Do students really appreciate the benefits of Moodle?
By KatharineR. Filed in reading |
I think that much like any sort of site that requires participation, one’s initial interacting experience can at times be quite frustrating if not given proper instruction or encouragement. My father is a high school art teacher in Morocco, and while all of his students are incredibly tech-savvy and spend more time while at home downloading content (music, movies, TV shows, etc.) and gaming and chatting than they probably do on their actual schoolwork, none of them were particularly excited with the idea of logging on to Moodle and beginning to be involved in the class outside of school. These kids are digital natives, remember, and have grown up with this technology, so their negligence was certainly not a matter of intimidation or discomfort with the medium.
My father was posting assignments on the class Moodle, and just getting the kids to log on to complete the initial set up took about two weeks. It wasn’t until he started threatening them with unsatisfactory grades and giving them deadlines that they actually logged on and started interacting with the site. Granted, most of these students signed up for this art class thinking it would be a breeze, and so the fact that he was assigning them readings and sites to view via an online portal was probably not what they expected when they got into the class.
I think that while Moodle’s interface is easily navigable and quite simplistic, certain students who have never worked with an LMS or a VLE will probably be hesitant and skeptical of the site, even if the environment is via a medium on which they spend an enormous chunk of their time. I think that younger students have a tendency to view computers and access to the Internet as a source of entertainment and not as a valuable learning tool. Early integration of VLEs and LMSs into curricula will allow ease and comfort for students in engaging and interacting completely in these types of environments. The failed attempts to make television into a space for education and learning seem to be in some ways carrying over into the medium of the Internet, thus making students skeptical of the benefits that surround sites such as Moodle or other VLEs.
Thursday, July 16th 2009 at 8:01 pm |
It sounds to me like some of these students would have possibly tried to get out of work regardless of the way it was being presented. There are always those who avoid responsibilities and try to get out of assignments (especially in high school but this is also true in higher ed and even professional ed, too).
Maybe the level of maturity is such that some younger students are not ready for the responsibilities of virtual learning, or simply need more training or guidance. I know in my own experience it takes a tremendous amount of self-discipline and constant self-nagging to make sure I meet all of the requirements of online courses. So basically, a strong work ethic is needed to excel in VLEs (though I would say that the same is true of any learning environment).
Also, in regards to your point about students thinking of the Internet as a world of entertainment, I personally feel that this only further proves that the time has come that educators need to incorporate these tools all the more. And the longer educators wait, the more students will use the Internet only for entertainment and social networking (though there is some educational attributes to these things, in my opinion).
I have to admit, during my time doing school work in my VLEs, I toggle from Facebook to music on my iTunes to videos to email to chatting with friends and so forth. Sometimes I use my laptop and watch TV or go to a coffee place and all the while doing these other things. Does this effect my work/learning? Sure, but I am certain I would find distractions even if I had no access to media – that is my learning style. I have had to learn to allow room and time for my distractions because they aren’t necessarily bad things.
Friday, July 17th 2009 at 1:33 am |
I think you hit on something important here:
“The failed attempts to make television into a space for education and learning seem to be in some ways carrying over into the medium of the Internet, thus making students skeptical of the benefits that surround sites such as Moodle or other VLEs.”
What do you think about the fact that many of these students are actually using the Internet for research purposes as well? I think that the idea that movement on the Internet, for the most part, is generated by viewer interest. Maybe being TOLD what to view is the problem. Look at the dominant (successful) paradigm–the “Web Quest”–it perpetuates the idea that information on the internet comes from “surfing,” and all the linked philosophical ideas that come along with it.
Friday, July 17th 2009 at 12:15 pm |
I actually created a few WebQuests to use in my classroom during an endorsement class I just took.
The WebQuest should have five components to be a successful lesson: Introduction; Task; Process; Evaluation; and Conclusion.
The intro is used to create interest; the task explains the “problem,” or an open-ended activity and the roles the student’s play in the activities; the the process is most like a traditional lesson plan and outlines the steps a student must complete; the evaluation reflects the essence of the tasks and process and is usually scored through a scoring guide or rubric; and the conclusion asks the student to reflect on the task and self-evaluation of the process.
This, I feel, is more suitable for intermediate, middle, and high school students than a Moodle set up because it enhances learning rather than take the place of the traditional classroom.
As a side note: my younger brother is currently finishing high school. He has a varied schedule: he goes to classes on-campus; he is dual enrolled at a community college in a construction program; and he takes classes through the Florida Virtual School. He is dyslexic and has a hard time with “traditional” classrooms. Virtual school was challenging for him at first for the very reasons you described in the original post. But he has since taken several virtual school classes in which he was highly successful. I feel that it took his understanding of the platform and expectations from his instructors to really be able to succeed.
