Technology Enhanced Learning Workshops

To date, most of the training sessions have been focussed around the technical aspects of how to do certain things in Moodle. Whilst there is an ongoing requirement for such training, many staff are ready to move beyond the basics and consider specific pedagogical approaches. For example, my recent blog post on 'The Flipped Classroom' (link) discusses an interesting approach to delivering the 'chalk and talk' elements online, freeing up time for more collaborative work in class.

To this end then, whilst some sessions will retain their 'procedural' elements, some will also be more thought provoking and attempt to apply theory and research to practice.
You can book your place on any of the sessions using the Eventbrite booking system below. If the dates are not convenient please let me know the sessions you would be interested in attending, and I would be happy to run them again. Also, if course teams are interesting in specific topics, I would love to help!

The next block of sessions include;

Basic Moodle Training - ideal for new staff or for those that just want to recap on the basic workings of Moodle. This session will reinforce some of the good practice elements we have looked at in other sessions.
When: 15th February, 12-1pm

Online Submission and Marking using Turnitin - many staff are keen to use Turnitin to create 'originality reports' for student assignments, but did you know you can use the Grademark features to actually leave feedback and grades online? This session will cover all of these aspects and will be of interest to any staff looking to implement online submission in their units.
When: 16th February, 12-1pm

Using Multimedia Resources in Teaching and Learning - Introducing multimedia resources can serve a number of objectives. Not only can it more suitably cater to different learning styles in the VARK spectrum, it can be used strategically to deliver instructive materials online, freeing up time in class (as discussed in the post about the Flipped Classroom). Furthermore, the use of video clips, screencasts and podcasts can provide a much-needed source for students to revisit in order to refresh and clarify understanding.
This session will discuss the various options available, including the services available openly on the web as well as those 'in-house', and provide the basis for specific one-to-one support to develop multimedia materials.
When: 21st February, 1-2pm

Introducing Online Social Constructivism using Discussion Forums -  the general accepted model of learning in contemporary education is based on social theories (Vygotsky), whereby the development of knowledge and understanding is most effective by reflecting on course content and personal experiences, and by sharing this and reflecting on the experience and understanding of others.
This session will consider how we can utilise discussion forums in Moodle to encourage student collaboration and cooperation in the online space.
When: 22nd February, 12-1pm


Using Quizzes for Formative and Summative Assessment - For some time, staff have been implementing online quizzes as both formative and summative assessment. This session is of interest to anybody looking to introduce these quizzes in their units, and will cover the basics of building a database of questions and randomly adding a number of questions to a quiz. We will also cover pre-requisites for setting up summative online quizzes.
When: 1st March, 12-1pm

Encouraging Reflection through the use of Blogs - reflecting upon topics is a great way for learners to personalise and 'internalise' concepts. Dedicated reflective activities using blogs can be a great development opportunity for learners and can even provide the basis for an ePortfolio.
This session will introduce models for reflective practice and introduce the technical aspects of creating a blog.
When: 7th March, 12-1pm

Introducing the concept of Open Education Resources - In recent years the HEA and JISC (Joint Information Systems Committee) have funded a number of projects to stimulate participation in the Open Education 'movement'. Academic staff often share resources informally amongst colleagues, whether that be full powerpoint slides or a video of a procedure. The OER movement encourages staff to make these resources available openly for academics and learners across the world through specific repositories.
This session will introduce the concept of OER, and identify some of the leaders in the movement, such as the Open University and MIT, as well as websites/repositories for staff to find reusable content in their teaching.
When: 13th March, 1-2pm


Please note: all sessions will be held in room C1:01.

Event Registration Online for Technology Enhanced Learning Workshops powered by Eventbrite

This work by Peter Reed is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.

60-Minute Makeovers

With the new term here many staff are keen to dust off their Moodle areas, tidy things up, and crack on with teaching. With this in mind, I have arranged a couple of sessions this month, entitled '60-Minute Makeovers' (admittedly I didn't come up with the title).

The sessions will encourage:

• Good practice in Moodle
• Help staff make their Moodle areas more visually appealing
• Enhance accessibility in unit areas.

Some of the tips and suggestions around good practice might be of particular interest, given the student feedback and NSS.

Please use the Eventbrite booking form below to reserve your place, however for those unable to make the sessions, you could take a peek at the following guides:

Using the MMU Moodle Template Effectively
Moodle Course Area Checklist

Event Registration Online for 60 Minute Makeover powered by Eventbrite

This work by Peter Reed is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.

