All posts by James Clay

100 ways, vle

100 ways to use a VLE – #27 Undertaking a Survey

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Many curriculum topics ask learners to gather and analyse data. Hospitality and Catering students may want to gather data about spending habits on eating out. Travel and Tourism students may want to gather information on the costs of tickets for attractions, opening times and discounts. Students on a Business Enterprise course may want to gather data on customer habits to help them formulate a business plan.

In addition to learners gathering data for a survey, teachers or other staff in the college may want to get data. We recently gathered information on how learners felt about the VLE and what needed to be done to make it better; we also gathered data on how they felt about tablets and their use in teaching and learning.

There are a fair few ways for learners and staff to gather data for a survey. You can of course collect responses in paper format, enter all the data and then undertake the analysis. Another option would be to use a Google Form and collect the data in that way.

Using the VLE, say for example, through the Feedback Module on Moodle, allows the learners to spread their survey across the complete college community. Once the survey is done there are some analytical tools included in the Feedback Module, or you can download all the data into an Excel file for further analysis. There is an element of consistency too, with learners using the same tool for the data collection and initial analysis.

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Best thing since…

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Bread

The best thing that I did recently on our Moodle installation to was have the Grid format installed.

If you’ve not seen it, what it does is change the format of a Moodle course from a long list of topics to a grid of icons that link to the topics.

Or to put it more simply it kills the scroll of death.

Moodle Grid Format

I have written a fair bit about the inevitable scroll of death that seems to naturally occur in Moodle once you start using it “properly” to support learning.

The grid format means that learners click the icon for the topic they want to view and the content pops up on the screen.

This means that the learner doesn’t need to scroll down to get to the content or activities they want to engage with.

In addition it makes Moodle courses look neater and tidier. It makes it easier to find the right topic. Initial reaction from learners and staff was very positive and they liked the new format.

There are a few things that I would like to see changed.

You can’t change the default size of the icons, the standard size of 210 x 136 is quite large and on a “normal” sized screen means that you really shouldn’t use more than 12 icons. If you were using a weekly schedule for your Moodle course you might have 36 or more topics. In this type of scenario then the grid format means you have a scroll of large icons instead. In that example a much smaller icon would make more sense.

You do need to have the ability (or the service of others) to create the icons you need. Though you can use any image as an icon, and Moodle will automatically resize the image, this from a design perspective doesn’t quite work. The resizing is quite crude and if your image doesn’t have the same ratio as the default icon size then you will have gaps. I use Fireworks for creating my icons, though you could use Photoshop. For staff I have been recommending CoolText.com which is an online tool for creating logos and with a little tweaking can be used to create a series of icons for the grid format for Moodle. It would be nice though if there was a way that this kind of tool could be built into Moodle.

A minor point is that the grid format is only really usable with 2.4 or later. Using it with earlier versions of Moodle is not to be recommended as there are stability issues. A key issue is that the grid format will break the backup and restore process in earlier versions of Moodle, and you wouldn’t want that.

So if you are running Moodle 2.4 I would certainly recommend that you have a look at the grid format and see how it can change the way Moodle looks, but also the way that staff and learners engage with it.

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Maharing It

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Mahara Logo

If I was doing one thing this week, the one thing I would be doing is attending the Mahara UK Conference. Alas I can’t go, but I have sent a member of my team.

One of the success stories this year at Gloucestershire College has been Mahara. Learners have been using it in a variety of ways for learning and assessment.

Teams really like how it can be used for many different purposes and one of the things I hope we can get from the Mahara conference is how other institutions and organisations are using Mahara with their learners.

So how are your learners using Mahara?

100 ways, vle

100 ways to use a VLE – #85 Interactive Whiteboard

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Blackboard

One tool which is often used in the physical learning environment is the interactive whiteboard. One tool which is used probably a lot more in a lot of physical learning environments is the traditional whiteboard. Another tool which is well used in training rooms is flip chart paper, even if a lot of the time it is the paper that is used rather than as a flip chart.

Regardless of your feelings about interactive whiteboard, the concept of a large shared working space that learners can contribute to together for writing and drawing is one that is often used in education. It is also a rather challenging concept to embed into online environments.

The easiest solution is to stop thinking about a digital whiteboard, but think about the activity and the learning outcomes and see if a different tool could meet those particular needs. For example a brainstorming activity on the meanings of different words could be undertaken using the Glossary tool in Moodle. A collaborative exercise could be done in a wiki. Drawing a concept map could be done using mind mapping software.

