We've had an excellent half day training with Di Dawson (DawsonLoane) - http://www.dawsonloane.co.uk/ - and all the e-Learning Advisors were able to be there along with our line manager. It's quite a feat to have 8 people on very different levels trying to get to grips with a new virtual learning environment. I think we were very well behaved really.
I have put together a list of what we covered so that we can cascade to some early adopters who can then attend the second training session in February. I have done 1 session with a member of the Computing department and am hopeful that we can deliver good training that starts with the idea of active learning. This will move us away from how most of us have used Blackboard - as a big filing cabinet.
On 16 December I went to the ULCC Moodle Wonderland where we heard an interesting range of people and organisations using Moodle, e-ILPs and Mahara. It was also a good opportunity to network (called a Knowledge Cafe these days) and to see a new build at Kingsway College.
I like the Moodle community. It embodies the best of the e-Learning community commitment to share and cooperate. Although there is a Blackboard community and many helpful people, many of them weren't working for Blackboard.
I think this blog has probably run its course now. If you have any questions, do email me ellen.lessner@abingdon-witney.ac.uk
Have a good holiday season and best wishes for a happy 2011.
Wednesday, 22 December 2010
Monday, 13 December 2010
Moodling along
A shift has happened and I now can see how to create a basic course in Moodle and am ready for the 'interesting' bits. Di Dawson has started to populate our Moodle training course with some helpful tips and an online photo resizer which is simply brilliant http://resize.it/ . It sorted out several of my current design difficulties on the front page and I am very grateful.
One of the e-Learning advisors said he discovered a way to zip/export/archive Bb courses and upload them to Moodle but I haven't yet been successful doing this - keep getting an error message. Luckily I'll see him on Wednesday and he can talk me through it. It's not that I don't want to re-do the course, it's just that I don't want to upload all those files again. It's boring and tedious and frankly, there isn't much on TV as background noise. I think I'm up to date on all the NCIS programmes available on all Freeview channels.
eILP update: attendance data is flowing nicely, we're hoping the student photos will go in next and it looks as if a significant number of courses are using the e-ILP in spite of the shakey start with getting the data embedded. I have a number of very keen staff who are looking forward to the Moodle training, some of whom have used it before. Nothing like knowing who the innovators and early adopters are.
Happy holiday, everyone! It isn't far away.
One of the e-Learning advisors said he discovered a way to zip/export/archive Bb courses and upload them to Moodle but I haven't yet been successful doing this - keep getting an error message. Luckily I'll see him on Wednesday and he can talk me through it. It's not that I don't want to re-do the course, it's just that I don't want to upload all those files again. It's boring and tedious and frankly, there isn't much on TV as background noise. I think I'm up to date on all the NCIS programmes available on all Freeview channels.
eILP update: attendance data is flowing nicely, we're hoping the student photos will go in next and it looks as if a significant number of courses are using the e-ILP in spite of the shakey start with getting the data embedded. I have a number of very keen staff who are looking forward to the Moodle training, some of whom have used it before. Nothing like knowing who the innovators and early adopters are.
Happy holiday, everyone! It isn't far away.
Thursday, 2 December 2010
Just before the training starts
I'm looking forward to our training with Di. I've been practicing on my 'sandbox' course, looking on YouTube and Slideshare and the other e-Learning Advisors have also been having a go. I particularly liked this presentation from Sandra Pires, E-Learning Lecturer at Westminster Adult Education Services , who runs a blog called e-blah-blah at www.e-blahblah.com . She identifies all the ways that VLE use should be made more interesting and interactive. We're definately moving from the filing cabinet approach to VLEs to something more useful.
Our involvement with ULCC continues to go smoothly. Staff can see their students, managers can see their areas and I've learned how to see everything from anyone's point of view. We're working on making the attendance data (via our electronic registers on EBS) display more information to give a better overall picture of each student's attendance, something which most staff and students find invaluable. Otherwise, all the bugs about information transfer from EBS to the e-ilp seem to have been ironed out.
We had a visit from colleagues at Oxford and Cherwell Valley College. They run Moodle and Sharepoint but would like to use a e-ilp module as well. We showed them ours and had a useful discussion about all the issues surrounding implementing new systems and changing existing practice. This includes the ongoing process of supporting staff to use technology and be comfortable with it. I noticed that an ILT colleague, Lesley Besant at BCOT, is an e-Confidence Coordinator.
Our involvement with ULCC continues to go smoothly. Staff can see their students, managers can see their areas and I've learned how to see everything from anyone's point of view. We're working on making the attendance data (via our electronic registers on EBS) display more information to give a better overall picture of each student's attendance, something which most staff and students find invaluable. Otherwise, all the bugs about information transfer from EBS to the e-ilp seem to have been ironed out.
