At the end of last year, my administration asked if I could expand our Moodle installation to include the middle school and sixth grade center. I agreed to do this as long as we created two new installations so that we would have one for each building.
While I still think it was necessary for the sake of user management and security to separate the buildings into their own installations, man is it turning out to be a pain! Everytime I find a bug in one, I have to change it in all three. Every time I add content to the front page of one, I have to judge whether it’s appropriate for the others. Then, on top of all that, how am I qualified to write “howto” instructrions for sixth graders! I tried to write things as simply as I could, but I have no idea!
Anyway. I’ve been working feverishly over the past week or so on these so I might as well show them off. Look at them! If I could, I’d ask my wife to put them on the fridge.
Here they are:
Back to the grind!
Starting with the class of 2011 (next year’s incoming Freshman), every student who graduates from a Michigan high school must have a (documented) minimum twenty hours of online learning experience.
To satisfy this landmark state graduation requirement, the Social Studies department at Niles High School will incorporate “blended learning” into their curriculum next year.
As part of the planning process, I met with my department chair this afternoon to discuss the logistics of such an undertaking. I thought it might be helpful to others if I share my thoughts and findings:
- I’m serious when I say that the twenty hours of online learning needs to be documented.
It is up to each district as to how to track the 20 hours of experiences. It is suggested that a district use the same manner of tracking online learning experiences as they currently do in tracking a student’s community service hours … These online experiences may take place between grades 6-12 to meet the graduation requirement.
– Online Experience Guidelines: Companion Document
To do this, I will probably pull a complete monthly log from Moodle’s reports. However, this is still a messy plan considering sense will have to be made from those logs. I’ll have to spend some time thinking about this one!
- Simply having a learning management system on your server is not enough to qualify a school as providing an online learning experience. Specifically, even if a school has Moodle and requires every teacher to use it, those teachers must be able to demonstrate how they are using the Internet to promote online learning skills.
- Schools must show that teachers and students are building working relationships online. The best example of this would be a school that provides a wiki that all students are required to contribute to, and that is guided by the input of the teachers.
- The online instruction must align with the Michigan Technology Standards and Expectations.
- A school’s plan for providing online instruction must include instructional goals, objectives, strategies, and assessments that are aligned with content area state standards, benchmarks, and expectations.
Two months ago, my department chair and I were under the impression that online research fit the bill for this new requirement - well, it doesn’t if that online research is exactly like library research, but on the web!
If schools want to embrace this legislation (which they should), then they need to make a wholehearted effort to train their teaching staff in the use of Web 2.0 tools and give them the time to brainstorm how such tools can be applied to enhance their classroom lessons.
Being a Moodle advocate, I have a vested interest (i.e., time) in seeing the growth of Open Source software in schools. This morning, my brother-in-law (and web-service-provider) sent me a link to os4ed.com (Open Solutions For Education), and this made me think.
My district currently uses Open Source solutions for its website, and Course Management System, but uses enterprise solutions for it’s gradebook, student accounting , and data collection/analysis. On top of this, we pay a salary to a teacher to oversee students doing work online through Michigan Virtual High School.
There are open source solutions that can be integrated to do all of these things for “free” (if you have the people willing to figure them out!).
For example, os4ed.com is currently working on integrating Moodle with their data collection software, openIntel, and their student information system, Centre.
Essentially, a high school could offer courses online using existing teaching staff. The data collected on assessments could be automatically shipped to a gradebook and data analysis tool (to satisfy NCLB). The merits of these courses could be lauded ad nauseam on the school’s web page. And, not a dime would have to be spent on outside resources.
Admittedly, money would have to be spent on professionals who untangle this software. But, when the alternative is thousands of dollars to a corporation for software and support, why shouldn’t more schools invest in their own technology infrastructure?
I have become an activist in my school for online learning. In this role, I have lauded the Internet as an educational tool for a variety of reasons (some of which I actually believe).
I think that the Internet can make school work worth doing. If for no other reason, because others can see the work that students have produced.
For example, what is the point of writing a paper that only your teacher will read? For the elite, the point is a good grade. For others? At this very moment, I am writing about work. I am gathering and developing my thoughts as an educator. Without being asked, I am reflecting on myself. Why?
My students understand the audience potential of the Internet even better than I do. They appreciate the fact that their world can bump into the worlds of other people on the Internet. They know that what they write here can be read.
I believe that education serves its purpose best when pursued for its own sake. I frequently tell students they should produce only to produce; to make mistakes; to then make corrections. This, after all, is learning, is it not? Why not make those mistakes for others to find? Why not grow in the world, instead of merely in the classroom? Why not exist for the sake of existing?
