Moodle
From LiteracyTentWiki
Date: Tue, 7 Jun 2005 20:39:08 -0400 (EDT)
From: Holly Dilatush <smilin7@earthlink.net>
To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-technology@literacy.nifl.gov>
Subject: [NIFL-TECHNOLOGY:3621] Re: Distance Learning: Shortest distance
Hello Barry, all,
I keep tooting the Moodle (course management system) horn! But, you sound like a perfect candidate to take the Moodle plunge! With a Moodle there are SO many options -- the best are the discussion forums, but there are options for chats, lessons, quizzes, attendance, journals, much much more! It automatically enters grades for any online work, gives options for you to manually enter grades for offline work, exports to excel with an easy click of the mouse, and tracks each student's activity (several different report options -- when I click on a student's profile, I see EACH entry they've made, with dates and times of their posting/access to our class website). Photos show next to my or any learner's name EACH time a message or grade is posted -- so you "see" each other in cyberspace and feel so much more connected! You can automatically (easily) send mass emails to all students in one or all classes from the Moodle site (and have an automatic organized area to revisit them as necessary). You can link to sites, upload web pages, post tons of photographs, embed voice recordings, practice dictations, etc. It's awesome! It's password protected, and you (as course administrator) can delete users and change the password (in case problems develop).
It's a wonderful way to stay connected between classes, it's a huge motivator for learners to logon and see who has responded to their messages.
www.Moodle.org This can be a daunting site, but Moodle is FREE to download -- does require a server that is running 24/7. I pay $100 a year for hosting 5 courses (up to 500 students) through http://thinkingdistance.org [I highly recommend this service-- Tom at ThinkingDistance.org ONLY hosts other Moodle sites.] I am NOT proficient at understanding the binary codes/behind-the-scenes info of technology! So, for me, paying a host service is the answer. If you understand the technological gobbledy-gook, you might want to do it all yourself.
I have 3 Moodle courses I piloted this semester -- with a total of 158 students registered and active on them -- I first heard of Moodle at a conference, and then participated in two online courses (one FREE pre-TESOL conference Moodle course, and one paid course) to help me -- there are LOTS of wonderful free resource help guides available on the Internet, too.
If you would like to explore my Moodle course as a guest (you can see most things as a guest, but cannot post messages or take quizzes), please email me privately -- smilin7@earthlink.net and I'll be happy to send you directions.
I'm hoping to be part of a panel presentation at next year's TESOL conference (and other VA / USA conferences) to promote the wonders of Moodle and lessons learned from my experience -- I want to share this awesome opportuntiy to open doors to our learners.
One does not need to be especially computer literate to learn to navigate a Moodle -- I've had several students this semester "afraid of computers" who have managed, some better than others, three in particular who are some of the most active Moodlers in our classes! I love it! I love the potential for empowering adult learners in many many skill areas -- English and workplace and family lit and community involvement -- huge potential and awesome!
It is more work than a blog, of course! I love my blogs, too -- but my first blog efforts were with Tabulas.com and I didn't have much student interaction.
Holly
smilin7@earthlink.net
Date: Sat, 8 Oct 2005 14:47:58 -0400 (EDT)
From: smilin7@direcway.com
To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-technology@literacy.nifl.gov>
Subject: [NIFL-TECHNOLOGY:3801] Re: reading digital vs. print materilas
Hello all,
....I'm experimenting with a Moodle (see http://moodle.org; a CMS -- Course Management System for more info) for GED and other classes that I'm currently teaching -- all very basic at the moment, and difficult because it's not a mandatory part of the course, and not everyone in the groups is interested in participating -- so it's growing slowly, and a very different dynamic than the first moodles I created and used with such positive results -- those classes were structured so that the Moodle was a part of the required curriculum.
In my limited experience and informal research, internet applications, use of computer technology works well to motivate and further the learning of 60% to 70%+ of student groups, regardless of literacy level (low beginner to advanced in my pools of students so far) and regardless of age -- one of my most successful groups was of older students (30 to 72).