The WebCT Archive

As you will all know, WebCT was completely switched off in August, with no way of accessing any of the old content. However, colleagues in LRT along with our Moodle hosting providers ULCC, have worked to do something about this very problem.

Using a third-party tool, they managed to take a backup of WebCT (at the end of August) and convert it into something that Moodle understands. It is by no means a perfect translation and so not suitable for transferring courses from one system to another, however it does enable staff to dip back in and access content that they may not have had chance to backup.

The archive is available at webctarchive.mmu.ac.uk and the following short video demonstrates how you can log in (with your normal MMU details), access an old course and download files. For those members of staff that used quizzes in WebCT, it might be worthwhile checking to see if your questions have been translated effectively enough to reuse...




As you will have seen, the video recommends filtering the files to pick out only the most useful, to avoid clogging up disk space by transferring redundant files to Moodle. For this reason it is not recommended using the backup and restore functions, as this will inevitably cause problems, however the export option is particularly useful for transferring quiz questions.

Once you have downloaded files and filtered through them, the easiest way to make them available in Moodle is to upload a compressed zip folder to Moodle - you can either make the zip folder itself available, or make the contents of the folder available using the 'Display a Directory' option. The following video runs through these options.





As always, if you have any problems or questions, feel free to get in touch.

Peter
@reedyreedles


This work by Peter Reed is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.

The Student Resource Area

Most staff will probably be aware that we have access to a Staff Resource Area within Moodle, but did you know there is an equivalent Student Resource Area where all students are automatically enrolled?

The Student Resource Area is split into a five sections. The following descriptions are taken directly;

Skills Online

Skills Online is a resource that will support you in developing the necessary skills you need to study and progress successfully at this level. It is designed to be used to complement your programme-based teaching and learning activities.



Employability Online

Employability Online is a resource which gives you the opportunity to develop key skills that employers are looking for. It will help you to reflect on your areas of relative strength and on development.




InfoSkills

The InfoSkills Online tutorial helps develop Information Literacy skills. Self-sufficiency and effectiveness in locating, evaluating and employing good quality research information is an important life and career skill. Information Literacy has been identified as a key Graduate Competency in MMU's "Employability Curriculum Framework".


Moodle Guides & Support

Guides include how to access and navigate Moodle, editing Profiles, submitting Assignments and using Discussion Forums.






Equal Opportunities & Diversity

This programme must be completed by all students as well as staff. The module does not carry credits for your University course but completion of the programme will contribute to your continuing personal development in this key transferable skill area.








So if your students are in need of a little further online self-directed support, you  know where to send them....


This work by Peter Reed is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.

Moodle Tool Guide

A while ago I came across this excellent resource - Moodle Tool Guide.
The guide uses a traffic light metaphor to highlight the suitability of various Moodle tools alongside a range of pedagogical objectives.

What's great, is that the author Joyce Seitzinger, has licensed the guide with a Creative Commons license (BY-NC-SA)
You can access Joyce's Tool Guide here and from the Links menu on the right hand side.



This work by Peter Reed is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.

The New Look Moodle...

Finally, the new Moodle theme has been applied and all users will see the new colour schemes.

Staff can build their unit areas safe in the knowledge that they will not lose any information or resources. Some of the key things to look out for with the new theme are 'Sticky Blocks' - these are the blocks on the left and right columns that are permanent, or 'sticky'.

For example the 'Quick Links' jump menu (previously called the Course Menu) is an
excellent tool that enables users to jump straight to a particular section in the unit, rather than scrolling down the page. The other advantage is that all other week/topic content is hidden to simplify the screen and reduce disctractions.

The right hand blocks are dynamic in that they pull information from various places:

• Notifications draw together information from within Moodle, including Announcements, Events and the Calendar;
• Assessments identifies assessments from within Moodle, as well as information from the Coursework Receipting System including details of extensions and receipts (for students) and details of total submissions etc (for staff);
• Resources brings together information from Reading Lists (further reading, items to buy, etc) and Equella files (past exam papers and other reusable content).

When logging into Moodle, all staff should see at least two areas - a personal Sandbox (where you can play about with the various tools available) and the Staff Resource Area (which contains excellent resources such as the Moodle Training Guides and How to Moodle Moodle).

Further to these two areas, you will likely see other areas that you will be teaching - you can use the WebForm to manage staff enrollments to these unit too.

Having said all that, there are still a few kinks in the system so if you do come across anything unexpected, please drop me a quick email to make sure we are aware of all problems, and of course if there are any questions, concerns or general points, feel free to contact me directly or share your thoughts in the comments section.


This work by Peter Reed is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.