We had a visit from colleagues at Oxford and Cherwell Valley College. They run Moodle and Sharepoint but would like to use a e-ilp module as well. We showed them ours and had a useful discussion about all the issues surrounding implementing new systems and changing existing practice. This includes the ongoing process of supporting staff to use technology and be comfortable with it. I noticed that an ILT colleague, Lesley Besant at BCOT, is an e-Confidence Coordinator.
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| Happy holiday from the e-Learning Advisors at Abingdon and Witney College |
Thursday, 18 November 2010
Hurray!
One of the e-Learning Advisors, Nik, has discovered that he can export a Blackboard course and import it to Moodle as long as he can increase the file upload size in Moodle. I haven't had time to see how it's done yet, but that cheered me up no end yesterday. Of course going to another Moodle Forum run by the RSC SE at Newbury College helped as well. Again, plenty of sharing and help was available from everyone in the room. I must admit I had some time out when Moodle 2.0 was discussed because I've barely got my head around 1.9. I was able to show off our e-ILP, which was nice.
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| Snow person from a previous winter.... |
Tuesday, 16 November 2010
Feeling steady
We've now booked Di Dawson to do half day training sessions on Moodle. The first session will be with the e-Learning Advisors so we can go at a comfortable pace and with 7 of us, cover a lot of territory. We'll then cascade to the movers and shakers (or early adopters) and all come together for a second session in early February. We have confirmed that we'll renew our Blackboard license (it runs out in late January) so the pressure is off. Hurray!
In the meantime, I am certainly feeling steadier because I've had a barrage of problem solving to do with staff contacting me with a range of problems and questions concerning the e-ilp. As with many things to do with technology, some of it is that people panic or don't read the screen properly. New systems throw people and in spite of e-Learning Advisors being available on two campuses almost every day, most people are opting to do it themselves. ULCC continues to be patient and helpful. I can't help thinking that some days our name must be on the 'naughty' wall with the number of questions that we throw their way. I guess they know it will calm down and we'll be able to do more of the obvious things as we gain experience.
It's helped that I've now discovered that I can logon as anyone so I can see exactly what they see, i.e. what really works and what doesn't. I can move menus up and down and I've created a few courses. I was especially chuffed to be able to create a logon for the outside trainer and she tested it and got on first time.
In the meantime we're advertising AGAIN for a web/e-learning/IT analyst so I'm still the chief designer for the front page along with front line problem solving. Tomorrow I'm headed to Newbury College for another Moodle Forum run by the JISC RSC SE. The last one was fantastically helpful and I'm sure that this one will be similarly useful.
In the meantime, I am certainly feeling steadier because I've had a barrage of problem solving to do with staff contacting me with a range of problems and questions concerning the e-ilp. As with many things to do with technology, some of it is that people panic or don't read the screen properly. New systems throw people and in spite of e-Learning Advisors being available on two campuses almost every day, most people are opting to do it themselves. ULCC continues to be patient and helpful. I can't help thinking that some days our name must be on the 'naughty' wall with the number of questions that we throw their way. I guess they know it will calm down and we'll be able to do more of the obvious things as we gain experience.
It's helped that I've now discovered that I can logon as anyone so I can see exactly what they see, i.e. what really works and what doesn't. I can move menus up and down and I've created a few courses. I was especially chuffed to be able to create a logon for the outside trainer and she tested it and got on first time.
In the meantime we're advertising AGAIN for a web/e-learning/IT analyst so I'm still the chief designer for the front page along with front line problem solving. Tomorrow I'm headed to Newbury College for another Moodle Forum run by the JISC RSC SE. The last one was fantastically helpful and I'm sure that this one will be similarly useful.
Thursday, 4 November 2010
After half term
Lots of things have been happening behind the scenes. The technical side of uploading information from one system into another is complicated and for this alone, I think it's worth making sure you have it right before implementation. I think everyone has done a superb job in a short period of time - our MIS person and ULCC but there are glitches. And glitches mean that people get frustrated or turned off and that the luddites start dancing around saying 'I told you so'. Dancing luddites are not a pretty sight.
Second stumbling block for me/us is understanding the levels of permissions and roles. (This is where I long for Blackboard....). It's complicated, very, very complicated. It's almost a course in philosophy and on top of everything, people can have different roles and permissions all over the place. You need many different groups with different levels of permission and you need to understand what that entails. And we're not there yet. Of course I also understand that there are benefits to having so many different roles and permissions because Moodle should be more interactive than Blackboard ever was. For example, I can set up some pictures in Lightbox Gallery so that students can comment and upload a picture too.
On the otherhand, how do I match staff who need to see students' eILPs to those who just want to view and those who want to add information or comments?
OK, I hear you say, 'You need training, immediately' and you're right, we do. We were waiting for the new post of Web Developer (not the right title) before doing this but as time goes on, I guess it needs to be done now.