There was a general noticeable difference in groups with strong(er) peer support and with more initial comfort level (groups with more email/internet experience generally, but not always, had an easier time/faster time acclimating to the Moodle CMS).
http://theHsmile.org is the site hosting moodles I've created -- to visit as a guest, please send me a separate (off listserv) email to hollydg@direcway.com Thanks!
Back on track closer to the issue of digital vs print materials -- I've begun using more and more screenshots (pictures of the image on a computer monitor at various given points of time -- for example, to show students how to use the Moodle sites, I take different pictures of what they'll see on their monitor; for math practice sites, test practice sites, I do the same -- and then can show them where they'll click, etc. REALLY helps to adjust the eyes to what to scan for, and to make the process less intimidating -- a bridge, so to speak, between the two medias).
Hope this isn't too much of a tangent --
I love the way these listservs generate ideas and timesavers,
Holly
GED/ESL Instructor, Volunteer Coordinator
Charlottesville City Schools Adult Learning Center
Charlottesville, VA
Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2005 12:47:53 -0400 (EDT)
From: "Bennett, Gina" <BENNETT@cotr.bc.ca>
To: Multiple recipients of list <nifl-technology@literacy.nifl.gov>
Subject: [NIFL-TECHNOLOGY:3810] RE: (How) can low-level readers/speakers (of English and other languages)
....Not sure if this constitutes 'professional wisdom' or just 'practitioner experience' (probably the latter). Our College has been offering a certified Licensed Practical Nursing program for the past 4 years to a learner group which might fit your criteria. We offer the theory part of our LPN program (approx. 8 months) entirely by distance delivery, to a rather special learner audience. Most of the students in this program are foreign-trained healthcare professionals, seeking licensure in Canada, and living about 1000 km from our campus. For the most part, the students have a somewhat limited facility with English (spoken & written) and often VERY limited computer skills. We have learned a few things over the years about making the program work & at this point, our retention rate is about 90%. Some notes on what we do & how we do it:
-- early on, we switched learning management systems to something easier for the students to use. We started with WebCT the first year & found that almost none of the students would use it: they simply communicated with the instructor by mail (mostly) or telephone (sometimes). For the past 2 1/2 years, we have been using Moodle which the students find much easier to use. They need a course management system in which it is impossible to get lost & also a limited number of basic tools (we use mostly linear resources for reading, lots of discussion forums, & on-screen writing assignments). -- we provide an on-site orientation to the learning management system & the online program. -- we schedule frequent, short assignments & maintain tight deadlines -- the instructor for the program schedules a regular (once per month) on-site workshop to keep in touch with students -- we make ample use of non-technical support systems. For example, we provide a toll-free phone number for students to call us with technical problems.
Of course, there is still plenty of room for improvement. If we could assign more money & time to this program, I would recommend: -- increase the on-site orientation significantly. At the moment, we provide one full day of technical orientation. Most students would benefit from at least twice that amount. Students with next-to-no computer skills (many of these students are in the 40s-50s age range)would benefit from 3 or 4 days to improve their basic computer competencies: opening & closing programs, super-basic file management, getting familiar with the keyboard, basic troubleshooting. -- add some kind of easy-to-use desktop-sharing or application-sharing facility (e.g. Shinkuro). This would make our lives so much easier! As the primary person responsible for supporting the instructor & the technical needs of the students, I spend HOURS talking on the phone with distraut, frustrated students. I have a hard time understanding their spoken English sometimes & they have a hard time understanding my computer directions. If I could see what they're doing, & demonstrate on-screen how to do it the right way, I think we'd all be happier.
Sooo... I guess our approach could be summed up as 'high-touch, low-tech'. I can't stress the importance of the high-touch part. In my experience, low-literacy students need a warm body who is approachable & patient. Of course, it would be best if that warm body were available on-site to help (such as an on-site tutor or mentor)... The high-touch can be provided at a distance but it is harder & it does take time.
Hope this helps,
Gina
Gina Bennett
eLearning Support & Coordination
College of the Rockies
Box 8500
Cranbrook, BC V1C 5L7
250.489.8287
