For this Moodle course I worked with Amy Vine. I feel very lucky to get to work with Amy. We have collaborated previously on projects and our partnership was a seamless effort. I came to the project with extensive Moodle experience. I also brought with me content from my AP Spanish class that I am passing on to another teacher for next school year. Amy and I worked to design these modules with this teacher in mind. I relied heavily on Amy for her strengths as an editor and writer to help write our proposal, re-write the syllabus and have a critical eye when looking at the directions of the assignments and the match up between the activities and the learning objectives.
To access our Moodle course please use the URL http://moodle.sandi.net/course/view.php?id=18862
Please make sure that you are logged in (you will not be able to access all features and you may get an error message if you are not logged in) [please see the attached file or email me for passwords]
Administrative Functionality
Moodle allows the instructor the flexibility to change the design (look and feel) and layout of the course. The instructor uses the Administration block to manage course files, Grades, Student enrollment, number of weeks or modules and the settings of the course. The Moodle interface consists of a main content area arranged by week or module and one or two side columns with blocks. The side columns allow for blocks to be added and moved around.
Because of my role as Moodle administrator and instructor at my School District I took care of setting up and modifying the look and feel of our course. I took Amy through a tour of the major features and I explained how to make changes. For the purposes of this class, I enrolled a fake student and a fake teacher to allow Amy, the three beta-testers and the Ed Tech 700 instructors access to the course. Amy and I chose a theme that was visually appealing to the look and feel we wanted for the course and we placed all the files necessary in to the course files.
Course Creating Functionality
Moodle allows the instructor to set the course parameters at the beginning of the course, and allows for flexibility to change those as necessary at any time throughout the course. Weeks and Modules can be added or subtracted and moved at any time. There is also the added functionality of being able to hide weeks/modules and all content within until the instructor wants to reveal them. Or an instructor can choose to put in opening and closing dates for assignments, forums and quizzes.
For our course we utilized the following features: label, links (to a file or website), Glossary, Book, Forum, Quiz (assignment (online text, offline activity and upload a single file). We enabled the course summary block and placed it on the left column and also enabled the questions block which allows the student a quick way to email the instructor with questions. For the purposes of this AP Spanish class we renamed this block preguntas.
Editing Functionality
Moodle is easy to edit. Content can be edited at any time. Instructors have the ability to change font size and color and use HTML or Rich Text to compose their work. Items can be moved within the Moodle and hidden as necessary.
Reflection on Functionality
I have been using Moodle for 5.5 years. I have taught basic Moodle classes to teachers in my school district for the past 3 years and this year I help administer the Moodle. Moodle takes some time to learn to maximize the functionality. Some of the advanced activity features have a learning curve (lessons and workshop) that can cause frustration in a novice learner. Creating a course from scratch in Moodle can be quite time consuming especially building out assignments and quizzes.
When I was in the classroom I mainly used Moodle for its quiz features and the ability to assign and develop modules for extended vacations (winter and spring break) and for students who were away on contract.
I find that the file management within Moodle can be cumbersome (there are many steps to uploading, selecting and then inserting or linking to those items). Moving things around within the Moodle is also more difficult than it has to be. I wish Moodle had a drag and drop feature for the items within blocks, blocks and weeks. The current method of clicking the move icon and then selecting where you want it is fine if one only wants to move a few items.
Course Description
Amy and I created an AP Spanish course in Moodle. This was designed to be used along side live class lecture. Some of the assignment will be completed in class. The goals were to extend the instruction from the classroom to provide opportunities to practice the language and skills necessary to pass the AP Spanish Language exam in May. One modification we made for this course was we provided the majority of the information in English so it could be access by our Ed Tech 700 instructors. When this course is copied for AP Spanish Teachers, 95% of the English will be removed. At this level of a language course, the majority of the instruction needs to be given in the target language.
There are 4 components to the AP Language exam: reading comprehension, listening comprehension, writing (informal and formal), and speaking (informal and formal). The course includes three modules that are independent of each other. Module 1 focuses on reading and writing (informal). Module 2 focuses on listening and writing (informal) [this module also includes grammar and geography which are not explicitly tested on the AP, but are an expectation expected to be demonstrated through the 4 exam components]. Module 3 focuses on speaking.
Course Review
Amy and I conducted the beta-testing and wrote this section together. This course was reviewed using the high quality online course rubric. We had hoped to be able to use AP Spanish students for this test however due to time constraints we instead used three Spanish speaking adults as reviewers. Their feedback is as follows:
Learner Support & Resources
Our beta testers gave us “effective” marks for learner support. They noted that we have a questions area in which to provide assistance and all of the necessary contact information and support resources are noted within the syllabus. One beta tester suggested noting the location of the contact information in the syllabus on the main page, and now we have done so.
Online Organization & Design
The beta testers all felt that our syllabus was very well constructed and easy to follow, they marked us at the exemplary level. All important information was covered and they felt like the understood the purpose of the Moodle site within the class structure.
Instructional Design & Delivery
We had exemplary on the interaction rating. With participants stating they had ample opportunities to engage in interaction.
Regarding objectives, or participants noted that they were very specific and related to the content being taught.
All participants were impressed by our use of a variety of different learning modalities in our modules. They appreciated the use of audio, and visual elements to them.
Assessment & Evaluation of Student Learning
We received effective marks on aligning assessment with objectives. This was mostly due to the fact that there was confusion on some of the items on one of the quizzes. These questions are being addressed.
The participants all felt that we were exemplary in the way we used out informal assessment activities throughout the course.
Innovative Teaching with Technology
Our participants felt like we were exemplary in our use of technology to facilitate learning.
VDILS Model Application
We applied the VDILS model to our course by incorporating interactivity in each of the Modules. We included inter-student collaboration with a collaborative glossary, a blog, and two forum posts. Our students are connecting to authentic language content via reading (a short story and a news article), music, photography and video. Our intended learner will experience this content in a hybrid learning environment. The majority of the class will be face to face with the Moodle content meant as a supplement and further practice an interaction with the language outside of the hour a day in class. The specific goals and purpose of this class are to prepare the students to pass the AP Spanish Language exam in May. Students who enroll have a high level of interest in engaging and interacting with the content and each other. They hope to pass in order to receive a weighted grade for their High School GPA as well as receive a grade on the exam which will translate to College credit.
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