Having said all of this, for most students using the e-ILP, it's working fine, staff are finding it intuitive to use and like it enough to want to personalise it to their course and students. Some staff are starting to use the Moodle course slowly and a few have explored Mahara. NO one has screamed at me (although I haven't had anyone actually do this in the Bb days either) so I think we are winning - just.
Anyone who knows how to configure a web page to open full size when logging on to the network wins a small box of very good chocolates (not the one pictured - can't afford that!) from me if it works. Our Moodle (hosted externally, remember) opens in a small window which is easily closed so it defeats the opportunity to broadcast all the news in someone's face before they close it.
Second stumbling block for me/us is understanding the levels of permissions and roles. (This is where I long for Blackboard....). It's complicated, very, very complicated. It's almost a course in philosophy and on top of everything, people can have different roles and permissions all over the place. You need many different groups with different levels of permission and you need to understand what that entails. And we're not there yet. Of course I also understand that there are benefits to having so many different roles and permissions because Moodle should be more interactive than Blackboard ever was. For example, I can set up some pictures in Lightbox Gallery so that students can comment and upload a picture too.
On the otherhand, how do I match staff who need to see students' eILPs to those who just want to view and those who want to add information or comments?
OK, I hear you say, 'You need training, immediately' and you're right, we do. We were waiting for the new post of Web Developer (not the right title) before doing this but as time goes on, I guess it needs to be done now.
Having said all of this, for most students using the e-ILP, it's working fine, staff are finding it intuitive to use and like it enough to want to personalise it to their course and students. Some staff are starting to use the Moodle course slowly and a few have explored Mahara. NO one has screamed at me (although I haven't had anyone actually do this in the Bb days either) so I think we are winning - just.
Anyone who knows how to configure a web page to open full size when logging on to the network wins a small box of very good chocolates (not the one pictured - can't afford that!) from me if it works. Our Moodle (hosted externally, remember) opens in a small window which is easily closed so it defeats the opportunity to broadcast all the news in someone's face before they close it.
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| http://www.boogaj.com/photos/uncategorized/green_and_blacks_box.jpg |
Monday, 18 October 2010
Moodle Forum - JISC RSC SE at Alton College
A last minute email to those of us outside of the Hampshire region with an invitation to attend their Moodle Forum, galvanised me into action - especially when I saw that beginners and advanced users were going to be catered for. Going there turned out to be a great decision (and no traffic problems on the A34). I saw and heard so much that was helpful. Here's a summary of the points I picked up:
. It is possible for the RSC will do some training for us
· Check that our courses don’t have or do have guest access. For example, anyone can log onto any other course – or self enrol. Do we want this?
· Check exactly what we can expect from ULCC – what do they provide and what don’t they?
· Download the Moodle e-safety course from RSC. Upload to our Moodle
· Teach staff to upload PDF files, which can be read by anyone using a Smartphone to look at Moodle…or Blackboard
· Southampton Solent College using Mahara
· Some colleges are putting bronze/silver/gold emblems on the front of their VLE course
· Make sure that the Mahara theme is a fixed width or else when people create views and then send a link, it will depend on the viewer’s screen and they may miss some of the information.
· Mahara Lite allows mobile (Smartphone) use of Mahara
· Does Mahara always draw from Moodle and continuously overwrite changes made in Moodle to Mahara?
· Ideas for getting people to use Moodle –
o Upcoming events in a large box
o For sale area
o Lost and found
· Alton allows messaging box because student at the event said that’s how he met people and also if he was at home and saw a colleague online, they could message each other. (but Alton is a smaller college and only one campus)
· 'Postit' style add on to front page.
There was talk about setting up a course using a Project View (instead of topic or week view). This allows uploading of multi-files instead of one at a time to central area. This needs looking into before we start mass migration!
So, as you can see - lots of stuff. I came back and added the Events box to the front page and added information about the upcoming college development days (college closed to students) plus half term opening hours for the library. Small things, I know, but it felt very positive. Thanks!
. It is possible for the RSC will do some training for us
· Check that our courses don’t have or do have guest access. For example, anyone can log onto any other course – or self enrol. Do we want this?
· Check exactly what we can expect from ULCC – what do they provide and what don’t they?
· Download the Moodle e-safety course from RSC. Upload to our Moodle
· Teach staff to upload PDF files, which can be read by anyone using a Smartphone to look at Moodle…or Blackboard
· Southampton Solent College using Mahara
· Some colleges are putting bronze/silver/gold emblems on the front of their VLE course
· Make sure that the Mahara theme is a fixed width or else when people create views and then send a link, it will depend on the viewer’s screen and they may miss some of the information.
· Mahara Lite allows mobile (Smartphone) use of Mahara
· Does Mahara always draw from Moodle and continuously overwrite changes made in Moodle to Mahara?
