Sliderocket

Sliderocket is a great presentation software program.  The "lite" version is free.  Although it has some limitations compared to the $24.00/month "pro" version, it does enough to allow you to create something pretty cool.  It looks clean and crisp.  Check it out for use in your classes or, if you are a Moodle trainer, consider using it as a presentation tool when training faculty.

Collapsed Topics

I would like to introduce a new format for your eLearn courses.  Up until this point, we have used a weekly format and a topics format.  We now have an additional option called “collapsed topics” that will help to organize your courses and decrease the cognitive load for your learners.  We all know that eLearn can be “clunky” and disorderly.  This new feature has the potential to improve the look and navigation of your course!  Here is an example of how it looks:

The new format does not affect your course materials whatsoever and can be changed back to the weekly format or topics format at any time if you find that it is not your preference.  To check it out:
1) Enter your course on eLearn.
2) Click “Settings” in the administration block.
3) Click on the “Format” dropdown menu.
4) Choose “Collapsed Topics.”
5) Click on “Save Changes.”

I hope you find this to be a help!

-bbcmoodler

Renaming Your Files

Each course contains file folders.  You may want to create separate folders for organizational purposes, just as you would on your computer.  If you place a file into a course file folder and then make changes to it later and re-upload it into your course file folder, you must change the name of the file.  If you do not change the name of the file, the system will default back to the original file and the edited version will not be reflected when you link it to the course page.

Glossary Activity

Check out the glossary activity.  It’s one of the most underrated activities in Moodle.  You’re probably wondering why I am calling it an “activity.”  On the surface, a glossary is a list of words and definitions that students can access.  However, a course creator can allow students to add to a glossary.  This transforms the glossary from a mere listing of vocabulary words to a collaborative tool for learning.

You can use the glossary for building a class directory, a collection of past exam questions, famous quotations, or even a collection of pictures. 

Office Add-in for Moodle

Would you like to be able to do this?

"Save to Moodle" and "Open with Moodle" can be options in your version of Microsoft Word.  Pretty cool, huh?  All you have to do is download the Office Add-in for Moodle.  The link will provide you with more information.  I downloaded it today and it works great.  However, it only works with Windows.  Sorry, Mac users.

BBC&S faculty, if you are downloading the add-in on a BBC&S machine, contact the IT Helpdesk and request permission first. 

Constructivist Learning Theory

I recently completed a research paper on the need for constructivist principles to be more widely adopted in education.  Constructivist concepts are not new; Socrates, Piaget, and Vygotsky theorized about them many years ago.  However, they are still not incorporated into instructional design today as often as perhaps they ought.  I argued that the rise in online and distance education over the past couple decades is demanding a philosophical change in educational pedagogy—a change from instructivism to constructivism.  What I mean by “constructivism” is that educators set up environments that encourage learners to construct understandings of knowledge through a self-discovery process as opposed to teachers “dumping” knowledge on them to memorize.  In other words, education is inquiry-based as opposed to being expository.  How this theory can be practically applied to the virtual learning environment is through the use of interactive and collaborative tools (discussion boards, wikis, chats, etc.), the use of questions in discussion forums that promote critical thinking and reflection (i.e. Socratic questioning), and a philosophical shift from teacher-centered learning to student-centered learning (i.e. the shift from the teacher being a “sage on the stage” to being a “guide on the side”).  This is food for thought.

What say you?  What strategies do you use to promote deep learning and understanding in an online course? 

Embedding Videos into Moodle

A few weeks ago, Faculty Focus complied some tips and tricks for online teaching.  They are meant to improve student experience in the online learning environment.  Check them out here! 

If you plan to use the “post emails to the class as announcements” tip, the News Forum that we use in Moodle will accomplish that nicely.

If you plan to use the “embed videos” tip, follow these steps:
1) Find the video that you wish to embed (meaning the video that you’d like to place directly onto a course page, directly onto a webpage, directly into a discussion forum, or directly into a quiz).

2) Click “Embed.”  If you do not see an “embed” button, it may mean that the video is not able to be embedded.

3) An embed code will appear.  Copy it.

4) Go into Moodle and open the activity where you’d like to place the video.  When the HTML bar appears, click on the “HTML Toggle Source” icon (located to the far right).

5) Paste the code.  Click “Save and display” to see how the video will appear to the students.

*Click here for a video demonstration.

Blocking Students from Sending You Messages

If a student reports not being able to send you messages through Moodle, it could be that you blocked them by mistake.  To unblock them, click on their profile and then click on "Send Message."  From there, click "Unblock Contact."

