Parents have lost the war over buying cellphones for their children. Now comes the battle for the iPhone. And schools may be giving their students some ammunition.
Read more here (including the comments!).
Friday, August 21, 2009
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Study Finds That Online Education Beats the Classroom
A recent 93-page report on online education came up with a most intriguing conclusion: “On average, students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction.”
The real promise of online education, experts say, is providing learning experiences that are more tailored to individual students than is possible in classrooms. That enables more “learning by doing,” which many students find more engaging and useful.
Read more here.
The real promise of online education, experts say, is providing learning experiences that are more tailored to individual students than is possible in classrooms. That enables more “learning by doing,” which many students find more engaging and useful.
Read more here.
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Moodle Community Forums - Your #2 Resource
I have had some terrific results in getting answers to Moodle questions by searching the forums at Moodle.org. When I don't find my answer by searching, I drill down to the appropriate category and post a question, and usually get an answer or three within a few hours, sometimes even quicker!
Membership on Moodle.org is free, so go ahead and create an account and explore the vast resources there. I'm sure you will see the value like I did.
Oh, and I entitled this post as your #2 resource because yours truly is your number one, right? Hello?
Membership on Moodle.org is free, so go ahead and create an account and explore the vast resources there. I'm sure you will see the value like I did.
Oh, and I entitled this post as your #2 resource because yours truly is your number one, right? Hello?
Online Schools are Booming
As the largest generation since the baby boom attends college at a time of shrinking budgets and soaring costs, many educators believe that online learning holds the greatest promise for expanding the capacity of the U.S. higher-education system.
Read more here.
Read more here.
Monday, August 10, 2009
In a Digital Future, Textbooks Are History
Textbooks have not gone the way of the scroll yet, but many educators say that it will not be long before they are replaced by digital versions — or supplanted altogether by lessons assembled from the wealth of free courseware, educational games, videos and projects on the Web.
Many educators expect that digital textbooks and online courses will start small, perhaps for those who want to study a subject they cannot fit into their school schedule or for those who needa few more credits to graduate.
Read more here.
Many educators expect that digital textbooks and online courses will start small, perhaps for those who want to study a subject they cannot fit into their school schedule or for those who needa few more credits to graduate.
Read more here.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Blackboard -> Moodle Course Conversions
Please join me in welcoming Eric Bryant, our new Blackboard -> Moodle Course Conversion Specialist. Eric started at LBCC a few weeks ago, and has been busy converting courses for Fall Term 09. He can be reached at eric.bryant@linnbenton.edu or 541.917.4373.
Here is the basic procedure we have established for our Blackboard -> Moodle course conversions:
1. Create a copy of a Blackboard course to be converted (thus avoiding unecessary student info exposure, and the potential for messing up a live course). We will email you shortly after creating this course copy to let you know we are starting your course conversion.
2. Study the general layout of the Blackboard course, and create a bare Moodle course shell to reflect that layout.
3. In an effort to deliver as much of our eLearning content as possible via web pages vs. files to download and manage, we will be converting existing files to HTML via Moodle’s easy-to-use web page creation tool. Because these formats do not require a software purchase, LBCC's recommended delivery formats are as follows:
a. HTML (Web Page) with text, images, links, etc. (Moodle’s tool is as easy as using Word)
b. Adobe Acrobat PDF
c. Native Format (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) can be used, but is not recommended for universal access
4. When Eric is finished (or nearly so) with your course conversion, we will give you Instructor access (if you don’t have an LBCC Moodle account, we will create one for you), at which point you can review the Moodle version of your course and make changes, as needed. Of course, we are also here for questions, help, support, etc.
With that said, let me add that a terrific way for a new Moodle Instructor to learn Moodle is to take an active role in the course conversion process. You already have your content, so learning while you build is a great way to learn how to navigate, develop, and deliver your course in Moodle. Please feel free to contact Eric as early in the conversion process as you can, and strongly consider taking an active role in your Blackboard -> Moodle course conversion process. You will be glad you did!
One more item before closing: if you haven’t already updated your LBCC Moodle profile, please do so upon your next login. The Staff Information tool in Blackboard is course-specific, while Moodle user profiles are site-specific, meaning you can put a lot of great information about yourself into your Moodle profile one time, and it’s only one click away anywhere your name appears on the site! See how to update your Moodle profile here.
Eric is the guy on the right in the "Thursday Bike Rides!" post picture below.
Here is the basic procedure we have established for our Blackboard -> Moodle course conversions:
1. Create a copy of a Blackboard course to be converted (thus avoiding unecessary student info exposure, and the potential for messing up a live course). We will email you shortly after creating this course copy to let you know we are starting your course conversion.
2. Study the general layout of the Blackboard course, and create a bare Moodle course shell to reflect that layout.
3. In an effort to deliver as much of our eLearning content as possible via web pages vs. files to download and manage, we will be converting existing files to HTML via Moodle’s easy-to-use web page creation tool. Because these formats do not require a software purchase, LBCC's recommended delivery formats are as follows:
a. HTML (Web Page) with text, images, links, etc. (Moodle’s tool is as easy as using Word)
b. Adobe Acrobat PDF
c. Native Format (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) can be used, but is not recommended for universal access
4. When Eric is finished (or nearly so) with your course conversion, we will give you Instructor access (if you don’t have an LBCC Moodle account, we will create one for you), at which point you can review the Moodle version of your course and make changes, as needed. Of course, we are also here for questions, help, support, etc.
With that said, let me add that a terrific way for a new Moodle Instructor to learn Moodle is to take an active role in the course conversion process. You already have your content, so learning while you build is a great way to learn how to navigate, develop, and deliver your course in Moodle. Please feel free to contact Eric as early in the conversion process as you can, and strongly consider taking an active role in your Blackboard -> Moodle course conversion process. You will be glad you did!
One more item before closing: if you haven’t already updated your LBCC Moodle profile, please do so upon your next login. The Staff Information tool in Blackboard is course-specific, while Moodle user profiles are site-specific, meaning you can put a lot of great information about yourself into your Moodle profile one time, and it’s only one click away anywhere your name appears on the site! See how to update your Moodle profile here.
Eric is the guy on the right in the "Thursday Bike Rides!" post picture below.
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