· Ideas for getting people to use Moodle –
o Upcoming events in a large box
o For sale area
o Lost and found
· Alton allows messaging box because student at the event said that’s how he met people and also if he was at home and saw a colleague online, they could message each other. (but Alton is a smaller college and only one campus)
· 'Postit' style add on to front page.
There was talk about setting up a course using a Project View (instead of topic or week view). This allows uploading of multi-files instead of one at a time to central area. This needs looking into before we start mass migration!
So, as you can see - lots of stuff. I came back and added the Events box to the front page and added information about the upcoming college development days (college closed to students) plus half term opening hours for the library. Small things, I know, but it felt very positive. Thanks!
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| A bit of our intranet - linking to the Moodle PDP and our new wirelss access form |
Monday, 11 October 2010
Early adopters
The e-ILP (we're calling it a Personal Development Plan - PDP) is working very well and staff have taken to it quickly. There are some questions which I've been compiling and will upload here later so that you can see what people want to know and how they want to use the PDP. More interesting is that Mahara is being used and there has been no mention of it from us. It sits there within the Moodle interface but we've been so busy keeping up with the front page and trying to sort out the PDP, that we haven't considered introducting Mahara.
I am really happy that people have found it, thought about how to use it and have set up their own networks with their students - or found that their students have set up THEIR own networks and invited them to join. I shouldn't be surprised - times have really changed and the college is now full of people who don't have to be convinced that technology is a good thing. On the whole, things work so why shouldn't we have early adopters? Now all I have to do is find the time to learn to use Mahara well so I'm off to YouTube to get started.
I may not yet love Moodle but I really, really like Mahara. That is certainly another story.
I am really happy that people have found it, thought about how to use it and have set up their own networks with their students - or found that their students have set up THEIR own networks and invited them to join. I shouldn't be surprised - times have really changed and the college is now full of people who don't have to be convinced that technology is a good thing. On the whole, things work so why shouldn't we have early adopters? Now all I have to do is find the time to learn to use Mahara well so I'm off to YouTube to get started.
I may not yet love Moodle but I really, really like Mahara. That is certainly another story.
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| St. Ives (keeping that sunny feeling going a little longer) |
Tuesday, 5 October 2010
Did you miss me?
It's been frantically busy and I haven't had time to do much other than run from meeting to teaching to .......
However, I have been to an inspirational conference, run by ULCC, called The Future of Technology in Education. The format was 3 speakers talking for 20 minutes each followed by a panel of the 3 speakers answering questions. This happened 3 times and the audience stayed put, didn't have to make any choices and there was just enough time for questions, followed by discussion as you queued for coffee, lunch, tea or a drink after the event, paid for by Microsoft. Aside from the fact that none of the speakers were women (come on, folks, I can think of 5 women who would love to speak on the subject without hesitation, deviation or repetition), the conversations on and off the podium were truly energising. If you didn't like a speaker, you could tweet or check your emails.
Back to Moodle. Staff love the PDP (personal development plan = eILP) in Moodle and are very keen to have a go. We are slowly drawing the information from the MIS system but this hasn't gone as smoothly or as quickly as we thought originally. Lesson 1: A key player in getting the systems to talk only works 3 days a week and is allowed to take a holiday so this needs to be factored in. It does seem to me that this key role probably needs full time cover but I'm not a senior manager. Lesson 2: The administrator needs to be up to speed and available, as well as trained. We're advertising for a web developer who will take this role and the advert went out on Friday. At the moment, I'm the administrator. Thanks to Chris Miles' excellent staff development for OCVC booklet - How to Use Moodle (thanks, Chris), I'm learning how to add tutors to courses so they can see their students PDPs. It's been an interesting experiment putting course codes and tutors together.
Introducing this has made us re-examine all of our systems which is probably a good thing. I think we were warned that this might be the case. So Lesson 3 - there is NO replacement for project planning though I'm not sure that we're very good at this in FE.
I have now created a Moodle course for staff and added some people who are coming for PDP training tomorrow. Fingers are crossed.
PS - I still don't love Moodle. When will I learn to love Moodle? I got an iPhone (giving my Nokia 95 which I loved to a needy son) at the same time as we started with Moodle. I now have learned to love my iPhone but I haven't got there yet with Moodle. I guess we don't know each other well enough yet.
However, I have been to an inspirational conference, run by ULCC, called The Future of Technology in Education. The format was 3 speakers talking for 20 minutes each followed by a panel of the 3 speakers answering questions. This happened 3 times and the audience stayed put, didn't have to make any choices and there was just enough time for questions, followed by discussion as you queued for coffee, lunch, tea or a drink after the event, paid for by Microsoft. Aside from the fact that none of the speakers were women (come on, folks, I can think of 5 women who would love to speak on the subject without hesitation, deviation or repetition), the conversations on and off the podium were truly energising. If you didn't like a speaker, you could tweet or check your emails.
