Jonathon Sweetin (NCCCS System Office) The Whole Kit and Caboodle on Moodle “A comparison of terms and functionality to Blackboard” = Moodle Jonathon Sweetin (NCCCS System Office)

Purpose This presentation will also compare Blackboard 7.3x terms and functionality to Moodle 1.9x. It is not a how-to-guide for using Moodle or Blackboard but intended to aid in the transition of Blackboard users to Moodle . Disclaimer: I do not claim to be a Moodle expert but I do have experience administrating and teaching in both CMSs.

The Audience The audience for this presentation are current Blackboard users who are experimenting with Moodle.

Agenda Background Information Similarities and/or Differences What is Moodle? About Moodle Moodle Architecture & Open Source Moodle Support & Feedback Similarities and/or Differences Layout Course Administration Student Management Content Management Conclusion

What is Moodle? Modular Object Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment Anyone who uses Moodle is a Moodler

About Moodle Is an active and evolving work in progress Started in the ‘90s, first released in 2002 Moodle.org user community Moodle.com company website Moodle Stats as of March, 2011: Registered sites: 50,453 Countries: 211 Courses: 4,342,410 Users: 40,988,674 Teachers: 1,137,941

Martin Dougiamas Background in Information Technology Began developing Moodle while working as a System Administrator for Web CT Web CT and Blackboard frustrated him “There had to be a better way” Went on to complete a Masters and PhD in education. Moodle was his thesis project. “It is crucial to me that this software be easy to use - in fact it should be as intuitive as possible. “ Martin Dougiamas

Moodle Architecture Designed to support a social constructionist framework of education Learning is more effective when constructing something for others to experience based on what they already know Students learn from each other and the teacher Moodle is not constrained by what will sell well, so the code that is developed is often at the cutting edge of educational thinking

Open Source Moodle is provided freely as Open Source software Users are guaranteed the right to copy, modify and redistribute the software The software itself is free, but Moodle makes money from it in other ways Moodle is supported and updated by the company More importantly though, it’s also supported by a huge online community of enthusiasts – Moodle.org

Moodle.org Currently over 1,049,637 registered users(Mar 11) Averages over 500 new users each day All of these people have a vested interest in finding and fixing errors and making improvements to Moodle.

Student Feedback Student feedback has been mostly very positive Students just “get it”

Faculty Feedback Overall very positive Once they get started they love it Course conversion is not easy Moodle is a mind-set shift; some handle it better than others Instructors that tend to use discussion boards, chats and group projects seem to be the most enthusiastic

Moodle / Bb Functionality Comparison The following slides will illustrate some of the major Similarities and/or Differences in Blackboard 7.3LS and Moodle 1.9 Layout Course Administration Student Management Content Management

Blackboard: Layout The Bb layout is based off the navigation bar on the left. Within each content area, folders and subfolders can be used to further organize content. Instructors like this method because it’s all very neat and organized. Students must “jump around” in the course to find things and sometimes complain that it’s a bit confusing.

Moodle: Layout The layout of Moodle can be as far away from Blackboard as you can get, everything’s just out there. In Moodle, you do not have different content areas and folders…at least not in the same sense that you do in Bb. Moodle is very “shallow” and this can be a huge hurdle for instructors accustomed to Bb. Instructor’s resist not having their folders, but students actually seem less confused. The use of Blocks allows the instructor to customize the tools and resources that students see.

Moodle: Layout List of Blocks 

Blackboard: Control Panel In Bb, you can edit every part of the course from the Control Panel. Blackboard’s Control Panel

Moodle: Administration Block No control panel in Moodle. Instructor-only options are in the Administration block. No content editing is done from this block.

Blackboard: Edit View Blackboard’s Edit View feature allows you to edit content right from the content page. Content Page Before Clicking Edit View Content Page After Clicking Edit View

Moodle: Turn Editing On In Moodle, you use the “Turn Editing On” button to “turn on” the content editing tools. Course Page Before Clicking Turn Editing On button Course Page After Clicking Turn Editing On button

Blackboard: Course Options Most changes to the course structure and settings are made from the Course Options area of the Control Panel. Course Options area of the Control Panel

Moodle: Settings Edit Course Settings Screen Edit Course Settings is located in the Administration block Most course structure and settings are controlled on this screen including: Names Summary Course Format Availability Start Date Enrollment Status

Blackboard: Enroll Users Enroll User Screen in BB

Moodle: Assign Roles Very different terminology from Bb Located under Administration Block. Enroll & Un-enroll is done on the same screen. **Unlike Blackboard, in Moodle when you un-enroll a student their records ARE NOT LOST!** Assign Roles Screen

