Eric Williams ITEC 7445 Dr. Beeland Fall 2017 Emerging Technology Moodle Eric Williams ITEC 7445 Dr. Beeland Fall 2017 Emerging Technology

Moodle What is Moodle? It is an online tool used to manage learning environments similar to Blackboard. It is a virtual learning environment tool that brings the teacher and learning right into a student’s home. Teachers can post instructional materials (videos and PowerPoints) Teachers can post activities for students to do in the comfort of their homes or any where they can have access to the internet The website provides a forum like a chat room that enables teachers to facilitate online discussions

How does Moodle look like? The screen shot below is that of Moodle. It is very easy to operate.

How does Moodle support the vision of technology use in the school/district? The vision for technology use at Scarborough High School is: To provide meaningful learning experiences for students To engage students during independent practice so that teachers can implement a small group instructional model To provide students with a blended learning environment where content materials are always available to the students regardless of time and place To provide an online platform for collaboration and discussions To use technology as a differentiation strategy Moodle supports the vision of technology use in the school and in the district.

How does Moodle support the vision of technology use in the school/district cont’d Moodle can be used to deliver content to the diverse learner through the postings of videos and power points. Moodle’s item banks can be used to create formative and summative assessments. Students assessments are automatically graded saving the teacher grading time which the teacher can use for other productive work such as lesson planning, analyzing and evaluating student progress. Automatic grading and quick feed back enables both students and the teacher to determine areas of weakness and to target those areas Quick feedback enables the teacher to also plan extension activities for student who excel.

How does Moodle support the vision of technology use in the school/district cont’d Moodle has embedded interactive activities like quizzes and cross word puzzles. These activities engage students during independent practice and allows the teacher to implement a small group instructional model. Moodle is customizable and allows teachers to add their own content materials, assessments, and online projects. Moodle's social networking capabilities like Edmodo allows teachers to provide instant feedback to students and to facilitate online discussions. The availability of content materials at all times to students allows teachers to provide blended learning. Podcast modules can be added to Moodle. This allows students to record their own audio recording. They can then share it as a podcast.

Evaluation of how well Moodle supports Scarborough’s vision for technology use. Results of survey delivered to students, parents, teachers, and administrators showed major areas of concern: Low student achievement in all content areas Many teachers were still using the old school model of lecture as their method of instructional delivery. Teachers were not using technology effectively to engage students, and technology was only being use for drill and practice activities. Students had no means of accessing instructional material other than in the classrooms. As a course management system, Moodle will enhance student engagement and learning, allow teachers to provide blended learning for students and implement small group instruction and offer teachers a means of differentiating instruction.

Objectives The objectives of Moodle are the following: First and foremost engage students during independent practice and thus allowing teachers to implement small group instruction which is the vision of the school. Offer teachers an effective platform where teachers assign activities requiring higher order thinking to increase enhance critical thinking. Offer an online platform for students to engage in collaboration To enable teachers offer a blended learning environment

Benefits Students and teachers need a safe online environment to work in. Moodle provides that safe learning environment that allows them to engage with content. Moodle allows teachers to create task based activities which enhance students higher order thinking Teachers and students can add blogs, wikis and podcast modules to Moodle Moodle allows teachers to extend the classroom beyond the physical walls of the school Moodle’s features includes interactive activities, discussion forums, and built-in gradebooks.

Target Population Many of the course work and content materials are for junior high school and beyond Moodle is a course management system with social networking capabilities just like face book. Because of this, I will propose that the system be used by students from junior high school and up. The best way to ensure equitable access to Moodle is the adoption of a one to one initiative. My school has already adopted that policy. 99% of all students have a lap top that they can use throughout the school year. They can take these laptops home. Provided they have internet at home, they can access the website from anywhere.

Equipment and software Moodle is part web page and part data base A web server will have to be set up and Apache, MySQL, and PHP installed on it to provide the environment that Moodle needs for the data base part. To use the online functions, an account will have to be set up. A lap top/computer with internet connection is needed. So as not to cause distraction to one another, use of headphones may be needed.

Technical Support My school has a full time technology employee who resolves technical issues that may arise. The school district has a technical support department that can be reached via email Moodle provides videos on how to navigate the website and resolve minor technical issues. Moodle has a technical support department that can be reached via twitter using the Moodle hashtag

Limitations One of the benefits of Moodle is that it allows teachers to create a safe online environment by adjusting settings of the school to private. However, because it is web based, its use entails the same risks as those associated with internet use, that is, risk to privacy and property, but again, they can be minimized. A limitation to its use is that access to the internet is needed. Materials on the website are not available offline.

Costs of the Technology Moodle is an open source software that is free to use. Setting up or modifying Moodle for both private and commercial purposes entails no licensing fees. The use of Moodle requires the use of the internet. This will not add any fees to what the school already pays for its internet use. Students will need lap tops or computers. The school already has adopted a one on one initiative. About 99% of all students have laptops. No additional laptops will need to be purchased for using Moodle For individuals with internet availability at home, use of Moodle will entail no additional cost. For individuals without internet, a small cost will be involved to have internet connections which is about a $100.00 on the average.