Back to Moodle. Staff love the PDP (personal development plan = eILP) in Moodle and are very keen to have a go. We are slowly drawing the information from the MIS system but this hasn't gone as smoothly or as quickly as we thought originally. Lesson 1: A key player in getting the systems to talk only works 3 days a week and is allowed to take a holiday so this needs to be factored in. It does seem to me that this key role probably needs full time cover but I'm not a senior manager. Lesson 2: The administrator needs to be up to speed and available, as well as trained. We're advertising for a web developer who will take this role and the advert went out on Friday. At the moment, I'm the administrator. Thanks to Chris Miles' excellent staff development for OCVC booklet - How to Use Moodle (thanks, Chris), I'm learning how to add tutors to courses so they can see their students PDPs. It's been an interesting experiment putting course codes and tutors together.
Introducing this has made us re-examine all of our systems which is probably a good thing. I think we were warned that this might be the case. So Lesson 3 - there is NO replacement for project planning though I'm not sure that we're very good at this in FE.
I have now created a Moodle course for staff and added some people who are coming for PDP training tomorrow. Fingers are crossed.
PS - I still don't love Moodle. When will I learn to love Moodle? I got an iPhone (giving my Nokia 95 which I loved to a needy son) at the same time as we started with Moodle. I now have learned to love my iPhone but I haven't got there yet with Moodle. I guess we don't know each other well enough yet.
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| I love Inspiration. Truly, deeply and madly. |
Tuesday, 21 September 2010
Who says Twitter isn't useful?
I've been a bit busy and haven't been checking the tweets but this evening I gave myself some time to catch up (after posting a little known fact about Delaware, where I am from and which has hit the news again with a raving tea party nutter running for the senate. Apologies, I digress). I found a gold mine through the ever wonderful tweets of Dave Foord, giving the link to http://moodle.blogs.wesleyan.edu/home/. The lovely people at Wesleyan College in the States, have produced something called 'Moodle in 15 minutes' - 15 x 1 minute screen casts of the Moodle interface, plus FAQs and other information for their staff as they move from Blackboard to Moodle. I'm so excited to have found something which will help me, help explain Moodle to the other early adaptors in the college and just take my level of anxiety down a notch.
I do think we really need to have a Learning Technologist/Web designer on board at college to facilitate the implementation of Moodle, and keep it up to date and looking good. This is on tomorrow's to do list since we intended to get a post advertised and then it went quiet.
Where we are now - 1. We're just rolling out the Moodle as the first window after login. This is a big responsibility (I do care about how things look and that they are accessible and usable by the majority), hence the need to push again for the learning technologist. 2. The MIS system is nearly ready to talk to the Personal Development Plan aka eILP as the e-registers are now mostly accurate and being used. 3. We have a 2 day staff development window in October before half term to draw together these activities and meet up with people to demonstrate what's possible via Moodle/Mahara and the PDP.
I do think we really need to have a Learning Technologist/Web designer on board at college to facilitate the implementation of Moodle, and keep it up to date and looking good. This is on tomorrow's to do list since we intended to get a post advertised and then it went quiet.
Where we are now - 1. We're just rolling out the Moodle as the first window after login. This is a big responsibility (I do care about how things look and that they are accessible and usable by the majority), hence the need to push again for the learning technologist. 2. The MIS system is nearly ready to talk to the Personal Development Plan aka eILP as the e-registers are now mostly accurate and being used. 3. We have a 2 day staff development window in October before half term to draw together these activities and meet up with people to demonstrate what's possible via Moodle/Mahara and the PDP.
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| Forest of Dean sculpture trail walk during a Technology Exemplar Meeting |
Thursday, 16 September 2010
It's all about Blackboard now
As we set up the e-ILP, we're still busy supporting staff to use their Blackboard sites to keep students' materials, resources and weblinks together in one place. For those of you thinking of making the transition, moving from one to another does need a considerable amount of planning and time to do it.
And now I have attended an online seminiar about Moodle 2.0 which makes me wonder if we should stick with Blackboard until that is implemented rather than having to deal with two major transitions. Is technology moving faster or am I slowing down? Luckily I don't have to make a decision about this for another few weeks, and by then I may have had some quiet time to do the serious thinking that this takes.
I may be worrying for nothing - it's clear that overall our staff are better equipped to work online, have more confidence and are probably younger and more in tune with technology than ever before. I can hope, can't I?
And now I have attended an online seminiar about Moodle 2.0 which makes me wonder if we should stick with Blackboard until that is implemented rather than having to deal with two major transitions. Is technology moving faster or am I slowing down? Luckily I don't have to make a decision about this for another few weeks, and by then I may have had some quiet time to do the serious thinking that this takes.
I may be worrying for nothing - it's clear that overall our staff are better equipped to work online, have more confidence and are probably younger and more in tune with technology than ever before. I can hope, can't I?