Blackboard: List/Modify Users List/Modify Users screen in BB

Moodle: Participants Users are called Participants in Moodle. Accessed under the People Block. Can filter by time since last activity. Can sort by all column headings. Displays pictures, if added to profile. Gives quick access to student’s profile, blogs and messages. Participants Screen

Blackboard: Announcements By default are not emailed. Appear on the first page students see. Announcements Screen in BB

Moodle: News Forum The News discussion forum is used to keep students up to date in the course. It is in every course and all participants are subscribed by default. News forums are RSS enabled. Found in the 0 section of the course. News Forum Screen

Blackboard: Content Items Available Content Items in BB

Moodle: Content Items In Moodle, things are broken down into more specific categories than in Blackboard. Moodle gives you two types of items to add. Resources are things for students to read or look at. Activities are things for students to do. Moodle Resources Moodle Activities 

Blackboard: Item Availability Must modify each item to change availability. Can be controlled by date/time. Adaptive Release gives advanced options for automatically setting availability when certain conditions are met. Options when modifying a folder in Blackboard

Moodle: Hide/Show Item A whole section or an individual item of content can be shown or hidden. Simply click the eye – no need to edit each item. No date/time or adaptive release on resources but date/time is available for activities and quizzes. (Available in Moodle 2.0) Main course page, in Edit mode

Blackboard: Assignments There are two common ways to post assignments in Blackboard. The “old way” with instructions typed into a Bb item; submitted via drop box or email. Items or columns were manually added to grade book to hold these grades. Submitted files had to be viewed elsewhere. The “new way” using the Assignment content type. Links directly to the grade book. Submitted files are viewed from within the gradebook.

Moodle: Assignments Assignments in Moodle similar to the new Assignment content type in Bb. Tied directly into the Grade book & Calendar. View work, leave comments & grade all on the same screen. Most Used Assignment Types: Advanced Uploading of Files allows multiple files to be submitted, also lets you send a file back to the student. Online Text allows submission of text only without a saved file. Offline Activity is anything you want to enter a grade for, that they don’t submit through assignments. Types of assignments available in the “Add an Activity” box

Blackboard: Attach File In Bb, files are attached to content items. Content Area of the Add Item Screen

Link files or folders into the course content by Adding A Resource Moodle: Files A folder structure can be created to organize and store all course files. Can be used to help you stay organized. Handles compressed zip files for easy upload. Can give students access to specific files or entire folders. Files screen in a Moodle course Link files or folders into the course content by Adding A Resource

Blackboard: Gradebook Sometimes can be very slow to load. Headings fall off screen – can be confusing. Can display/edit for single user. Each individual grade is a link.

Moodle: Gradebook (1.9) There are several view options that allow customization. Grouped by category – can be collapsed or expanded for easy viewing. Rows and columns can be highlighted for easy viewing. Has option to override any grade from the gradebook while maintaining the original grade. Unlike Bb, grading is always done per assignment – never per user and Also lets you drop the X number of lowest grades in a category.

Moodle: Gradebook (1.9) Gradebook Initial view Gradebook with editing turned on

Blackboard: Grading Can be very time consuming, especially if you need to grade submitted files. Multiple OK’s, Submits and page reloads per grade

Moodle: Grading One screen lists each student, their submitted work and date submitted. Quick grade option lets you record a grade and leave comments for each student without having to submit each one individually Quick Grade option – choose grade from drop down & leave brief comments

Moodle: Grading Grading an Advanced File Upload Assignment. Everything is on one screen. A single click takes you to the next student. It’s a small window so each student loads quickly.

Blackboard: Course Statistics Can be Slow. Minimal information. Few sorting or grouping options. Logs for individual dates are hard to read. Bb statistics for the month of August

Moodle: Reports Can see details about every click made. Can sort, filter and view in greater detail. Can view user specific activity reports. Moodle Reports screen

Blackboard: Email BB Send Email Option Screen

Moodle: Messages Moodle Messages is a blend of instant messaging and email. You can message students in bulk from the Participants screen. A Message History log is saved of all messages you send through Moodle. Messages can be automatically sent to students whenever you post grades. Incoming message

Blackboard: Calendar Cumbersome & time consuming to use. Not very prominent in the course.

Moodle: Calendar Displayed prominently on the Moodle home page and each course page. All dates are auto-linked directly into the calendar. Mouse over highlighted date for more info. Events can be set at the school, class, group & participant level. Each user has a single calendar that displays information from all classes.

Blackboard: Glossary Simply a list of terms Not interactive within the course

Moodle: Glossary Students can post gradable terms and definitions. If a term in the glossary appears within the course, it is auto linked back to its definition. You can turn this feature on and off. Hyperlink to a glossary term

Conclusion Contact Info: Jonathon Sweetin: sweetinj@nccommunitycolleges.edu Phone: 252-737-2766