Potential Funding Sources The school receives over 90% of its funding from the school district. The school can obtain funds from the school district as long as these funds are needed for the integration of technology in instruction purposes, which aligns with the vision of the district for technology use. The school is a title 1 school and can use some of its title 1 funds for technology in education purposes

How can Moodle be used in the Classroom? Teachers can post online projects and create task based activities requiring higher order thinking. The online discussion forums will enable students to do these activities collaboratively in or out of class. Such collaboration and discussions enhance higher order thinking and efficacy. Teachers can easily create formative and summative assessment from a built-in test bank on any subject to check for student understanding. Students can use Moodle during the independent practice session allowing the teacher to implement small group instruction with students who need the model.

How does Moodle promote Specific student learning goal? Teachers can create power points and lesson videos and post them on the Moodle site. This will allow content material to be available to students any time and anywhere. In this way, each student can study at his or her own pace. The discussion forums of Moodle allow students to engage in online discussions and collaboration. Each student’s higher order thinking and efficacy is enhanced by participation in this forum Online discussion forums also help students to build connections, and improve their communication skills. The student becomes more motivated, and learning becomes more meaningful to the student

How is Moodle used to differentiate Instruction? Moodle provide teachers with data to adjust Instruction. Teachers easily create interactive quizzes, cross word puzzles, fill in the blanc exercise, and matching exercises that are automatically graded. This allows the teacher to easily analyze each student's areas of strength and weakness, and thus adjust teaching as needed. Teachers con use Moodle to engage students during independent practice and thus allowing the teacher to work with small group of students. Teachers can create task based activities and have students work collaboratively on these tasks. The discussion forum of the site allows for such collaboration and discussions.

How is Moodle used to differentiate Instruction cont’d Moodle has videos and power points covering content material aligned to the common core. Students have the option of choice of video they want to watch. Moodle offers students another method of showcasing what they have learned. By adding a podcast module to Moodle, the can record their work by audio and share it as a podcast

How does Moodle promote communication? The online forum of Moodle allows students to engage in online discussions Students can share information on Moodle by podcasting with Moodle and creating blogs Video postings on the website allow both teachers and students to communicate with each other

Evaluation of Moodle in the School Environment I did not find any research on the effectiveness of Moodle in the classroom. However, I did find lots of testimonials by individual teachers and online students about how great a tool Moodle has been in facilitating their teaching or online learning experiences. I did not find any negative testimonial about its effectiveness in making a difference in the classroom. On the contrary, Moodle was praised as great tool for teachers to use for differentiation, for assessment, for content delivery, and for flipping the classroom (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9XfwBzt1mY Many teachers were particularly complimentary about Moodle as an assessment tool allowing teachers to instantly assess students for understanding and having tests and assignments instantly graded and thus saving teachers grading time.

Implementation Plan To start using Moodle, one must have basic online technology skills which almost all our students do. In order to utilize Moodle as a data base tool, I will work with my school to set up a webserver and install MySQL, Apache and PHP. To adopt this technology and sustain its use, I will employ the trans theoretical Model of change by Prochaska, J. O. & Di Clemente, C. C., (1982). The model describes five stages of behavior change: Pre- contemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance

Implementation Plan In the pre-contemplation stage, teachers are not interested or see the added value of using Moodle. To overcome this stage, I will inform them about this technology and its benefits. I will show them You-tube videos of testimonies by teachers of how useful it has been for them during the daily professional learning community meetings. In the contemplation stage, teachers are weighing the benefits and cost of implementation and in the preparation stage, teachers are planning to adopt Moodle. I will move them through the two stages with another session during daily PLCs. Moodle has videos on how to set it up and use it. In our daily professional Learning Community meetings, I will have teachers watch these videos on how to set up accounts for themselves and their students and how to use the various features and have them set up accounts

Implementation plan I will meet with teachers in small group sessions or individually and help them with this process where needed. In the action stage, teachers are actually using Moodle. In the maintenance stage, this habit is ongoing. In order to help sustain this habit, I will discuss with administration where implementation of Moodle will be a requirement administration will look for during walkthroughs and teacher evaluations.

Reflection I became familiar with this tool during one of my courses in the spring of this year. I read about and loved it. I created an online account and started using it in my class. It transformed me as a teacher. I had always wanted to do flipped classrooms and was looking for an appropriate online site to implement this virtual classroom. Moodle has been a great site for that purpose. Flipping the classroom has allowed me to have more time to implement small group instruction, an instructional model at the core of my school’s vision. Now I do not have to spend hours grading papers and creating assignments. The additional time I have had has enabled me to be a more effective teacher, building relationships with my students. My class room management has improved tremendously.

References Prochaska, J. O. & Di Clemente, C. C., (1982). Solomon, G., & Schrum, Lynne (2014), Web 2.0, HOW-TO FOR EDUCATORS