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| From the JISC Learner Experience of e-Learning Resources |
Wednesday, 8 September 2010
Stuck at the next level
The front page of our installation is about to go live. It has a welcoming message and photo from the Principal, the personal learning plan looks good and logins seem to be going smoothly. But the welcoming quiz - How did you get to college today - is not working and I don't know why. Do I ring ULCC? Is it a setting that I don't know about? I am under the impression that it was working and it seems easier to delete the quiz and try to do another one then add it to the list of the hundreds of small questions I have.
I know that I'll find out, but it is the next level of learning and I'm in grumpy student mode. Luckily, the students are in happy mode so they won't mind very, very simple.
I know that I'll find out, but it is the next level of learning and I'm in grumpy student mode. Luckily, the students are in happy mode so they won't mind very, very simple.
Thursday, 2 September 2010
New term - Day 3
The students are coming in and we haven't quite got the back MIS system to talk to the ULCC Moodle. ULCC told us that we had an ambitious timetable to get this up and running and of course, they were right. However, I don't think we're too far away from having everything working. There are a number of serious people working on it and everyone is committed to the idea and feeling quite positive about the value it will offer students and staff. This has to be one of the better ways of starting the term!
Communication is good so that we can say to people that xxx isn't ready yet but that it should be ok by xxx. I think not knowing something is much harder to cope with than a known delay. Of course the other thing to remember is that at the start of the term, students can't possibly remember everything they are told so the fact that something will change, or isn't quite ready, isn't as big a problem as it might be. We also know that when it is ready, we will be offering them something which is of a high quality.
I've almost finished the ULCC Online Moodle course, which was very good. Sharing information worked well and it was an incredibly useful way to remember what it feels like to be ignorant and to gain knowledge slowly. Looking at well designed Moodle courses and comparing them to less well designed courses helps to clarify thoughts. I am a bit overwhelmed by how many people are willing to share their Moodle courses. This is so helpful! For example, there is an excellent e-safety course that the the JISC RSC-SE have put together - link here.
By the way, I am really looking forward to learning to use Mahara better. I think it's even better than Moodle for students!
Communication is good so that we can say to people that xxx isn't ready yet but that it should be ok by xxx. I think not knowing something is much harder to cope with than a known delay. Of course the other thing to remember is that at the start of the term, students can't possibly remember everything they are told so the fact that something will change, or isn't quite ready, isn't as big a problem as it might be. We also know that when it is ready, we will be offering them something which is of a high quality.
I've almost finished the ULCC Online Moodle course, which was very good. Sharing information worked well and it was an incredibly useful way to remember what it feels like to be ignorant and to gain knowledge slowly. Looking at well designed Moodle courses and comparing them to less well designed courses helps to clarify thoughts. I am a bit overwhelmed by how many people are willing to share their Moodle courses. This is so helpful! For example, there is an excellent e-safety course that the the JISC RSC-SE have put together - link here.
By the way, I am really looking forward to learning to use Mahara better. I think it's even better than Moodle for students!
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| The old start menu |
Monday, 30 August 2010
Nearly the start of term
Am I ready? No. I don't know how long it took me to get to grips with Blackboard because it was so long ago and so much has happened since those days 8 years ago(?). Merv came and did a day session with us and I was overwhelmed with the possibilities on offer at the time. I feel that way again, but with the addition of mobile technologies, an iPhone coming my way, support via Twitter and Facebook, etc. There's so much more technology out there.
I have to sit quietly and plan my first course and put it together. I think I've learned just enough to do this. The e-learning team gets together tomorrow and I will share what I've learned with them but I haven't yet figured out how we are going to roll this out in a coherent way throughout the college. There are a number of technical configurations going on which I have no control over (Moodle talking to the MIS system, for example) so until tomorrow, I can't really begin to worry.
Lessons learned:
1. Stay on good terms with IT Services.
2. Buy chocolate to encourage everyone to think positively about difficult situations where systems are new and not quite ready to talk to each other.
3. Have a game plan and keep smiling. Apparently, if you smile, others find it hard to get cross.
4. Remind yourself that this is the right thing to do and when we get through the 'pain' barrier, we'll wonder why we didn't do it earlier.
5. Remember that yearning for 'the good old days' is a sign of age. There weren't really any good old days when it came to technology. The cooperation and collaboration that was started by FERL and the lovely people in FERL has carried on.
I have to sit quietly and plan my first course and put it together. I think I've learned just enough to do this. The e-learning team gets together tomorrow and I will share what I've learned with them but I haven't yet figured out how we are going to roll this out in a coherent way throughout the college. There are a number of technical configurations going on which I have no control over (Moodle talking to the MIS system, for example) so until tomorrow, I can't really begin to worry.
Lessons learned:
1. Stay on good terms with IT Services.
2. Buy chocolate to encourage everyone to think positively about difficult situations where systems are new and not quite ready to talk to each other.
