Moodle @ Purchase

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Moodle _at_ Purchase

• Keith Landa
• Purchase College
• http//www.slideshare.net/keith.landa

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Focus on teaching learning - Robust set of
activities resources - Add-on modules from the
community - Moodle development pathway
Why Moodle _at_ Purchase?
Costs - No licensing costs - Similar support costs
Risk management - Risks of open source -
Commercial products have different risks
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Background Purchase 2008
Liberal Arts and Sciences plus Arts
Conservatories 4200 FTE
Web enhancement of F2F courses
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LMS review _at_ Purchase
Context faculty dissatisfaction with Blackboard
superficial use of LMS escalating costs
Fall 2008 faculty task force established
faculty survey discussion of selection criteria
(functionality, technical requirements, costs)
Spring 2009 Moodle production system
established pilot Moodle courses (20) student
survey (key driver) ongoing communication
development of general sense among faculty that
were going with Moodle.
Summer 2009 summer faculty workshop series
(new) course conversion and course prep
consolidation of electronic reserves into Moodle
courses
Fall 2009/Spring 2010 transition year immediate
termination of ERes one more year of Blackboard
faculty assisted to move courses to Moodle
ongoing Moodle workshops termination of
Blackboard at end of year
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Faculty Blackboard uses
LMS desired features

1. Distribute materials
2. Library services
3. Integration with SIS
4. Course communications
5. Links to external web sites
6. One stop shopping for students
7. Discussion forum
8. Gradebook
9. New media (blogs, wikis, podcasts)
10. Drop boxes
11. Student collaboration tools
12. Course reports
13. Self-directed lessons
14. Online quizzing
15. Real-time tools (chat, etc)
16. Clickers

No killer app tying us to Blackboard
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Student Survey Responses
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Implementation course migration

• Blackboard - 1000 courses ERes substantially
  more
• ERes document download, upload to Moodle
• Blackboard Moodle can import Blackboard course
  archives (zip files), but. (problems with the Bb
  archives)
• Temp services staff - 300 hours from May to Aug
  2009, primarily ERes migration
• Bb course migration on request during 2009/2010
  year

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Implementation faculty development

• Spring 2009 workshops hour long sessions,
  various topics early adopters 28 faculty
• 2009 Summer Faculty Workshop Series new
  programming, not just Moodle half- and full-day
  workshops stipends 36 faculty at Moodle
  sessions
• Fall 2009 Moodle Kickoff workshops Getting
  Started, Gradebook, Learning Activity 98 faculty

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Implementation server config

• Virtual servers for production and for test/dev
• More control over test environment
• Windows Server 2008 x64
• 4 CPUs
• 4 GB RAM
• 30 GB C drive 100 GB E drive
• MS SQL and PHP

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Cost comparisons
Blackboard Moodle
Licensing 40K 0K
Server VM VM
Staff Fraction FTE server admin 1 FTE instructional tech Fraction FTE server admin 1 FTE instructional tech
Course migration NA 3K onetime (ERes, mostly)
Faculty development ?? 3.6K summer 2009
Switch to Moodle saves us over 50K each
year (Blackboard and ERes licensing costs)
Risk management self-host vs vendor
host http//goo.gl/tQ5uX
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Community contributed modules
Lightbox Gallery resource
Map activity
Community Modules and Plugins page http//moodle.o
rg/mod/data/view.php?id6009
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Bringing the cloud into the course
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Open advantages
Enrollment automation
Student Information System
Library Information Systems
Academic Analytics
Campus Repository

• Library integration
• Reserve requests
• Electronic resources

Senior projects
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Focus on teaching learning - Robust set of
activities resources - Add-on modules from the
community - Moodle development pathway
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Campus lessons - Moodle

• LMS focus should be learning
• Faculty AND student perspectives
• Change is hard, and exhilarating
• Choose the risk youre comfortable with
• Importance of community critical mass for open
  source apps
• Clear roadmap for product development

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Student Information System
Library Information Systems
Academic Analytics
Campus Repository
The View from 30,000 Feet
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Community of Inquiry model

• Student engagement
• with content
• with instructor
• with each other

http//communitiesofinquiry.com/
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7 Principles of Good Practice

1. Encourages contact between students and faculty
2. Develops reciprocity and cooperation among
   students.
3. Encourages active learning.
4. Gives prompt feedback.
5. Emphasizes time on task.
6. Communicates high expectations.
7. Respects diverse talents and ways of learning.

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LMS orientations

• Example Blackboard course
• Example Moodle course
• Main page sections
• Blocks
• Moodle navigation
• Course page mirrors class, integrated resources
  and learning activities
• Scroll of death

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Setting up a learning module

• Defining the module
• Using the section summary
• Module learning objectives
• Add a resource -gt Compose a web page
• Name and Full text fields
• Window options
• Creating organization use of Labels

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Student engagement w/ content

• Context student engagement w/ the content
• Files your private staging area
• Linking to specific files
• Displaying a directory (folder) / image gallery
• File links in Moodle text
• Media filters
• Linking to web sites
• Integrating with Web 2.0 resources
• Repositories in Moodle 2.0
• YouTube, Vimeo, VoiceThread, Google Docs

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Discussion forums

• Student engagement with peers instructor
• Student-faculty contact feedback active
  learning
• 4 forum types in Moodle (now 5 in 2.0)
• Ex single topic format YouTube discussion
• QA forum reading reflection example
• Rating discussion forums

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Student collaboration

• Reciprocity and active learning
• Wiki activity
• Configuration and use
• Pedagogical considerations combined use of group
  forum and wiki project
• Database activity
• Structured contributions activity configuration
• Commenting and rating
• Glossary activity

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Communication tools

• Course announcements (News Forum)
• Tie to Latest News block
• Forum archive and email to class members
• Moodle messaging
• IM functionality within Moodle
• Email notices
• Permanent archive
• Chat activity (eg, office hours)
• Calendar and Upcoming Events

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Assignments in Moodle

• Feedback student/faculty engagement/contact
• Assignment types configuration
• Student and faculty views
• Grading and providing feedback

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Quizzes / Assessments

• Question bank
• Question types
• Organizing questions
• Question import
• Configuring quizzes
• Formative vs summative
• Question selection
• Feedback options

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Course reports

• Course logs
• Participation reports
• Activity reports
• Student activity reports
• Connection between reports and messaging

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Questions?
Keith Landa Purchase College SUNY 914-251-6450 kei
th.landa_at_purchase.edu