Blackboard Response to NCCCS Moodle Report

Students in a blended classroom at Duke Law School.

A recent 93-page report on online education, conducted by SRI International for the Department of Education, has a starchy academic title, but a most intriguing conclusion: “On average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction.”

Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning Report (PDF)

Click here to view the executive summary, full report and the supporting documentation:

http://oscmoodlereport.wordpress.com

Moodlers:

We have the larger Open Source Collaborative project site up and customized for PCC but there must have been a problem in the cloning process. The site has no content files in any of the courses. The links to the files are there from the homepage but the files themselves are not. I have opened a ticket with Remote Learner to address the issue. The new sites URL is http://courses.pittcc.edu/ and you can login if you like but I would not load anything until Remote Learner fixes the problem.

Jon

We have update the Moodle documentation to include the changes reflected in version 1.9. The main area that changed is the gradebook section. The gradebook in Moodle now looks similar to the Blackboard gradebook. Some of the new features we like include: grade overrides, highlighting row & columns and using multiple grading scales just to name a few.

Some of the features that we don’t like in 1.9 vs 1.8 is the grade weighting screens. They can be a little confusing if you don’t know what to do. Lucky for you all, we have documented what to do already.

We also updated how to use Respondus to import questions or pools into Moodle. It really works well!

Check out the new version of the Instructor Manual here: PCC Moodle Instructor Manual

I wanted to bring you all up to date on the State Office plans for the next phase of the Moodle assessment project aka Open Source Collaborative (OSC).

As of today, Pitt Community College is a member of the next phase of Moodle assessment. This phase includes upgrading the hardware of our Moodle server to a bigger server located at the Microelectronics Center of North Carolina (the folks that run NCREN). The servers are going to be housed there but the user support will still be Remote Learner.

Remote Learner is completing the set-up of the new server right now. The new server will look and (hopefully) act the same as our current server but will have a different URL. Since the new server was not ready at the beginning of the semester, we are going to stay on our current NCMUG server for the rest of this semester. I think I am going to set-up Con Ed to use this new server until curriculum is ready to move.

What does PCC benefit from the OSC?
We will be able to collaborate with other colleges to find solutions to technical and systemic problems facing all schools. Problems like integrating Datatel with Moodle so students are automatically created and populated into courses.  We will be able to share training opportunities and documentation with other schools also.  That other small thing going for it is called… being FREE.

I’ll keep you all updated with the info that I get.

Upgrade Status:
The upgrade to Moodle 1.9 is complete on the NCMUG server. You may notice a new look for 1.9. I had the support guys re-skin the moodle site to match our new website but everything should function the same.

Ok, Don’t freak out but the major change in 1.9 is the gradebook. It now functions more like blackboard’s gradebook. We are working on a manual update for 1.9 right now and it will be available soon. If you are interested in the changes, you can review them here: 1.9 Release Notes

I will let you know when the documentation is ready and/or training sessions available.

Course Resetting:
If you are teaching in the same course in Moodle for the second time and you have not done so already, you need to reset your course for the new semester. Resetting is similar to Recycling in BB. If you need help resetting your course, please refer to the Beginning & End of Semester Responsibilities in the Moodle Instructor Manual here: Instructor Manual

Student Population:
I have initially loaded the new students to the pool and they are ready for your to enroll. Remember, you must enroll students that are added late by the reg office. If a student is on your roster in CC and not in Moodle, wait 24 hours and try to enroll them again. I will update the pool every day for the first 2 weeks of class.

Attached is the list of course sections being taught in moodle this semester. If your course is not listed please let me know.

Student Communication:
It is CRITICAL that you communicate early with your IN and HY students that you are using Moodle and not Blackboard this semester. To help in this communication, the DL Office will send out a email to all IN and HY students enrolled into a Moodle course. This email will include important information about their course and where to find the moodle student manual. The manual is available on the front page of Moodle or here: New Moodle Student Manual

Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns.

Here is a link to the latest Moodle presentation:The Whole Kit and Caboodle on Moodle

Tina and I are at the North Carolina Distance Learning Alliance Conference in New Bern right now. I am try to gather as much info as I can about what other schools are doing with Moodle. I will update you all more when the conference is over. We are also giving our Moodle vs Blackboard terminology presentation again so we updated the Powerpoint a little. (see the link below)

Jonathon