of students to an online school for thousands of students. It contains a set of collaborative tools, easily delivers content to students and can assess learning using assignment and quizzes.
How is Moodle used at CAC?: Our Vision is to use Moodle as our virtual classroom space. Teachers have begun using it to augment their face to face work with students. We call this a Blended Learning environment. The open source nature of Moodle allows us to customize its use, grow and change its application as our use of technology becomes more seamless. While there are many similar application out there not many are open source and provide the flexibility to evolve with us. With more than 1700 users and almost 500 course, Moodle is a reliable solution that supports CAC learning and administrative needs. This year our goals are to make a successful transition from Blackboard to Moodle and establish some minimum Blended learning using Moodle Practices K-12.
CAC Moodle Implementation: So far the following implementation steps have been taken at CAC:
- Sandbox course setup for each teacher
- Site configuration and layout
- Organizational structure
- Basic site policies established
- User accounts created
- Academic courses created
- Administrative use explored
- Basic Teacher Training conducted
- Training support site created
- Just in time Teacher training available
- Week Without Walls courses created
Next Steps
- NESA Science Fair Use
- On-going training, support and development
- Explore parent access
- Template creation and access
- Regional Project Use
Moodle Management: Below is a list of Teacher’s Task that all grade 6-12 course teachers should have these in place as a minimum Moodle practice by the end of this year. We applaud those of you who have already meet these minimum uses and are well into a blended classroom environment. Upper ES classroom should begin to model some of these practices. All es classrooms should refer to your divisional discussions for the task to complete in moodle. Course grade 6-12 at CAC should have:
- Course documents posted in Moodle or created in Google Docs and linked in Moodle.
- Class handouts distributed digitally in Moodle. End user printing used
- Homework and supporting materials posted in Moodle.
- Online digital tools and resources used by a course are embedded or link in Moodle for easy access by students.
- Email communication with student through the Moodle News Fourm when appropriate.
- Explore student online Feedback in Moodle forums where appropriate.
Moodle Survey: I will ask Technology staff to survey your current use of Moodle in a blended learning environment as it compares to the above task. This will give us an indicator of where we are as a school. It will also give them opportunity to assess training needs and offer assistance.
Moodle Matrix: Following is a link to a Moodle Tool Guide for teachers. This matrix can assist you in choosing a Moodle tool for use with your learning activities. It compares some of the functionality and pedagogical of some of the standard Moodle tools. It also gives brief explanations on what the tools can and cannot do. This is a handy chart to have nearby when working with Moodle Tools. You can read more about this chart and download it at http://www.cats-pyjamas.net/2010/05/moodle-tool-guide-for-teachers/ It may also be viewed below as an attachment.
Moodle Training: “Just in time” Moodle Training is available through a quick search of You Tube, Atomic learning and a few other moodle support sites that provide you with short ”Just in Time” How to videos on the many features of Moodle. Here are two links to get you started.
- Resource page with a variety of Moodle Tutorials By Juleen scroll down to see embedded video tutorials: http://cactechnology.wetpaint.com/page/Moodle
- Two Minute Moodles contains links to a variety of Moodle video tutorials http://tomazlasic.net/moodle/moodle-tutorials-2-minute-moodles/
Moodle Tips: My Moodle, Moodle Idenity, Email settings
- “My Moodle” page: is a personal dashboard for each user that they can customize and easily get to their courses similar to iGoogle or a My Yahoo page.
- Moodle stores which course or orgainzations you are in. Members of those courses or organizations have access to your profile. To the degree of which you are comfortable, you can share information about yourself to those members. Profiles include your picture, interests, location and other information included as your online identity with the communities within our Moodle. Various settings are also maintained in your profile.
- Are you receiving too many emails from Moodle? You can change your email settings so that Moodle only sends you one email every afternoon, containing all of the email notifications from that day. To do this:
• Log in to Moodle• Scroll to the bottom of the page and click 'Update profile'.
• Click on your name in the top, right-hand corner of the page.
• Click the 'Edit profile' tab.
• Where it says 'Email digest type' choose: 'Complete (daily email with full posts)'
Week Without Walls: A Moodle course has been set up for all WWW courses. Teacher can use these courses as they like. The are currently available through your CAC Moodle Log in. They will become available to your course participants once you enroll them. If you need any assistance with course set-up feel free to contact a Mona or Steve.
Moodle Modules: There are many modules that can be added to Moodle to extend it functionality and use with other online tools. However not all are supported by Moodle Partners and our server administrator. Some modules are added for free some cost a $150 fee. Before adding a module to our Moodle instance we would like to first test it on a sandbox server and make sure it is compatible with our configuration and your planned use before committing to it as a set part of our Moodle site. We also work in collaboration with other NESA Schools to determine the value of Modules as a group and note issue other schools may have had with a module before committing to it on our Moodle instance.
Nesa Virtual School Update: The three main goals of our meeting in Katmandu were to:
- Optimize the successful transition from Blackboard to Moodle for all NVS schools
- Formulate appropriate and sustainable ASP service for the future
- Continue to learn about and develop Moodle as an optimal platform for blended learning, collaboration, and emergency continuity.
These apply directly to us and our use at CAC. We are right in the mix when it comes to use of Moodle by NESA schools. Some Regional Pilot Projects mentioned at the meeting are:If you are interested in being involved in any of these projects let us know and we will send you contact information.
- NVSF – NESA Virtual Science Fair
- Film Festival
- Art Teachers Collaborative Project
- Virtual Speech Contest
Moodle 2.0: Coming next summer The NESA Virtual School Project will update to Moodle 2.0. This upgrade is currently available but the group has decided to wait until summer to avoid any needed down time or unexpected issues. If you are interested in reading about some of the new and improved features click on this link.
http://docs.moodle.org/en/Moodle_2.0_release_notes#Portfolio_support
Moodle Tip: When working with Moodle on a Mac use Firefox as your browser. Other browsers may not support the complete tool bar in many of the Moodle tools.
Blue Dot Quote: With the growing use of technology tools like Moodle in education it is important that we stay a tune to the humanistic side of education. Face to face relationships, listening and the resilience to live healthy lives with our student and colleagues is a must. Here is what I call a Blue Dot Quote related to this idea.
As always the tech department is ready to provide you with any technology assistance needed. If you have any questions or topics you would like addressed in future tech update about Moodle feel free to email Mona mabdelhady@cacegypt.org or myself sroberts@cacegypt.org.“The Speed of Life is the Moment — the Present is just that, a Gift” by Joseph Bailey
Keep Computing!
Your Friendly IT Guy,
Steve
Steven Roberts, Director of Information Services, Cairo American College
"The man who can make hard things easy is the educator." by ~Ralph Waldo
Emerson~
