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.

Example of excellent reasoning found in Amsterdam

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.

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.

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.

Hotel decoration in Torquy - first BECTA TEN meeting.  Sums it up nicely!

Must now go and catch up with the 'back end' set up - linking MIS, uploading students and creating courses automatically (I LOVE this feature).

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.

Amstrad emailer I saw in a St. Ives gallery in 2009

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....