Uploading a File

Teachers must post a syllabus as a PDF for each course.  Other files, such as PowerPoint presentations, may also be uploaded. Please follow the steps below to upload a file and link it to the course page.

1) Once you are in your course, click "Turn Editing On."
2) Click "Files" under the Administration block.
3) Click on the folder in which you wish you place the file. You may choose to create some additional folders by clicking on "Make a Folder."
4) Click "Upload a File."
5) Browse for the file on your computer.
6) Once you have selected the file, click "Upload this File."
7) Return to your course homepage.
8) Click on the "Add a Resource" drop-down menu in the block where you wish to place the file.
9) Click "Link to a File or Website."
10) Give the file a name. This will appear as a link to students to access it.
11) Click "Choose or Upload a File" and a list of your files will appear.
12) Click "Choose" to the right of the file that you want to put on the course page. Do not click the check box. That is used for other actions.
13) Click on the "Window" drop-down menu and select "New Window" if you would prefer that the students are not taken out of eLearn when they click on the link to the file.
14) Click "Save and Return to Course."
15) Click on the link to be sure that the file opens successfully.

-bbcmoodler

"Quick Grading"

To grade an assignment, click on the assignment link and then click “View X Submitted Assignments.”  You will then be able to click “Grade” for each student and have a new window appear where you can give a grade and write a comment.  To speed up the grading process, click on the check box next to “Allow Quick Grading” on the bottom-right portion of the screen.  Then click “Save Preferences.”  This allows you to quickly grade the assignment for multiple students all on one page rather than having each one open in a new window.  Simply add the grades and comments and, when you’re finished, click on ”Save All My Feedback” at the bottom of the page.  If you want to upload a file back to a student, you will need to click ”Grade” for each student individually.  If you have already given the student a grade, “Grade” will change to “Update” and you will have the opportunity to modify the grade.  You will also be able to upload a file to a student even if you initially used the “quick grading” feature.

-bbcmoodler

Welcome!

Welcome to the teachwithmoodle blog site!  This page is specifically designed with Baptist Bible College & Seminary faculty and students in mind, but it is open to anyone with interest.  I desire to collaborate with the entire Moodle community and with the entire world of online education.  This page will serve as a resource for the online teacher as I will provide Moodle tips, general online teaching tips, and the latest news and developments in online higher education.  I will also discuss technology that can be used in the classroom to enhance interactivity.  Please feel free to share your ideas, too!

-bbcmoodler

Keeping Track of Reading Assignments

Need an easy way to track whether or not students have completed their reading assignments?  There are two options for this in Moodle.
1) Consider using the quiz activity for this purpose.  Set up a multiple choice question and give partial credit using the “Grade” dropdown menu for responses that indicate only partial completion of the reading and give 100% for the response that indicates that the reading has been completed in its entirety.  The grades will automatically appear in the grade book.
2) If you do not grade reading assignments but would still like to track where students are at with it (so that you know how to gauge discussion, etc.), you may want to consider using the “Choice” activity instead.  This activity does not generate an automatic grade.

-bbcmoodler

Homesick for Eden

A Garden so green where water ran clean
And the animals roamed without names
Love was a girl who walked through the world
Where passion was as pure as a flame
In the back of our minds is a time before time
And a sad irreversible fact
We can't seem to think of why we left there
And we can't seem to find our way back
All of us are homesick for Eden
We yearn to return to a land we've never known
Deep is the need to go back to the Garden
A yearning so strong for a place we belong
A place that we know is home
Have you ever just cried with no reason why
Like a child that has been left on its own?
In the back of your mind is an image of what should have been
And you know that you'll never be happy
Until you find your way back there again

Importing Course Data

Course data may be imported into a course from another course that you are teaching or have previously taught.  This allows teachers to re-use rather than re-create activities and resources.  If you are teaching both an online and an on-campus version of the same course and you wish to post some of the same activities (assignments, quizzes, forums, etc.) or resources (web pages, PDFs, etc.) for both, you might find it beneficial to copy these items from one course to the other.
Follow these steps:
1. Select the import option from the Administration Block.
2. Next, select the course you wish to import the material from and click on “Use this course.”
3. You will be presented with a list of checkboxes from which you can select the activities and resources you wish to import.
4. Click “Continue” through the next few screens.  The data will then be imported.
Click here for a video demonstration of the import process.

-bbcmoodler