Source: Schweizer, Heide and Ben Kossow. WebQuests: Tools for Differentiation. Gifted Child Today, v30 n1 p29-35 Win 2007. http://www.eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/custom/portlets/recordDetails/detailmini.jsp?_nfpb=true&_&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=EJ750569&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=no&accno=EJ750569
Sunday, July 19th 2009 at 11:40 am |
First impressions:
Moodle has a nicely structured platform and has my vote over Blackboard. In the Film Studies demo, I appreciated the emphasis on lesson sequence and the capacity to break each lesson/class into a separate page. The use of modules- particularly, quizzes and surveys -also helped to streamline the discussion process. [Note: I appreciate the freedom blogs give everyone to expound on their views and arguments, but having a limit imposed on initiating forum threads can go a long way towards focusing the class when dozens or more are participating. The Moodle discussion topic we are currently having is a perfect example –four or five of us have started separate threads on the same topic.] Additionally, the ability to customize language settings is also critical as the New School and others try to push beyond the American-centric classroom. Finally, like Nag, I agree that Moodle’s ability to suit industry and government as much as academia is imperative. In my own work environment, my boss consistently pushes our in-house online strategy team to attend digital tech and social media conferences; it would be nice if we could participate in post-conference classes with the speakers (many who are already in academia).
All these benefits aside, Moodle’s aesthetic experience proved a huge drawback. Personally, I would rather log into an LMS with Ning-like aesthetics, profile markers, homepage videos, etc. Hopefully, a Moodle redesign is under consideration?
Even if a redesign is not in the cards, Moodle does seem to have an impressive list of registered sites. I noticed two well-known U.S. high schools – Culver Academy and Brooklyn Tech – are using Moodle as well as the 1st infantry division to train new troops. My old high school in New Jersey is reportedly running on StudyWiz Spark (see demo). I’m not sure if anyone else used StudyWiz or another LMS at their respective high schools – it is a new venture for my own. We didn’t have cell phones let alone school email accounts when I was student (10 years ago).
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To answer Katharine’s question (above) about Moodle: I would argue that if students are not appreciating the benefits of Moodle it is because Moodle like the LMSes mentioned above do not target students where they already are (i.e. established social networks like Facebook, MySpace, Ning, Twitter). As we wrap up our analysis for the semester, I am concerned that we are creating too many platforms that compete for students’ attention. We need to start integrating the LMS or VLE model into existing platforms so that we can give students interactions that are meaningful, personal and consistent with their daily behavior as digital natives. As noted on its website, StudyWiz prides itself on being able to seamlessly integrate with the iPod. My response: so what? iPod interoperability is old news when teens today are using all-in-one iPhones that provide seamless access to not only their favorite music but Facebook, YouTube, Tweetdeck, etc.
In his analysis, Siemens argues that the “management” aspect of LMS’ creates a problem: “The underlying assumption is that if we just expose students to the content, learning will happen.” He goes on to write that “our real-life manner of learning is at odds with the design and implementations of most LMS’” and that “most LMS platforms are attempting to shape the future of learning to fit into the structure of their systems, even though most learning today is informal and connectionist in nature.”
Informal and connectionist are key.
A few weeks ago WIRED ran a feature on the Great Wall of Facebook (I just reposted it on del.icio.us and Twitter). The article largely addresses Google’s approach to information sourcing and the competing vision of Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Per Wired: “Zuckerberg envisions a more personalized, humanized Web, where our network of friends, colleagues, peers, and family is our primary source of information, just as it is offline. In Zuckerberg’s vision, users will query this “social graph” to find a doctor, the best camera, or someone to hire—rather than tapping the cold mathematics of a Google search. It is a complete rethinking of how we navigate the online world, one that places Facebook right at the center.”
I’m not a huge fan of Zuckerberg (Andreesen and Bianchini’s Ning has more dynamic potential), but I believe he has the right vision- and one that can be adapted for educational purposes. When I was in high school, most of the facts and theories I learned in the classroom didn’t take on meaning until later in the day: during conversations with peers or dinner table chatter with my siblings and parents. I think the same goes for today’s high school students only they now have virtual social networks for feedback and analysis at their disposal. Facebook would do its “student” members well if it launched classroom networks (much like a Ning network) where teachers could customize modules (like Moodle) and updates on assignments, readings, quizzes, etc. would appear in profile newsfeeds or sidebars. From there, students could share materials with friends in their broader networks – and “learning” could actually go viral.
I’m being idealistic, and I can already here the legions screaming that they don’t want to have to befriend teachers on Facebook. But I refus to buy the argument that integrating a VLE into Facebook, Ning or any other social network would dumb down learning for students. Privacy settings are always an option. And if anything, such interoperability would elevate the debate and dialogue currently taking place among digital natives on those platforms.
Sunday, July 19th 2009 at 9:45 pm |
mvonwahlde:
I completely agree that since the Internet is definitely a place where we are used to having free reign and are not used to being told where to go, what to look at and what to do when online, the idea of being strictly directed might be the reason why younger students are reticent to participating in online environments or classes.
ellemccarthy:
I agree that Moodle definitely had my vote over Blackboard, and that the reason why younger students may not appreciate or be excited about Moodle is because it is in no way connected to the sites they know, love, and spend the most time on. And I also think that those who see social networking sites as threats to learning potentials are missing the bigger picture. However, much like Google has its tentacles in several different ventures and runs the risk of anti-trust legislation being thrown in its face, Facebook can only go so far before it begins to overextend its reach and negate other smaller platforms for potential VLEs. I think that integrating Moodle and other VLEs and LMSs into curricula early in a student’s education is a great way to ensure user comfort and ease throughout the entirety of their education instead of being something they have to use frequently without any prior experience or introduction.