Online+Learning+Presentation

**Course Project: Online Learning Community: Leading Technology Change**
For this week’s Learning Community contribution, summarize and share the results of your online learning presentation. After reading about your community members’ toc experiences, offer a suggestion, resource, strategy, or additional idea to at least one of your community members.

Kuuipo's Prezi presentation: http://prezi.com/yjunrrmsrakf/lms/?auth_key=909c6f0b77192c5a99896730a6455b4a2b1d44f9

My Prezi presentation focuses on an LMS called Moodle. Because our school has already enacted the Moodle LMS system my presentation is on how our district utilizes it. Included in the presentation is an explanation of what Moodle is, a video showing the tools Moodle has, and another video on how a teacher uses Moodle in her classroom. Also included is an introduction, explanation and video about the Acuity program. Acuity is not considered to be an LMS, but our district is using the two programs together to improve district MAP (Missouri Assessment Program) scores.

The Acuity program is designed to support both interim and formative assessment programs with a unique integration of classroom-friendly assessments, instructional resources, reporting, and customization opportunities. The data collected from the Acuity assessments will direct teachers to gaps in learning that can be then targeted through mini lessons on Moodle.

**Course Project: Online Learning Community: Leading Technology Change**
After spending some time looking deeper at online learning, I realize there are benefits as well as some drawbacks. First I understand more of the uses for online learning. I was concerned that it was a fancy way of journal writing. That was the impression I got when I first saw Moodle a couple of years ago. But, I realized that there is a wider variety of uses for it based on the teacher style. Students are provided with extended learning opportunities through hyperlinks and suggested resources. Collaborative projects are supported through the use of Moodle. While internet security issues are a large issue on the Internet, Moodle provides a private domain for interactions for class members only. Finally, the teacher has overall viewing of all discussions to help control and guide the system. The main concern that I have comes from my VRL experience at Walden. I am, as many students are, a blended learning style. While 60% of learners are visual learners, I also crave the face to face communications as in a traditional classroom (Gillard & Bailey, 2007). Not so much that I need to see a real person’s face, but to help in clarifying learning, lessons and assignments. That has been the biggest struggle through the past months. Having to interpret and infer certain things. I guess that it would also take a very structured and disciplined teacher to maintain such an online learning system. This would at least aid in immediate needs emails and coursework updates.

[] Suzanna Tornberg

Response to Suzanna: I think it is important to take an online course like Moodle and blend it in with a traditional teaching course, at least in the early stages of using it. There are just so many students that struggle to read or understand directions that they are dependent upon teachers in the classroom to reach their learning. I think that, over time, students could get comfortable with the online learning style and then could take advantage of a classroom that is completely online. In my state there is a limit to how many students can take an online learning class - initiated to prevent schools from farming out their instruction to out of state "factories" that would be exempt from the state mandated tests. It ends up being a privelidge to be one of the ten students (7% of the senior class) that is allowed to take an online class. Michael Waurio

PowerPoint Presentation of Moodle
For the past two and half school years, I have been the primary user of Moodle on my school site. I have had great results with this technology, and my students absolutely enjoy using it too. Based on dialogue and interactions with colleagues regarding technology, I felt the fourth grade teachers and my principal would be most receptive to using this technology in their classrooms. During the presentation, there were mostly positive responses to the idea of using Moodle in their classrooms. Most of the inquiries were on starting up a classroom Moodle account and organization of the site. These questions, although covered in my presentation, did require reassurance and clarification for teachers. The greatest concerns were of how best to manage the site and teach their students how to use the content on Moodle. Furthermore, I also had to illustrate how Moodle would help facilitate meaningful technology instruction in the computer lab, since there is currently only a small amount of technology instruction being taught.

Where I would probably improve future presenters is ask my students to assist in the presentation. Although I did include a visual of the Moodle site I currently use in my classroom, I could of taken the presentation one step further. Specifically, I would ask a few of my students to personally show off their Moodle sites and let the teachers navigate it on their own. The teachers could then experience first hand the benefit to the Moodle site that was missed by them not having the opportunity to navigate it themselves.

http://www.slideshare.net/suzi4411/ppt-tornberg-j2

Jonah Tornberg

Keynote Presentation of Edmodo
Edmodo Presentation

Earlier this year my principal asked if I was familiar with Moodle, as he wanted to begin a staff Moodle. Although I was familiar with the course management system, I had no firsthand experience; nevertheless I was excited by the possibilities for classroom use. I assumed that in building a Moodle for staff that he wanted to lay the groundwork for classroom Moodles. As techie fate would have it, Moodle was not a possibility for our building due to technical issues; undaunted, we created a staff Edmodo and it has been up and successfully running all school year. With this in mind, I met with two tech-minded colleagues and my administrator to discuss expanding staff Edmodo use to a true course management system. I fully anticipated a roll-up-our-sleeves-and-get-this-thing-started attitude. Boy, was I ever mistaken.

My colleagues were very resistant to the idea and could not foresee greater teacher buy-in. We were already too busy, too many things are expected of us as it is, too many new programs are being implemented; this would be one more thing to add to the burden. They explained that Edmodo is suitable for middle school and high school, but not really applicable to elementary school. Privately, the teachers shared their concerns that their evaluations could be partially based on their classroom Edmodo, and they didn't feel that was fair to those less tech-savvy teachers among us. Throughout the presentation, my principal remained silent.

In retrospect, I may have put the cart before the horse. I should have gotten my own Edmodo up and fully running before presenting to colleagues so that I could more fully demonstrate its usefulness in the elementary classroom. I offered to pilot Edmodo in the classroom beginning next trimester and report back to the group any successes or challenges I faced in launching the site. With this, I was able to somewhat staunch the flow of negativity, but my colleagues still walked out of the room shaking their heads. Once alone, my principal shared that he did, in fact, hope that my enthusiasm would catch on and that more staff would begin a course management system in the near future. He did acknowledge that it may be too much to ask of our staff at this time, but he was supportive of my pilot idea and asked to be included in the student training portion of implementation.

Lisa Wilson

My Moodle Presentation I presented my slideshow to my assistant principal and two colleagues at the same grade level as myself. The assistant principal had used a similar program called Ning and was very enthusiastic about the opportunities that Moodle had to offer. In particular, he saw the way that Moodle could supplement the course curriculum during times of inclement weather. (My district cancels frequently for snow, a hint of it in the forecast puts us on red alert.) The more we talked about how we could implement Moodle on a regular basis for homework and regular classwork, he was even more excited about it. The only concerns he had about it were about confidentiality/user responsibility as well as computer lab space.

My colleagues were both impressed and intimidated by Moodle. Both were not exactly on the cutting edge of technology in their professional lives, in fact, one is just learning about SmartBoards. The other is decently tech-saavy and warmly received the idea of online classroom environments. She teaches English and it is likely that we can incorporate some form of Moodle in her classroom before the year is finished. There is a technology course offered by the district that uses Moodle to instruct teachers in technology (I took it about five years ago), so many of the staff in my building have seen Moodle or something like it before. It is my hope that this will spur other teachers to begin using an online learning management system.