Moodle Lessons

Make the most out of the lesson tool in Moodle:

Two Buzz words thrown around in E-learning are Chunking and Branching. These are two of the most effective methods of displaying learning, especially with modern Technologies. Chunking and Branching can be optimised with the technology used, coupled with human interaction with these devices.

Moodle lesson tool allows you to develop excellent modules that will embed learning functionality. The branching lesson allows you to embed good formative and summative learning. Examples would be how I would test topics learnt and mid formative checks during the learning phase.  During classes a good activity would be Flashcards to check learning and progress. This can be done within Moodle.

This tool is exceptionally useful for branching quizzes, diagnostic testing and case study work. It’s quite good to open up a lesson and really develop the scenario through branching, having the multiple options and potential inputs.

Another excellent use would be customer support, health care, IT Support simulations these could be developed step by step gaining good experience. The potential mistakes could be branched to potential failures as can good decisions. A good example of this is developing a business enterprise branching courses coupled with gamification the course was a bit like playing monopoly without a dice, but really embedded business sense into learners.

Lessons can be chunked and broken down into manageable parts for learners to complete as they progress through the course. Moodle lesson supports this functionality well.

Moodle Workshop Activity

Moodle workshop activities allow an excellent method of collaboration, teamwork and overall work-group environment. The use of peer assessment coupled with the platform setup on Moodle allows good peer to peer learning, if setup correctly it allows the development of a learning community that learns from itself, the level of knowledge and experience is phenomenal.

To develop and use the workshop activity well, you are required to develop an effective communication strategy from the beginning. It is important to embed collaboration and group work from the start of the course. Have activities that require Learners to collaborate early on, ice breaker activities such as motivations for completing the course, hobbies and support orientated tasks. Furthermore this needs to develop into communication that directly impacts learning and should be moving towards formal peer to peer assessments.


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Moodle Reporting Strategy!

How Reports Work in Moodle:

 

Moodle is a powerful LMS, one of the key features is the ability to run reports based on its usage. In a distance learning environment, student interaction with resources is a key signal of their motivation, participation and understanding of the course. We will discuss a strategy of how this can be maximised. Furthermore the interaction with Moodle activities enable educators to find the best tools available for certain course and users.

Logs:

These show you information about either a student or an activity e.g. lessons, quizzes, databases e.t.c this tool allows you to filter to specific tasks.

 

The uses of this tool are: The tool allows the educator to see which activities are being used and who is using them, this then allows them to analyse why these activities are being used and compare them with others.

 

E.g.:  Tutor has developed a database activity which is seldom used by her Learners however her Scorm based activity is used a lot.

 

This gives you both an insight into the student population on the course as well as their activity. The key here is the tutor should analyse the courses doing well and not so well and try and understand why. It could be a motivational issue or it could be the way the activity is written, either way logs allow you to see how the activity is used.

 

With regards to Student Logs, you can look at participation time as well as which activities which are frequent and which are vague to the user. This gives the educator an understanding on how the learner works, what type of activities they prefer and how to best provide learning for the student. For assessment Learners can be assessed on their participation in discussions and forums to a granular level, see exactly how they contributed.

Activity Reports:

Similar to logs however supports activities only within an unfiltered method, it shows you all activity within a specified course.

This tool can be used to see the activity taking place within a course, one of the advantages of this reporting is it allows comparable options, this can be sorted within columns focussing on their headings. As an instructor I would use this in order to support me in viewing how the students interacted with the course resources. As discussed under logs.

Course Participation:

This allows instructors to view how a student participates within a course, exceptionally useful for monitoring student activity, it also has the capability to e-mail participation reports to student and instructors.

This tool gives an instructor complete information about student usage, whether they accessed a course, viewed an activity or read a document. All is tracked and left for instructors to analyse. I have used this before when motivating students, I would discuss their participation and encourage them to spend more time on certain resources, furthermore it also allowed me to be able to find students who learn quickly and others who take longer to study subjects.

In addition this tool also supports automating e-mails or messages to students who aren’t participating, so for e.g., you set a database task which requires users to fill in certain definitions, a message would be sent out to all that haven’t yet completed this activity once you run the report, it is a good and efficient way of providing gentle motivational reminders.

Events:

There are many levels of events from teaching and participating. They allow Instructors to implement a certain event based on an action e.g. assignment grading, course updates or completion of a section.

 

The key to using events successfully requires tutors to develop specific event triggers based on learner interaction. This includes both positive and supportive triggers. When a Learner is doing well, the event can be used to affirm their participation coupled with providing stretching exercises. In situations where learners are struggling support alternatives can be triggered. e.g include providing a link to additional support via a URL, opening up a new course for a learner, getting in contact with the instructor for individual support options.

