The Moxy of Moodle

The Moxy of MoodleCreator: Wendi SouthDiffusion and Integration of Technology in EducationThe Moxy of MoodleCreator: Wendi SouthFor the class of Diffusion and Integration of Technology in Education

1Welcome MCCSC School Board

My name is Wendi South. I am a 7th and 8th grade Language Arts teacher at Batchelor Middle School. I am currently pursuing my PhD in Educational Technology with Walden University. Welcome MCCSC School Board.2Is there a need for new innovation in MCCSC?

Have you ever wished that there was a place where students could gather to review work and ideas before submitting it to their teachers?

Have you ever wished that you could have a flexible enough class schedule so you could attend when it was convenient for you?

Have you ever wished to provide for your students and educators a platform for collaboration and interaction outside of a bricks and mortar classroom?

3YES!

If you answered yes to any of these questions, then Moodle may be the answer for you.4Identified needs

The identified needs of our school system are online learning, greater student engagement, teacher websites, repository for resources, and professional development. These can all be addressed using the Moodle environment. Moodle is an experience all its own.5What is Moodle?6Where did Moodle originate?Creator: Martin Dougiamas

When: 1999

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moodle

Creator: Martin Dougiamas of Perth, Australia

Dougiamas started a Ph.D. to examine "The use of Open Source software to support a social constructionist epistemology of teaching and learning within Internet-based communities of reflective inquiry". *His purpose was to help educators create online courses with a focus on interaction and collaborative construction of content. Moodle has continued to evolve since 1999 and as of October 2010, Moodle.org has 1 million account holders.

7PhilosophyThe five key principles about learning on which Moodle has been and will continue to be developed.*

* http://www.moodle.org

The five key principles about learning on which Moodle has been and will continue to be developed.*

1 We are all potential teachers as well as learners.2 We learn well by creating and expressing for others.3 We learn a lot by watching others.4 Understanding others transforms us.5 We learn well when the learning environment is flexible and adaptable to suit our needs. 8The moodle experienceResearch from leading thinkersBranzburg, J. (2005). How to Use the Moodle Course Management System. Technology & Learning, 26(1), 40. Retrieved from ERIC database.Consortium for School Networking, W. (2008). CoSN K12 Open Technologies Implementation Study #3. Moodle: An Open Learning Content Management System for Schools. Consortium for School Networking, Retrieved from ERIC database.Dede, C. (1997, Winter97). Emerging technologies and professional development. ASHA, p. 8. Retrieved from Communication & Mass Media Complete database.Elias, T. (2010). Universal Instructional Design Principles for Moodle. International Review of Research in Open and Distance Learning, 11(2), 110-124. Retrieved from ERIC database.Menges, B. (2009). Using "Moodle[TM]" (Open Source Software) with Grades 3-6. School Library Monthly, 26(2), 21-22. Retrieved from ERIC database.Tapscott, D. (1998). Growing up digital: the rise of the net generation, New York:McGraw-Hill.

Much research has been done or is ongoing about the educational use of Open Source Software, and Moodle in particular.10Development

Some problems faced during development were:

The need to de-emphasize individualization and emphasize collaboration

The need for more interactive input from the educator

11Development

Some problems that were experienced during development were overcome by:Allowing users to help create the code, providing a community for users to discuss benefits and bugs, emphasizing strong security, and being a translucent and open process12S-Curve

In 2002, Moodle was launched and it garnered 4% of market share from Blackboard and before the end of the first year that rate had gone up to 10% of market share. By 2005, 13% of colleges had changed over to Moodle. This raised to 33% between 2005-2006. Moodle has continued to gain in popularity to 87% of market share in early 2010.

13Development

The initial audience for Moodle was educators who wanted collaboration, interaction, and a repository for material.

Today all facets of education use Moodle: colleges, middle schools, high schools, and individuals.

14

Commercialization

thing

There is no thing that has to be marketed. Moodle remains free to use. Moodle.com provides the revenue to run moodle.org.

There must be change agents that are willing to put their ideas into practice to prove that Moodle can be a profitable innovation.

The profitability can also be through educational means.

15Moodle collaboration

This diagram shows the interconnectivity of Moodle between institutions, teachers, students, and the Moodle community, all using Moodle as a gateway to collaboration and interaction.16Sample Moodle pages

These are some examples of courses in the Moodle environment. On the left, is a more graphic approach to organization and visual space. On the right the course is predominantly text-based.17Innovation- DecisionProcess

Knowledge- timeline1986 -

1998 -

1999

2002 -

2006, June -

Ph.D.

