565a: learning technology: selection, design & application
Adding to the collage:
Having worked a little with Blackboard, Desire2Learn, Moodle, and most recently Saba, I wanted to improve my familiarity with these different platforms so that I could begin creating a framework for my own reflection, and thus chose an Leaning Management System (LMS) that would fit my specific purpose. Ultimately, I was trying to formulate in my mind how an LMS could foster constructivist approaches/models (Sunal, n.d.) and could also be used to support the inclusion of multiliteracies (New London Group, 1996) in BC's Grade 10 English and Social Studies curriculum. In reflecting on my present approach I sense that online collaboration and knowledge building is where I needed to focus my energies.
Having worked a little with Blackboard, Desire2Learn, Moodle, and most recently Saba, I wanted to improve my familiarity with these different platforms so that I could begin creating a framework for my own reflection, and thus chose an Leaning Management System (LMS) that would fit my specific purpose. Ultimately, I was trying to formulate in my mind how an LMS could foster constructivist approaches/models (Sunal, n.d.) and could also be used to support the inclusion of multiliteracies (New London Group, 1996) in BC's Grade 10 English and Social Studies curriculum. In reflecting on my present approach I sense that online collaboration and knowledge building is where I needed to focus my energies.
A brief snapshot of 565A:
Having worked as both student and facilitator with a number of learning management systems (LMS), ETEC 565A was a logical choice in taking the next steps to understand some of the fundamentals of online course design. In all my previous online course work the LMS was predetermined and I merely used what was established. This course allowed me the chance to research and evaluate a number of different platforms with the ultimate goal of selecting one that suited my needs and aspirations. The culminating project invited me to choose an LMS, utilize a variety of its internal tools and produce 3 complete units of an online course within my curriculum area. Below are some of the results that I am proud to share.
Having worked as both student and facilitator with a number of learning management systems (LMS), ETEC 565A was a logical choice in taking the next steps to understand some of the fundamentals of online course design. In all my previous online course work the LMS was predetermined and I merely used what was established. This course allowed me the chance to research and evaluate a number of different platforms with the ultimate goal of selecting one that suited my needs and aspirations. The culminating project invited me to choose an LMS, utilize a variety of its internal tools and produce 3 complete units of an online course within my curriculum area. Below are some of the results that I am proud to share.
The Intricacies of Creating a Moodle Site
Introductory thoughts:
For some years now I have been reflecting on my own professional practices and been wondering how to improve and advance my contributions to my students, while situating and preparing them with current, relevant and transferable skills. Technology is an important facet in our day-to-day interactions so it only made sense to me that I incorporate similar aspects in my teaching and my students’ education. I have welcomed technology as a tool to support learning, enhance communication, promote inquiry and foster creativity. My goals for this course were to, using the SECTIONS analysis (Bates and Poole, 2003) explore how different technologies/platforms could enhance collaboration and to choose one to implement in September 2013 that suited my evolving needs and aspirations. Coupled with these aims was my desire to produce more multiliterate (New London Group, 1996) students and thus I hoped to also consider how the different technologies introduced in this course could help me inch closer to that dream.
Below are some of the ways in which I tried to use Moodle's LMS to:
1. Work towards my goals stated above
2. Practice some of the strategies I had learned in previous ETEC courses 512, 510 and 530.
Closing reflections:
I took this course on the recommendation of a fellow MET student who intimated to me that this was by far her most favorite course of the 5 she had taken at that time. Having a high regard for her opinion I researched 565A and decided that, while the course description seemed geared a little more toward design than I was interested in, stepping outside of my comfort zone would challenge me to achieve more than I could, if left to my own devices.
In retrospect, 565A forced me to consider a great deal about the implications of what an LMS is intended to do and the factors and work needed before the final roll out. In the design of my Moodle site I was constantly thinking about what things would ‘look like’ from the students’ perspective. Was my message/activity/task being translated the way I had intended? Luckily, words were not my only tools and the affordances within Moodle brought me a new realization – with media we can easily show rather than just tell.
In face-to-face environments we tend to ‘tell’ a story about or relate an event or concept with words and actions. In an online environment, we have tools at our disposal to show video and pictures, play music and ‘visit’ a site. The power of digital learning objects (resources) (Janson and Janson, 2009) allows us to go beyond the limitations of simply telling, and I think it promises to bring our content to life by making it more relevant.