 

References:

For a step by step guide on how to run reports please visit the following website: https://www.oit.umass.edu/support/moodle/use-reports-track-student-activity-moodle

https://docs.moodle.org/27/en/Events_list_report

 

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How to Write Good E-Learning Scripts:

The first step in writing e-learning scripts is to be able to write well. This statement itself is ambiguous and can have multiple meanings.

What does it mean to write well?

Is it using technical language, being supportive, descriptive or even specific or is it ensure effective graphics, animations and plenty of white-space.

All of these can be correct, the key to writing well is to know your audience and MEET THEIR NEEDS!

 

Here are 5 Principles to help us write good SCRIPTS:
 

People orientated

It has to people orientated, make the module sound like it is has many people involved, where possible include animations and develop story-based scenarios. So instead of writing something like “Things to consider when implementing a cyber-security plan” have animation saying and showing “You need to install anti-virus on all systems and block these ports on your fire-wall” Reach out and speak to your learners. This will support you in reaching out to your learner and implementing the personalisation principle. If the scenario is developed well with the audience in mind, you could also develop the training based on constructivism theories. So that’s the 1^st principle the document is for YOU!

Easy and comfortable

E-learning should be developed so that the learners feel comfortable and easy while studying, include light statements and humour (sometimes with animation) that will put the learner at ease. This will allow them to take the course in good spirit. Examples of these could include: “These are the policies and procedures all Counsellors have to follow” or you could say “Let’s see the policies and procedures required to support our clients”. The difference in the statements, puts the learner at ease through showing support and closeness.

Minimum Scripts

Keep e-learning scripts to a minimum, ensure you do not over-emphasise the same point, include interactive elements to re-embed knowledge as oppose to repetition. Implement the chunking theory where learning is broken into manageable chunks. The module should flow and there should be a mixture of learning taking place. Ensure effective white spaces and learner thinking time, you could also use the resources available to promote this.

Flow and Relevance

E-learning scripts sound great when there is a flow, when it feels like it’s a couple of disparate courses jumbled up together, it can be quite cumbersome. Always, always ensure one slide leads on to the next. Where possible implement a storyboard scenario to keep learners attached, furthermore develop course based on constructivism theories for learners to feel involved and how the course matches their roles.

Interactivity

Yes make e-learning interactive and I’m not talking “clicky clicky bling bling”
Throughout the module include periods of learner activity, this could be case-study questions, problem solving or even testing on taught knowledge. Provide spaces and areas where learners do the work. Get learner to act out, e.g get learners create an action plan or create a mind-map based on a certain scenario. Avoid spoon-feeding every bit of information. Learners need to see what their learning.

Write your thoughts on the above  principles below:

 

 

 

 

See what I did.

Where possible involve peers and other people to implement further learning collaboration, if you could get learners connecting with other learners or even other people relevant to the course you will see an increase in learning coupled with better motivation.

Develop modules with stories that will develop both feeling and opinion, make sure to try and get learners involved.

Conclusion

Effective e-learning require good planning and a solid strategy in place, know from the beginning who your audience is and how you are going to support them. Keep the courses iterative and look for feedback via peer-reviews, focus groups and learner feedback.

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How to Develop Effective Content within a Blended Learning Environment

The key to developing effective resources lies in developing resources that develop holistic students enabling them to meet their outcomes and objectives. Within a blended environment, the designer has the opportunity to develop constructive resources and methods of assessment that not only support and aid learners in achieving a certain skill-set but in essence implement the skill-set within the learning. This will enable the development a single learning experience.

This can be challenging within a blended learning environment, primarily because students sometimes treat the course as two courses as oppose to one course. The challenge here is to develop a well-integrated online learning course with the face to face element. A good way to do this is to integrate an assignment into both modalities.

With a lot of face to face tools having very effective online alternatives, instructors should use these as a middle ground integrate existing tools within them.

Online Assessment

Online assessment, how to find the perfect rule!

 

 

Introduction

Assessments are imperative for a course, because it validates the learning of an individual. The key to learning is the student at the end of the course can reproduce the topic taught to him. Hence it is the Instructor’s responsibility to design, define and manage assessment methods that will give confidence to the Instructor, learner and the general public about the credentials of the student.

Within a class-room environment you have a host of assessment methods, furthermore you have both formative and summative assessments during a course. This needs to be replicated within a virtual world. I will be discussing how to develop successful online learning assessments.