1986 - Dougiamas started work on early Internet and web applications

1998 - Dougiamas begins preliminary work on Moodle

1999 Dougiamas does trials of early forms of Moodle.

2002 - August - Moodle 1.0 is released

2006, June - Moodle 1.6 is released

As previously stated, Dougiamas started a Ph.D. to examine "The use of Open Source software to support a social constructionist epistemology of teaching and learning within Internet-based communities of reflective inquiry". It is still under construction.

19Persuasion

Some important features of Moodle are the Assignment, Chat, Choice, Forum, Glossary, Lesson, Quiz, Resource, Survey, Wiki, and Workshop modules.

20Decision*http://docs.moodle.org/en/Philosophy

According to http://www.moodle.org:

The design and development of Moodle has been guided by a social constructionist theory and practice of teaching and learning. You are allowed to copy, use and modify Moodle provided that you agree to: provide the source to others; not modify or remove the original license and copyrights, and apply this same license to any derivative work. It remains free.*

21Implementation-Educational Possibilities:Online coursesHybrid coursesIndividual and groupactivities

Educator support

These questions should be answered prior to development:

Which staff members will need professional development? Who will deliver the professional development? What training materials will be needed? Will ongoing support be needed?

23Rate of Adoption of moodleInnovators and Early AdoptersTechnology DirectorTechnology educatorsContent Area educators

Rate of Adoption of Moodle

Innovators and Early AdoptersTechnology DirectorTechnology educatorsContent Area educators

Strategies to Encourage Adoption

Provide research to support its use to increase performance Provide practical yet creative ways that Moodle can be utilized inside and outside the classroom.Provide technical support for problems and questions

24Rate of Adoption Laggards Teachers close to retirementTeachers who enter education late in life

Strategies to Encourage AdoptionProvide one on one or small group training Pair up laggards with someone who is eager to use technology.

25Attributes to Reach Critical Mass of Moodle in Education Relative Advantage

Provide data that Moodle is just as, if not more, effective in interacting and collaborating in the virtual world.Determine if it has longevityDetermine if it is rational

26Attributes to Reach Critical Mass of moodle in Education Complexity

Easy to create and navigateEarly adopters can be pilot-ers for later adoptersEarly adopters can provide support to guide later adopters Supports individual and group activitiesUpgrades and innovations available without costly feesAbility to create and customize themes

27Attributes to Reach Critical Mass of Moodle Observability

Moodle must demonstrate observable advantages for implementation

With performance being measured, degree of student engagement, collaboration, and participant interaction need to be observable

28Decentralized Diffusion SystemWhy?Who?

Why: Innovators of Moodle could be trained and placed at various schools to spread the knowledge faster. Who: Teachers who are knowledgeable about technology and are eager to learn the different ways to implement technology in the classroom. Administrators at the school level could be in on who would be able to assist in choosing the best change agent for school.

29Decentralized Diffusion SystemRole of Change Agent

The role of changer agent is : persuading peers that Moodle would help their students become more engaged and collaborative.At a time when more responsibility is being added because of budget cuts, it can reduce time spent on smaller tasks.Provide support for early adopters so they can train and tutor late adopters of Moodle.Providing examples that will increase student engagement and learning.Aid in problems or questions that may arise in the early stages of adoption.

30Ongoing support

Ongoing support must be put into place. This support should include:Instilling a desire to adopt Moodle based on benefits that are demonstrated during training.Posting examples of new Moodle courses that are being created to keep the interest of Moodle in the forefront of change agents minds.Providing follow up training and sharing sessions for change agents.Fostering collaboration of Moodle users to support one another so that it will be a sustained adoption.

31Critical Mass of moodleHow can critical mass be reached?

In education to have universal adoption of a new technology it is best to get leaders (teachers and administrators) in the schools on board that will use their influence to persuade others to adopt new ways of doing tasks.

Implying that Moodle will eventually be required would persuade some to adopt faster so that they will be ready and knowledgeable when wide spread adoption is in place.

32

Collaboration is the way; Moodle is the means. To make sure to engage your students more and ensure learning takes place you need to:Learn beyond the walls, Collaborate , Share, Provide Constructive Criticism, and Engage Others.Moodle is the way to do this and continue to increase student learning and raise test scores.

33