My f*#!%ing goosebump story September 4, 2008
Posted by mrsuds in Uncategorized.Tags: 21st century, curriculum, Moodle
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I recently stumbled across Tomaz’s “Human” blog. Tomaz is a passionate Moodler and teacher living and working “across the ditch” in Australia. As someone new to Moodle his blog has been another goldmine for me. But it was his most recent post that really resonated with me. It is probably the best blog post I have read this year and one where he really lays bare the environment in which he works. It is the sort of environment that I am not that familar with, but his musings on ICT and how it can act as an agent for change are close to my heart. My background is Social Science – History, Classical Studies and Social Studies my main subjects. My real passion is teaching and learning and approaches to it. I started using ICT back in 1999 (my first year of teaching) and it has grown since – but only because I see how it can change, not only pegagogy, but also the bigger picture in terms of education. It raises major questions about existing systems and strucures in secondary schools. The current rate of technological development is quickly leaving secondary education behind and if things don’t change (and lets hope the revised curriculum does facilitate this) then secondary schools could become redundant.
How do we bring about this change and how do we persuade staff who have become so institutionalised they never question the effectiveness of their teaching?
Moodle Muddling 2 July 25, 2008
Posted by mrsuds in Uncategorized.Tags: Moodle
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Seems I am always blogging about Moodle at the moment, but there is no doubt it is taking quite a bit of my time.
I ran my own Moodle Muddle yesterday as we looked to formally kick of the PD for the new Cantatech online envrionment.
We had representatives from almost every school in Cantatech. This group is going to trial Moodle for most of this term, before we look at spreading the use to other staff. The idea is slow infiltration, rather than trying to sell it to everyone.
I wanted the workshop to be learner centred rather than me talking at the front a lot. It ended up that I had to do that in the afternoon as the internet went down for an hour (as it would of course!). The reception was generally good, with some real enthusiasts. I think a few also found it a bit overwhelming. Moodle can look a bit daunting at first, but once you become familar with the interface it is reasonably easy. I do wish the editor was a bit less clunky, but I’m sure that will improve over time.
From here I will support the elearning team as they develop their courses. Some of this support will include using the Moodle itself, (discussion forums, exemplars, resources,), meetings through VC and face to face.
I will also be meeting with leadership in each school to map out the way forward. The schools in Cantatech are quite diverse. In some we could quite confidently release to all staff. Others we are going to have to take it slowly. How effective this will be – time will tell.
Moodle Muddle July 17, 2008
Posted by mrsuds in Uncategorized.Tags: Moodle
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In the last week of term a number of the ePrincipals got together to have what we termed a “Moodle Muddle”. It turned out that far more people came along than was anticipated so Anton (Welcom) had to take a bit more of an instructional approach – so it wasn’t really that muddly.
All very worth while though. Learnt quite a bit, espcially about roles. i didn’t realise you could assign roles 
to any activity you create for a course. This is fantastic news, because I really want my students creating themselves, rather than me leading them all the time. So rather than me creating quizzes – they can create them. Rather than me creating a web page – they can. I can see how Moodle could become a very teacher led thing, which doesn’t fit the constructionist philosophy that is the foundation for its design.
We spent one afternoon discussing the pedagogical approach that should be taken with Moodle. This is the sort of thing that fascinates me. In the end though, it is extremely important. If technology is to make a difference it needs to be used in a way that reflect 21st century learning – students must use it. Too many times I see teachers using technology (especially dataprojectors and interactive whiteboards), where students are still passive receptors. This needs to change…and soon!
