I’ve continued my work on Moodle instructional sheets. This time, I’m posted a comic on creating a writing assignment. This is an introductory writing assignment. There are several options for writing within Moodle.
Here are the instructions:
Page 28 of 42
It’s time for Michigan to invest in the wonderful teachers, educators and support staff of Michigan public schools. One way to do this is to fully commit to supporting the implementation and development of open source throughout the state. Let the state be a leader to provide excellent resources to all of the districts.
Michigan has a goal of being a Top 10 in 10 state. Several of the touch strategic goals could be addressed or further assisted by the adoption of open source options.
The State has actually kind of begun the process. Michigan has committed to become an OER (Open Educational Resources) state. The Michigan OER site is now open. Michigan has started to develop some OER textbooks. This is a good start. But, there is so much more to do. We can go way deeper than materials.
First of all, Michigan needs to make educators aware of the power of OER. There also needs to be a real PR campaign to get teachers involved.
Michigan could do so much more to help the educational process. (This would end up impacting the kids, the very reason that we do the tough work that we do). If Michigan were to commit to using Open Source resources where it makes sense, so much good could be done. There could be so much collaboration around the state. There could be long term planning and work that is meaningful.
There are a couple of challenges faced by educators and districts across the state. One of those challenges is the “shiny object” challenge. As humans, we are generally attracted to “shiny objects”. In technology, this ends up being played out in terms of teachers and other educators chasing the new, heavily PR’d technology movement of the day. This is not being critical of educators, rather this is an acknowledgement of the real world. However, our kids don’t need the latest shiny thing, they need real education.
Real education takes real work. Sorry, but there is no easy, substantive, game changing, student effective magic bullet out there. Real education is messy and hard. It takes work. Real work. Real education takes time, talent, effort and understanding.
Michigan could help by supporting open source software. Districts have many similar needs. By supporting the implementation and development of open source projects, Michigan could reduce friction, free up resources, and increase support across the state.
Michigan provides some terrific support for teachers to continue learning through EduPaths. EduPaths is built on a commercial provider’s system. This is a commercial provider who has never actually made a profit*. They are somewhat famous for offering a great three year deal on their product. After the three years, the cost skyrockets. This leads many educational institutions to drop that provider and move to something else. Thus, this leads to investing in someone else instead of investing in ourselves.
Rather, I would like to see Michigan take a longer view and invest. Invest in the kids. Invest in the teachers. Invest in the Technology Directors.
So what are those investments in open source resources? Well, let’s start with a few suggestions.
- WordPress. Every district in Michigan needs to meet ADA requirements for web sites. By implementing WordPress, Michigan could help create a network of support for districts.
- Moodle. This is a powerful LMS (Learning Management System) that has incredible power to fundamentally change (update) how teachers provide educational experiences for students.
- Mahara. Student portfolios. Put the students in charge of their own learning. These can be exported by the student for their own use.
- Joget. This provides powerful workflows. This could be used for approval processes that are online (saving time, money and effort) with full accountability.
There’s more open source out there for us to evaluate and discuss. The good news is that Michigan has a terrific organization that they could tap for help. MAEDS runs a great conference. Technology Directors from around the state get together to discuss challenges and solutions.
This is not my first time to challenge the State to invest in us instead of investing in others. I’ve written about this before. This time though, I’m challenging the State Board of Education.
* Instracture Financial Results – For the full year ending December 31, 2018, Instructure expects revenue of approximately $204.5 million to $209.5 million, as compared to previously stated guidance of $203.5 million to $209.5 million, non-GAAP net loss of ($32.0) million to ($30.0) million, up from ($32.3) million to ($30.3) million, and non-GAAP net loss per common share of ($0.94) to ($0.88), up from ($1.03) to ($0.97).
I’ve created a guide to creating Word Walls in Moodle. This is a continuation in the Illustrative Guides that I’m creating for educators. I really like the graphic layout of these, but I’m interested in feedback.
Word Walls are used in many classrooms. One limitation of Word Walls tends to be that they stay in the classroom. Some teachers have students create a Word Wall in their planner (or notebook). These have the advantage of being portable, but they tend to not be very convenient or discoverable.
Word Walls in Moodle allow the students to share their work with their classmates. Students can benefit from each other adding and improving the Word Wall. Plus, students have access to the Word Wall anywhere they have online access.
Teachers can also add a Random Glossary Entry block to their course. Doing so will allow for Word Wall entries to magically appear in a block on the course page. I usually set it up so that the students get a different word each time they refresh the page. However, the teacher could change this to a new word a day, alphabetically or more.
Please check out the Word Wall instructions and let me know what you think. Oh, and share.
I’m back from the Moodle Moot US 2018. This was a wonderful and overwhelming experience.