Multiple Choice Questions

The most common online testing tool is multiple choice questions. This has been made popular by various LMS’s as well as online tools. Furthermore the ubiquitous nature of this testing and ability to self-populate results has made it easy to control testing. I will like to add here if control is the only reason these tests are used then it is a poor solution.

I personally feel that for certain courses multiple choice questions are useful however they need to be written well.

Key features of Multiple choice tests are:

·         Timely

·         Proctoring

·         Randomization

·         Complexity

Traditionally multiple choice questions were developed primarily to remember certain elements of a course (recall), they would only test low level thinking, (as defined by Blooms Taxonomy) however I believe it is possible to develop high-level thinking through multiple choice questions. This I have experienced when taking Microsoft exams, a lot of the questions are multiple choice and require analysis, synthesis and evaluation as well.

High level multiple choice questions can be developed using aids like well-written scenarios, charts, maps and case studies. An example of this is:

You work for Simple Solutions IT, Recently your company has migrated from server 2003 to server 2007. During the migration there was a power cut which delayed the migration. Our main cabling technician Tony had to leave due to his wife going into labour. Once the power was back we carried on with the migration. Testing was brief due to needing to re-open the business.

Q.1) Monday morning you receive a call from the business you provided support for and they can’t access the back-up server, what do you think is the most likely reason and why?

Ø  The ISP has blocked your IP address, because of the migration of servers

Ø  The cabling wasn’t completed as Tony who had the information left early, they forgot to re-connect the back-up server.

Ø  Due to migration the IP addresses have changed and no-one has reset the DHCP server.

What is interesting about the above question is that the student will need to know about each of the possible answers in order to rule them out as well as know about the correct answer. This requires the student to have comprehensive knowledge of the subject allowing her to analyse the problem scenario and apply their comprehension to the question in order to find an answer. Similarly questions can be created requiring both evaluation and synthesis.
This one question requires the student to comprehend, apply and analyse the situation in order to provide a correct answer. Using the higher level skills as stated in Bloom’s taxonomy.
The following is an excellent pdf file demonstrating how multiple choice questions can be defined in correlation to blooms taxonomy: http://teach.ucf.edu/files/2010/12/Examples-of-Multiple-Choice-Items-at-the-Levels-of-Bloom.pdf

Assignments
Assignments can be set an offered within an online environment, useful tools to support this include instant messengers, FAQ board, previous examples and discussion on assignments. Online assignment tools and e-portfolios have made this easier to manage.

Discussions

Online discussions are a useful, it has the added advantage of being able to widen participations to anybody and everybody. These can be assessed both synchronously and asynchronously, discussion comments are stored for reference sake as well.

Simulations and Online Recordings

Where you are required to provide some form of demonstration it is possible using tools like, Skype, adobe connect and WebEx to allow demonstrations to be assessed via checking tasks are done properly. With regards to software tasks the learner can use screen share to allow the instructor to assess the situation.                                                                                                                                                                                                  

I will add that online recordings could also support teaching observations and consultancy type roles like dentistry, allowing observations via the technological mediums listed above. Language learning can be assessed live or via archived recordings as well.

I personally designed an online learning course, of which I assessed the students completing technical activities via screen capture recordings, screen-prints, video recording when building computers and photos of certain tasks. Other artefacts I included, were Skype sessions of building PC’s, video discussions and online whiteboard group project design. I found using online resources helped me greatly when designing multiple artefacts for their portfolio.

Conclusion

Due to advancement in technology coupled with the adoption of this technology by the masses the transition to online assessment is not difficult. The above tools mentioned provide a solution to various assessment methods. The key is to consider the best assessment methods for your course outcomes, and then select the traditional assessing method and then look for an alternative online assessment tool. There are certain online assessment methods which may provide a better assessment solution than traditional face to face methods. When developing a blended learning assessment plan both online and face to face methods should be considered as an equal and then the decision should be made, explaining which assessment method is best for the learners.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Best Methods of Interacting with Learners on a Blended Learning Course

Blended learning communication is a topic which can have a host of connotations. This is mainly because as an instructor you can define every type of learning communication. For this to be a success the following things need to be considered

The National Survey of Student Engagement’s 2007 notes the importance of high impact activities where learners “interact with faculty and peers about substantive matters” (National Survey of Student Engagement, 2007, p. 7). My experience as a trainer agrees with this principal focussing on benefits: students learn from one another and they learn through questioning and answering other questions. Furthermore the more diverse the group the greater amount of experience and view-points are found. The key is for the instructor to channel the communication and use it in a productive way.

