Selling ideas September 11, 2008
Posted by mrsuds in OLE, PD.3 comments
Yesterday I travelled to Twizel Area School to deliver the first of eleven presentations to Cantatech schools. What we are trying to achieve is to sell an idea – that is the educational possibilties of online technologies. Our main focus for that is the Cantatech Moodle site, but there are numerous web 2.0 technologies that are extremely useful for engaging learners. I (obviously) love the use of blogs and think they offer so much with so little effort.
As I said, the main focus is to introduce Moodle without going into the details. Anyone who is interested can get on and investigate, but we are saving the PD push for later.
Only half the staff were there, because of sporting trips, but it was well received and there was some excellent discussion. There is no doubt most staff are very keen to learn, but the perceived stumbling block is time . The very keen ones will find a way to learn and progress, but a significant block of school time should be put aside for learning these technologies and how they can be used to engage learners.
The English teacher had a chat with me for an hour after the presentation. He was very keen to try something new to freshen up his teaching and was keen on blogs. I suggested a few ways he could use a blog with his students and pointed him in the direction of edublogs. It will be interesting to see how he goes.
When I do a presentation I try to make it visual, with clear ideas and little text. I also enjoy using movies, because I think they can give the same message in a far more interesting way. The presentation was made using open office, but I decided to convert it to a quick movie as well. This was mainly because an embedded PPT is not going play the movies. Unfortunately I need the movie to get it under ten minutes so it fits on Youtube – so here is the embedded presentation instead. A few movies would play at various points and the final thought came from Ken Robinson.
Anyone got some good tutorials or links for teachers new to blogging?
Moodle June 13, 2008
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The Cantatech Moodle site as been up since the beginning of term now and I have had a good play over that time. My Classics course is delivered entirely online with a video conference lesson each Friday. So I thought it might be time to reflect on what I think of Moodle…
Well in short, I love it. Which I am very happy about after spending so much time trying to make a decision on what LMS to go with. I really like Moodle’s flexibility. Some people complain about that ‘Moodle’ look, but there is quite a lot of room to add your own look to it, especially with the use of themes. I also like its functionality. There is so much you can do to in terms of learning, and not gimmicky functions either. I have found what I have chosen to use with my students has really worked in terms of learning.
Having said that I can see limitations and some teachers could get a bit carried away with over structuring courses. I could also see some secondary teachers getting carried with the quiz funtions.
Early days though and I know I am just scratching the surface with how Moodle could be used. So much to learn and so little time!
A Big Meeting April 11, 2008
Posted by mrsuds in OLE, Principal Meeting, strategic.add a comment
Today was probably the most important day of the year so far for this cluster. For the first time we brought all the Principals’s together. This meeting was extremely significant in that we discussed the strategic plan and made a decision on an LMS for the cluster. Lots of positive and constructive feedback was given and it seemed as though everyone was happy to buy into it. I think we all recognise that the plan is ambitious, but also challenging and worthwhile because of that. We will take small steps initially and first on the agenda next term is putting in place a shared OLE for the cluster.
This led to the final point of discussion. What LMS to go with it. I presented a few options with costings as well. The decision was made to go with Moodle. There are various reasons for this including: cost, philisophy, functionality, felixibiltiy and sustainability. So onward and upwards. Time to get this thing in place and working!
For me it was a bit of a relief when it was over, just because it seems I have been waiting for it for most of the term. Now we can get things moving.
The planning stage is almost over! (Well, sort of)
At the beginning I used two little video clips that I felt were thought-provoking and relevant to what we would be discussing. One I have put in a previous post. The other I have put below. It is Sir Ken Robinson speaking about creativity and schools. It is very well known, but if you haven’t seen, I strongly recommend you watch it.
OLE April 2, 2008
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One of my major tasks is to investigate, present and implement an online learning environment. The implemementation won’t come until next term, but the decision on what learning management system (LMS) we will go with is just around the corner.
This task was absolutely perfect for me as it was a continuation of what I had been doing last year in my previous position at Marlborough Girls’ College. In terms of options there are a few we could consider. Both Scholaris and FirstClass are too expensive for our schools. I quite like FirstClass, but I found Scholaris overstructured, although it gives you almost anything you would probably ever want in an LMS.
This narrows the list down to the following possible options
I strongly favour Moodle out of these options. I like its functionality, flexibility and the fact it is developed by educators. With Moodle we can create whatever environment we want, but it does have its drawbacks. In the end any of these would do a job. It is how we use this environment that is most important.