On Monday morning, I knew that I was presenting, so I arrived early at registration. I always like to view the room that I’m presenting in before I actually present. So I asked where the room was. There seemed to be a bit of confusion (there was a lot going on with it being the first day of the conference and such), but I was given directions to the room. Up to the fourth floor I go. There were some conference helpers putting signs up. They provide some direction – follow the hallway and turn left. I follow a hallway that seems like a back passage (it was), to a very large room. Oh, this is where the keynote is. Large room. Stage. Moodlemoot in two foot tall letters on the stage. OK. Someone misunderstood. Back down I go. I ask again where the room that I’m presenting is. Pretty much the same directions. Back up I go. Upon arrival this time, someone is in the room who confirms, yes, this is where I will be presenting. Butterflies start kicking in.
I head back down for the presenter meeting. I’m informed that my session will be recorded. Butterflies start doing loopty loops. I’m also asked if there are any changes to the presentation. The presentation that was provided earlier in the week is already queued up. Providing a copy of the presentation is pretty much standard practice. Usually, these are posted for those attending the conference as resource material. That is what my past experience had been. I didn’t expect it to be the “live” resource. Fortunately, I had fully prepared. I had added some additional speaker notes, but the presentation itself was done. I was also asked if there were any copyrighted images in my presentation – because they are going to record this. I don’t use copyrighted images in my presentations, so I was all set there. My presentation was to be fifteen minutes. Then, there would be five minutes for questions and/or movement. Finally, they let us know that there was a timer in front of the monitor. The timer would count down so that we could stay on target (this will be important later).
On to the presentation. I present regularly. I have had the honor and privilege to present and speak in a wide variety of places. There were a couple of presentations before mine (including the opening keynote in the very same room). So, I had the opportunity to relax, collect my thoughts. Chris Kenniburg was also presenting in the same room, but before me. He did a great job.
I had my presentation on my iPad. (This was because I had added to my speaker notes). On my iPad, I also had a timer. Just before going up to speak, I switched back to just the presentation (the presentation without the timer was a bit larger and easier to read my speaker notes). Naturally, this tempted the fates. I was introduced and started speaking. I finished the introductory section and looked at the clock. Still stuck on 15:00 minutes. Great. I look at the time that is posted on the slides (there is just a clock, not a timer). I try to calculate how long I’ve been speaking. I’m trying to do this while focusing on my presentation and what I have to say.
I finish up the second section of my presentation. I’m still trying to calculate how much time is left. The timer is still on fifteen minutes. As I start the third and final section of my presentation, the timer suddenly changes. 4:58. So, my guess has just been a little bit off. I try to pick up the pace just a bit without seeming obvious about it. I managed to address all the topics that I wanted. I did go over the fifteen minutes slightly, but not by much. I answered a couple of questions.
All in all, this was a great experience. I look forward to presenting in similar situations again. Next time, I think that I’ll leave my timer running.
I’ve had a another site for a while (Master Moodle), which I’ve struggled with creating. I had originally pictured doing friendly, in depth, comprehensive step-by-step Moodle tips. My plan was to make them focused on real world assignments.
That way, teachers would get helpful instructions that are couched in real world examples. Nothing purely theoretical, rather, specific examples of using Moodle in the classroom.
One problem. The guides that I was producing didn’t feel right. They were very comprehensive. Each step was explained in detail. Every choice had a suggested setting and an explanation as to why. Still, it just didn’t feel right. I shared a couple with other teachers. Their reaction was the same. (Oh, they were very polite, but the response was still “this isn’t right”.)
So, I’m trying something different. I’ve produced a “Saying ‘Hi'” with Moodle as a comic strip. This one feels better. I’m not completely convinced that it’s right, but I’d love to get some feedback. It’s not nearly as comprehensive with setting selections, but hopefully is enough to get teachers started.
So, if you’ve got a moment, please head on over and take a look. I’d love constructive feedback.
I’m very pleased that I will be presenting at the U.S. Moodle Moot in Denver, Co. This will be an exciting conference. I’ll get to share some of the great things my team has developed.
Focus on Learning: Moodle in PreK-14
Dearborn Public Schools developed the Fordson Theme to focus students and teachers on learning. Moodle’s greatest strength and weakness is its capability and options. As an educator and former principal, my perspective is on keeping the students focused on the learning. Our students come to us with a variety of cultural, educational and financial backgrounds. We’ll share some of keystones, questions and perspectives in our leading Moodle implementation. We’ll share some specific examples of learning activities that use Moodle to focus on learning.
Presenting the story of the work that my team has done is important for us in many ways. I get to valuable feedback whenever I present. Most importantly, I get to honor and recognize the great work that my team does.
UPDATE: The presentation is now posted. Join me on Day 1 at 11:30 a.m.
This morning was my MAEDS 2018 presentation. I presented “Creating Workflows with Open Source Software”. This presentation focused on creating workflows for the approval process.
As an example, I used the situation of a principal requesting an additional teacher. Traditionally, this has been done with paper. Recently, many people have moved to using Google Forms. While this is electronic and has some advantages over paper, it doesn’t solve the whole problem. Those problems include the original (in this case the principal), doesn’t know where the process is.