3. Have a game plan and keep smiling. Apparently, if you smile, others find it hard to get cross.
4. Remind yourself that this is the right thing to do and when we get through the 'pain' barrier, we'll wonder why we didn't do it earlier.
5. Remember that yearning for 'the good old days' is a sign of age. There weren't really any good old days when it came to technology. The cooperation and collaboration that was started by FERL and the lovely people in FERL has carried on.
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| Example of excellent reasoning found in Amsterdam |
Wednesday, 25 August 2010
I'm getting the picture
I've finally had some quiet time to sit and work through getting my course set up. I'm learning the difference between topics and labels, feedback and forums and getting used to the idea that you have to upload everything to a central area and draw from it rather than upload directly to the area you want the resource to appear.
I've also learned that if you change the name of a resource, it disappears from the site. That should be obvious but...
Blackboard's buttons will be missed. They were a clear visual clue of what to press when looking for information. I'm still finding Moodle a bit too text based and need to look at some sites which are using Moodle for people with learning difficulties or literacy barriers.
Monday, 23 August 2010
I went away and when I came back....
I went away, though I took a wireless netbook, thinking I'd keep up with the 1 month Moodle course while I was away but I missed the f2f session last week. [note- it was worthwhile because Amsterdam is a fantasic city]. I am considering all of this as a chance to empathise with learners;
1. I missed an important f2f session and that's my preferred style of learning.
2. I'm not a bad problem solver but finding information by trial and error means that I'm developing a bit of a 'hit and miss' system of finding and remembering processes. I must have a more logical way to introduce Moodle to all - confident and less than confident.
3. I'm missing the familiarity of using Blackboard when I didn't have to think about anything and I knew where I was going almost all the time. I must remember to 'translate' the functions on Bb to Moodle (when you wanted to do xxx on Bb, you did xxx. On Moodle, this function is xxx). I must not underestimate the frustration of learning a new system when the old one worked. When we all moved from Microsoft Office 2003 to 2007, there were howls but there was help.
One week to go before most people return from holiday. If you're reading this post, please send some positive thoughts my way. It's hard to see how we're going to be ready to begin the process in a week.
1. I missed an important f2f session and that's my preferred style of learning.
2. I'm not a bad problem solver but finding information by trial and error means that I'm developing a bit of a 'hit and miss' system of finding and remembering processes. I must have a more logical way to introduce Moodle to all - confident and less than confident.
3. I'm missing the familiarity of using Blackboard when I didn't have to think about anything and I knew where I was going almost all the time. I must remember to 'translate' the functions on Bb to Moodle (when you wanted to do xxx on Bb, you did xxx. On Moodle, this function is xxx). I must not underestimate the frustration of learning a new system when the old one worked. When we all moved from Microsoft Office 2003 to 2007, there were howls but there was help.
One week to go before most people return from holiday. If you're reading this post, please send some positive thoughts my way. It's hard to see how we're going to be ready to begin the process in a week.Wednesday, 11 August 2010
Going on leave
I'm off for a week and don't know if the promised wifi in the flat will work - or whether I will take the college netbook on top of all the other reading material and shoes I need. However, I do have that feeling that I need to keep up and keep going and there's so much to learn.
I spent yesterday trying to figure out how the Lightbox Gallery works. I set up an a course for the other e-Learning Champions and found out that Moodle likes you to upload things to a central area and then 'draw' from that area to other places, like the Lightbox Gallery. The YouTube video I watched said that I should then be able to add to the gallery or let others add to it but I can't find the option to do that. I will and it's all part of the system of getting to grips with it. As my colleague pointed out again - if we're not finding it completely intuitive (and why should it be completely intuitive?), it will help us take it slowly with staff.
Must now go and catch up with the 'back end' set up - linking MIS, uploading students and creating courses automatically (I LOVE this feature).
I spent yesterday trying to figure out how the Lightbox Gallery works. I set up an a course for the other e-Learning Champions and found out that Moodle likes you to upload things to a central area and then 'draw' from that area to other places, like the Lightbox Gallery. The YouTube video I watched said that I should then be able to add to the gallery or let others add to it but I can't find the option to do that. I will and it's all part of the system of getting to grips with it. As my colleague pointed out again - if we're not finding it completely intuitive (and why should it be completely intuitive?), it will help us take it slowly with staff.
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| Hotel decoration in Torquy - first BECTA TEN meeting. Sums it up nicely! |
Monday, 9 August 2010
The UCLL Blended Learning Course starts
I've enrolled on the 4 week 'How to Use Moodle' blended learning course, although I will have to miss the f2f course next week. Aside from needing to know how Moodle works (the mechanics), it's always useful to look at an online course from the beginner's angle. This helps me remember the feeling of being in an online environment and how what is obvious to the designer is NEVER obvious to the new participant.
I've done enough work online not to be daunted so I know you have to take a deep breath and work your way through the material in an orderly fashion (i.e. do as you're told). The social area is very important and those initial links with others, plus having a real photo make it a better experience.