An apparent contradiction occurs with different learning theorists. Some of which state learning should be learner driven and others argue learners need instruction. The key to solving this contrast is to take each course and learner’s skill set into consideration. Furthermore during the planning stage the Instructor should take both arguments as truths and select which is most appropriate based on the skills acquired.

This is explained well by: Asbell-Clark et al. (2012) who state their explanation of game design which can be attributed to learning

In game design there is a constant tension between what is enough scaffolding to get players motivated and able to pursue the mystery and how much can be left open-ended for players to learn on their own. Too much scaffolding can easily feel “school-like” and procedural, taking away from players’ initiative to tinker around to discover things on their own. Too little scaffolding may leave players lost and disengaged.”

There are two main concerns with regards to leaving learning to individuals without any real supervision. They are: 1. How will they know what they need to learn, the other is do they have the ability to be able to 2.organise and structure fragmented knowledge and when they do try organise this knowledge who or what do they take as an authority.

Despite the above criticisms and concerns it is correct to say personal learning is effective although it may not lead to achieving the goals entirely.

Asynchronous learning is useful in blended learning, especially for activities that require learners to delve into subjects deeply. It allows students to understand the topic consider the learning objectives and focus on improving their knowledge thorough research joining discussion and collaborating learning with peers. This would be good especially for learners who are asked to consider the underlying effects within a specific case-study.

A really good method of encouraging student communication is to design assignments, activities, discussion forums that encourage their views. As an instructor think on the lines of (Who, How, What and Why) will students give their views, provide incentives and guidance on what is required.

Within a blended learning environment, students can achieve excellent communication between each other. I say this because they have the opportunity to meet within the face to face learning environment, these relationships can then develop via electronic means, (IM, e-mail, discussions, VOIP e.t.c)

With regards to Instructor-student communication the model can be set to favour either the theories: instructivism or constructivism. Furthermore I add that it will enhance the learners learning skills, by involving them in different learning medium. The key to developing effective communication lies in the instructor developing an effective online learning network based on network administrator theory (fisher 1997). In which an instructor develops a learning network for students to learn from. This will require the instructor to plan the relevant resources and places that will help develop the student’s skills. Furthermore I would add the Instructor should provide effective tasks that challenge students and develop specific learning skills.

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What is Blended Learning?

Blended courses (also known as hybrid or mixed-mode courses) are classes where “a portion of the traditional face-to-face instruction is replaced by web-based online learning.” McGee and Reis (2012)

There isn’t a set percentage of how much of the course is online and how much is face to face. This had led to many researchers asking the question, is blended learning an enhancement to online learning or is online learning an enhancement to face to face learning?

It is a question which is usually answered based on biases developed by individuals of certain preferences, and the various experiences professionals have had with education.

The Sloan Consortium (a professional organization dedicated to postsecondary online learning) defines blended learning as a course where 30%-70% of the instruction is delivered online.

McGee and Reis (2012) observe that in blended learning quite often “the process of design is emphasized as one of re-design, implying that those involved in the design process are willing and able to see beyond what has been done in the traditional classroom and re-conceptualize what can be done in multiple delivery modes”

This is true in most education organizations such as Colleges and Universities, where they have a long lasting tradition of delivering face to face learning. However due to enhancements in technologies we know have a lot of large organisations who deliver nothing but online-learning. In such scenarios the reverse of what McGee and Reis (2012) stated can be true. However I want to look at this on the perspective that you are developing a Learning course from scratch and you will define which part of the course you will have as face to face and which part you will have in online learning setting.

The benefits of Blended learning can be gauged from the popularity of online learning. Blended learning provides conveniences for training providers, in that they don’t need as many classrooms or teachers to provide support, furthermore it give students flexibility and still maintains the teacher (face to face) support some students desire. There is definitely a space for blended learning within education and with the benefits it offers, I am confident it is something worth developing.

Implementing the online instruction within the course improves instructors ability to analyse student participation and in some instances motivation. Furthermore as stated byT Bender – 2003 shy students participate more in online discussions the within a classroom. My experiences of teaching show that students develop better individual learning skills when tasked to do things within their own time. This I can gauge from my personal experiences, while working delivering Microsoft certifications at Pearson, we managed to improve our Pass-rates by 20% improving from 80-100%, when we implemented select modules, from Microsoft IT Academy and custom online resources.

I personally feel it is the responsibility of the blended learning designer, to set-up a course based on the needs of the learner. At times it would be which is the best method for learning, other times external factors will force you to prefer one over the other. E.g: Location, Convenience, Time and travel constraints.

 

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