Moodle for the Classroom Teacher Dana Metzgar: Franklin Regional Senior High

Who am I? The Last Person on Earth you would expect to moodle! 21 Years in the classroom Not “techie” www.franklinregional.k12.pa.us Who am I?

Impact on Teaching: A Student Centered Dynamic Authentic Learning Activities replace traditional in class activities: Note Taking & Lecture is supplanted with forums, chats, & other student centered activities. More of them- Less of me! Sample: Greek Mythology Unit Then and Now Impact on Teaching: A Student Centered Dynamic

Impact on Teaching: A Student Centered Dynamic Pacing of the year has been significantly altered. 1st Year of Full Implementation: Finished the curriculum early (Oops…) 2nd Year of Full Implementation: Explored Units in more depth; more focus on higher level understanding of essential learning Example: Short Story Unit Then and Now Impact on Teaching: A Student Centered Dynamic

Impact on Teaching: Increased Parent Communication Parents now feel that they know what is going on in the classroom. Posted calendars, copies of assignments, links to helpful sites, and contact information, all help parents to “see inside the classroom." Impact on Teaching: Increased Parent Communication

Increased Accountability & Insight Into Student Thought Process Everyone Participates Every Day! Example- Forum Postings Higher Levels of Engagement “Playing Ball in their court” Example: Chat Example: Shakespeare Unit Impact on Students

Impact on Students True Differentiation of Instruction is manageable. I’m working on this… Remedial Activities and Enrichment Activities can be done via posted assignments Example: Research Unit Impact on Students

Moving to Moodle: My Journey & Advice “Peer Pressure Works”- 9th Grade Academy and PLC Model Get lots of help and support: tech coach, WIU, colleagues Allow for frustrations: There will be bad days! Start small: 3 year journey to date Initially start with basic units and assignments Slowly add “bells and whistles”- forum, voice, video, links, etc… Never truly “finished” Pre and post tests, video, remediation and enrichment, etc… Moving to Moodle: My Journey & Advice