What I presented on today was using Joget. Joget is open source software that allows one to create a very easy to use system for end users. Although it isn’t quite as easy to create the workflows (you do need to have some basic understanding of programming), it is MUCH easier than other options that I’ve found. Joget is very visual based. To create workflows, you drag and drop elements.
The biggest issue is frequently defining exactly what the process is.
The group was a great group with good questions and suggestions. I will be following up the presentation with the suggestions that were brought forth.
Sharing is important. I was very pleased at the number and interest for my presentation.
Now back to the conference…
I’ll be attending the MAEDS (Michigan Association of Educational Data Systems) the fall, October 10th through 12th. This is usually a great conference. There is lots of good, practical information and discussions.
This year, I’ll be presenting. My presentation will be “Create Workflows Using Open Source Software”. This presentation will focus around creating a workflow (approval processes) using Joget.
Although certainly not as easy to create as a Google Form, Joget does allow one to create a form for users to complete. The real difference is what happens after that form is filled out. Joget will automatically advance the completed form to the right person to approve. If that person approves, it goes to the next person that needs to approve. If it is denied at any point, whomever originated the request is notified.
Let’s take a look at an example. Let’s say that a principal wants to add a new teacher to his/her staff. Let’s say that principal wants to use Title MCM funds to pay for the teacher. The principal would complete the form that has been created for adding staff. Then, the request would automatically go to the Title MCM coordinator for approval. If approved, the Director of Instructional Staff would be notified and able to approve. Once that Director approves, it could go to the Superintendent to approve. If the Superintendent denies the request, the principal would receive notice that the Superintendent has denied the request (actually, the principal receives notification all the through the process).
Joget will allow for full tracking of where everything is in the process. It also allows for historical records of knowing who was entered, approved, and denied.
There is a LOT of work to make this all work. Everyone has to agree on discrete steps and actions. All of that has to be programmed in Joget. The good news is that this is relatively easy to do. It is very graphical.
At the end of the day, Joget is a lot more work than Google Forms. However, Joget also is much more complete in providing an actual useful process.
There will be a lot to cover for my presentation. Wish me luck.
I’ve written before about “Saying Hi” in Moodle. One of the ways for students to say “Hi” is to use the Glossary module. This is an easy and effective way to get students using Moodle. More importantly, it is an easy way for them to write about themselves.
One of the participants of a Moodle training that I led took this concept to the next level. He added having students record a message. Since he works in middle school, the kids just said, literally, “Hello”. The kids had a blast with it. They got create with pronouncing hello in a variety of cadences and voices.
Well, I’m using this the next time I assign the Glossary module. With Moodle 3.5, the ability to record audio and video is built in. So I’ll have participants (whether they are students or adults), include a short audio or video as part of their introduction.
I’m really excited about the built-in ability for students to record audio and video easily. That is one powerful tool.
One of the Moodle Mooters (those who attended a Moodle Moot training session) and good friend shared how he is making some accommodations in Moodle. Not only that, but he shared this with some Special Education teachers who were blown away.
He has created a vocabulary quiz using Drag and Drop text. The quiz has the vocabulary words listed with Drag and Drop text options available for the students. There are ten or more words. He showed this during a training. The teachers thought that this was useful. However, he did next, well……
Next he duplicated the quiz . Then he went into Editing the quiz. He renamed the quiz by appending “Beta” to the quiz name. He grouped the responses by pairs (so that the responses and vocabulary words are grouped by color – i.e. there are two blue vocabulary words and two definitions which are blue, two tan vocabulary words and two tan definitions, etc.). (By the way, the Special Education teacher that he will be working with announced that he should “pair” those answers prior to him showing them paired. Looks like a good start to working together). He gave the students unlimited attempts. He added a restriction to limit which group would see this quiz.
All in all, it took a about one minute to accommodate the quiz. He now has two quizzes in his course. Students will only ever see the quiz that is appropriate for them. On one quiz, the students have one opportunity to take the quiz. They have ten definitions to match up to ten vocabulary words. They can drag one definition as many times as they want. In the second quiz, the students have some guidance to assist with which definitions go with which vocabulary words. Once they move a definition, it moves into that one spot, without being “left behind”. The second quiz can be taken as many times as necessary.
Again, the students will only ever see the quiz that is appropriate for them. (Yes, they will eventually figure out that there are two quizzes – kids talk, but they will only ever see the one that is appropriate for them).
Oh, and both quizzes will be automatically graded AND entered in his official school gradebook without him typing them in.
The Special Education teachers wanted to know how many teachers were using this magic. They want to be able to create accommodated versions of quizzes and assignments this easily.
If you’d like to know exactly how to do this, please let me know.
Digital Card
Troy Patterson
Middle School Matters; Troy Patterson Consulting
troy@troypatterson.me
+1832-378-7697
Moodle, Education, Open-Source
This hCard created with the hCard creator.
Middle School Matters Content
- MSM 707: Don’t Steal the Struggle Troy Patterson, Shawn McGirr
- MSM 706: It’s the Tea in ISTE! Troy Patterson, Shawn McGirr
- MSM 705: Teaching AI Literacy Troy Patterson, Shawn McGirr