And here's the but - it's so wordy. Moodle is as verbal an environment - at least at this stage - as Blackboard. You have to read everything and there's so much going on! This is a reminder that the online environment isn't an easy one for those who don't like reading so how do you motivate them to want to use a VLE?
I think the first introduction to a VLE probably needs to be f2f (not for this course, but in general) and the first contact needs to be friendly with some flitting around a very stripped down environment until the participants are used to it.
The design of the front page is important - less text intially and perhaps a 10 second video welcome.
I will now look at Mahara and do something for the the Learning Journal.
I've done enough work online not to be daunted so I know you have to take a deep breath and work your way through the material in an orderly fashion (i.e. do as you're told). The social area is very important and those initial links with others, plus having a real photo make it a better experience.
And here's the but - it's so wordy. Moodle is as verbal an environment - at least at this stage - as Blackboard. You have to read everything and there's so much going on! This is a reminder that the online environment isn't an easy one for those who don't like reading so how do you motivate them to want to use a VLE?
I think the first introduction to a VLE probably needs to be f2f (not for this course, but in general) and the first contact needs to be friendly with some flitting around a very stripped down environment until the participants are used to it.
The design of the front page is important - less text intially and perhaps a 10 second video welcome.
I will now look at Mahara and do something for the the Learning Journal.
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| Amstrad emailer I saw in a St. Ives gallery in 2009 |
Monday, 2 August 2010
It's important to read carefully
I've booked myself onto the blended learning course run by ULCC and misread the f2f date. Sadly, I will be away on the real date (not very sad because I'll be in Amsterdam) but I hope it doesn't mean I can't enrol on the course.
Now that I have admin rights to our Moodle, I've been playing around and it doesn't look difficult but I need to attend the course to get the larger picture. I have a clear internal map of Blackboard after all these years - and there is an outline map of each course available as well. I need that same type of thing with Moodle, which I'm sure will come from the course.
I also had fun playing with Mahara and think it makes quite a neat e-portfolio package. So, some progress....
Now that I have admin rights to our Moodle, I've been playing around and it doesn't look difficult but I need to attend the course to get the larger picture. I have a clear internal map of Blackboard after all these years - and there is an outline map of each course available as well. I need that same type of thing with Moodle, which I'm sure will come from the course.
I also had fun playing with Mahara and think it makes quite a neat e-portfolio package. So, some progress....
Thursday, 29 July 2010
The importance of having everyone in the room
Today we had a Skype call with James at ULCC, preceded by an agenda and action plan - very helpful. On our side, we had myself - now e-Learning Coordinator, my line manager who is Director, Curriculum and the IT Services Manager. Clarifying questions from all of us couldn't have been easy but James did it well (I felt the voice of experience was useful here!). It was so important to have us all in the same room so that questions, answers and explanations were clear to all.
What we primarily discovered is that our enrolment process needs to tie together the right information so that Moodle can pick it up and put a number, a name, a course and an IT logon together in order to populate an e-ILP that will pick up information from our e-registers. [If you didn't understand this sentence, you are probably where we were about 3 hours ago. We have several drawings and doodles to get to the place where I could write this.] [Cigarettes were smoked, tea was drunk and wine was put in the fridge after frantic phone calls home]
Up until today, we had talked about doing this but we didn't have a driver. Our Blackboard installation never talked to the MIS system and wasn't well used enough that it was ever an issue. Network logins were generated quickly and were based on course codes but not linked to enrolment numbers. It all worked fairly well at the time. Now we realise that we need to talk to RM (IT Manager) and learn about Active Directories, Macros and Visual Basic (Director and me). We will get there.
The critical thing is that we were in the room together, we talked before the Skype meeting and we carried on talking afterwards - moving closer to a solution that will be really good. No sleepless nights yet.
What we primarily discovered is that our enrolment process needs to tie together the right information so that Moodle can pick it up and put a number, a name, a course and an IT logon together in order to populate an e-ILP that will pick up information from our e-registers. [If you didn't understand this sentence, you are probably where we were about 3 hours ago. We have several drawings and doodles to get to the place where I could write this.] [Cigarettes were smoked, tea was drunk and wine was put in the fridge after frantic phone calls home]
Up until today, we had talked about doing this but we didn't have a driver. Our Blackboard installation never talked to the MIS system and wasn't well used enough that it was ever an issue. Network logins were generated quickly and were based on course codes but not linked to enrolment numbers. It all worked fairly well at the time. Now we realise that we need to talk to RM (IT Manager) and learn about Active Directories, Macros and Visual Basic (Director and me). We will get there.
The critical thing is that we were in the room together, we talked before the Skype meeting and we carried on talking afterwards - moving closer to a solution that will be really good. No sleepless nights yet.
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| Don't give up! |
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