Considering the Wisdom of the crowd: Changing attitudes toward Wikis
I gained a greater respect for the wisdom of the crowd as a result of courses like ETEC 510 and of course our latest jaunt into Wikis in ETEC 565A. Maybe I just inherited the biases of my teachers and mentors who insisted on research from encyclopedias and books, as on the internet ‘anyone could post anything’. Now while I’m only referring to the late 1990s, consider also the technological changes that have taken place since then and the implications for/of Web 2.0. I would say that in my experience in the late 1990s, we were urged to discount the ‘opinions’ of the crowd as they were not situated in research or published through accredited sources.
Now it seems the tables have turned and I would argue that today, if statements are made online that are not grounded in some form of acceptable norm or understood reality, then the crowd (online members/audience) will correct the flaw. While publishing work is still easier on the web than through respected journals, one’s own reputation is on the line once he/she posts onto his/her site or blog, and one thing that Ebay has taught us is that if someone has a poor review/feedback then his/her word is not worth much. Ultimately, we should not buy from them or put value in their opinion. In short, on the web much like offline, one’s reputation is of the utmost importance and as such 'the crowd' tries its best to be reliable and accurate. So I would argue that we can trust the wisdom of the crowd to the extent that sampling multiple points of view would give us a fair stance from which to make up our own mind.
Now it seems the tables have turned and I would argue that today, if statements are made online that are not grounded in some form of acceptable norm or understood reality, then the crowd (online members/audience) will correct the flaw. While publishing work is still easier on the web than through respected journals, one’s own reputation is on the line once he/she posts onto his/her site or blog, and one thing that Ebay has taught us is that if someone has a poor review/feedback then his/her word is not worth much. Ultimately, we should not buy from them or put value in their opinion. In short, on the web much like offline, one’s reputation is of the utmost importance and as such 'the crowd' tries its best to be reliable and accurate. So I would argue that we can trust the wisdom of the crowd to the extent that sampling multiple points of view would give us a fair stance from which to make up our own mind.
Visual Credits:
Blackboard. (2014). [Blackboard Logo]. [Graphic Design]. Retrieved from http://ecampus.oregonstate.edu/soc/start/blackboard_login.htm
Desire2Learn. (2014). [Desire2Learn Logo]. [Graphic Design]. Retrieved from http://www.uwlax.edu/mathmooc/
Dubé, R. (2013). Splash Page. Retrieved from http://moodle.met.ubc.ca/course/view.php?id=472
Dubé, R. (2013). Unit 1 Outline. Retrieved from http://moodle.met.ubc.ca/mod/page/view.php?id=22322
Dubé, R. (2013). Unit 2 Week 2 Outline. Retrieved from http://moodle.met.ubc.ca/mod/page/view.php?id=22771
Dubé, R. (2013). Unit 3 Outline. Retrieved from http://moodle.met.ubc.ca/mod/page/view.php?id=22470
Moodle. (2014). [Moodle Logo]. [Graphic Design]. Retrieved from http://moodledemo.swanseagfl.gov.uk/
Saba Software. (2014). [Saba Logo]. [Graphic Design]. Retrieved from http://www.saba.com/us/lms/
Wikipedia. (2014). [Wikipedia Logo]. [Graphic Design]. Retrieved from http://www.jsha.com/blog/digital-social-media/wikipedia-and-pr-think-like-a-historian/
Blackboard. (2014). [Blackboard Logo]. [Graphic Design]. Retrieved from http://ecampus.oregonstate.edu/soc/start/blackboard_login.htm
Desire2Learn. (2014). [Desire2Learn Logo]. [Graphic Design]. Retrieved from http://www.uwlax.edu/mathmooc/
Dubé, R. (2013). Splash Page. Retrieved from http://moodle.met.ubc.ca/course/view.php?id=472
Dubé, R. (2013). Unit 1 Outline. Retrieved from http://moodle.met.ubc.ca/mod/page/view.php?id=22322
Dubé, R. (2013). Unit 2 Week 2 Outline. Retrieved from http://moodle.met.ubc.ca/mod/page/view.php?id=22771
Dubé, R. (2013). Unit 3 Outline. Retrieved from http://moodle.met.ubc.ca/mod/page/view.php?id=22470
Moodle. (2014). [Moodle Logo]. [Graphic Design]. Retrieved from http://moodledemo.swanseagfl.gov.uk/
Saba Software. (2014). [Saba Logo]. [Graphic Design]. Retrieved from http://www.saba.com/us/lms/
Wikipedia. (2014). [Wikipedia Logo]. [Graphic Design]. Retrieved from http://www.jsha.com/blog/digital-social-media/wikipedia-and-pr-think-like-a-historian/