It’s not to say that it’s impossible to use a whiteboard in an online environment, but you would very likely need to link or embed such a tool into the VLE.

Remote delivery solutions such as Adobe Connect and Blackboard Collaborate have a digital whiteboard built in as one of the features. These online whiteboards can be used by the remote delegates to interact with the each other and the teacher. These sessions can often be recorded and then linked to from the VLE to be played back at a later date.

There are various tablet apps, such as Educreations that can be used as a portable digital whiteboard, the final output is saved to the web and can be linked to or embedded into the VLE.

There are other online tools that can be embedded into the VLE, Padlet (the service formerly known as Wallwisher) is an ideal tool that allow multiple users to post comments to a virtual wall.

The whiteboard is a cornerstone of the traditional classroom, as was the blackboard before that, it is a tool that you don’t often see in VLEs, but that’s not to say it isn’t possible to have an interactive whiteboard, just that sometimes you need to think slightly differently.

apple, ipad

Did you know?

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iOS devices

I was interested to see in the last few days that there were a number of people who were not aware of Apple’s Volume Purchase Programme.

The Volume Purchase Programme allows educational institutions to purchase iOS apps and books in volume and distribute them to students, teachers, administrators and employees.

I did post about this back in September last year when it finally arrived in the UK.

Institutions that weren’t aware of the Volume Purchase Programme would very likely have real issues with trying to manage class sets of iPads.

They could have just relied on free apps only, which was a pain if there were apps you wanted to buy or relied on in-app purchases.

Users could have been asked to spend their own money on apps, easy to do, but not everyone wanted or could afford to do this, and certainly wasn’t a practical solution on shared devices. It would also create difficulties with refunding people. It also meant that you would be “giving” people apps, which would create further problems in future years.

I was aware that some institutions decided to give users iTunes gift cards which were then used to buy apps. This did rely on trusting the users to buy the apps and not go out and buy music and films. As with refunding users, you were “giving” them apps.

It was certainly possible to create multiple iTunes user accounts and install apps on the devices, but this would have been an administrative nightmare with a huge number of iPads.

I suspect what most people were doing was to breach their iTunes agreement, buy an app once and then load it onto multiple devices. You can do this with your own devices, but according to the iTunes agreement this isn’t a viable option for educational devices.

Without the Volume Purchase Programme in place, we didn’t put in class sets of iPads as there wasn’t a practical method to get the apps people wanted onto the iPads. Virtually all the iPads we did buy were assigned to individuals.

Since the introduction of the Volume Purchase Programme we do have class sets and the Volume Purchase Programme has made it very easy to legally purchase apps for use on those class sets.

Find out more about the Apple Volume Purchase Programme.

stuff

Was the approach wrong?

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Leaving Las Vegas

Reading the following article on Second Life, I am reminded of a few discussions I have had in previous years on the catalysts for change.

When looking at new technologies that have the potential to impact on learning, it needs to be recognised that though research and understanding is important, we also need to be realistic that this on its own does not necessarily change things.

Research allows us to understand the implications and the affordances of a new technology. What we need to be aware of when introducing a new technology of the main issues and barriers that could be faced.

What we must take note of is that research on its own does not necessarily cause change.

Most researchers I have met appear to prefer to build on existing research rather than embed practice based on research. That of course is fine, as they are researchers. It takes a different kind of approach to embed the results of research into mainstream practice.

Another aspect of research based practice is that due to the way it is funded, it often only looks at a small section of an institution, usually a single group from a single curriculum area. I don’t then blame people who look at this research and decide that the best way to move forward is to repeat the research with a different group. The end result is lots of small research project outcomes that are very similar. That is certainly the case with research into Second Life.

Wholesale, holistic mainstream change doesn’t happen because of research, that change comes about because of people.

Good people base decisions on good research, they will recognise the implications of that research and think about how they can use that research to influence and inform strategy to change practices and processes.

ipad, learning

The iPad Pedagogy Wheel

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One question that often arises is how can I use this nice shiny iPad that you have given me to support teaching and learning?




In a previous blog post I talked about assessment and the importance of deeper and higher thinking skills. I mentioned in that post that using Bloom’s Taxonomy is one way of getting teachers to think differently about the type of questions they are asking of their learners.

When designing activities for learning, a taxonomy such as Bloom’s provides a framework that reminds of us how if we are to see learning taking place the types of thinking that needs to happen.

What the Padagogy Wheel does is provide ideas to learners (and staff) the kinds of apps that can support the different kinds of thinking and learning across Blooms.

The Padagogy Wheel

As learners and teachers think about how they are going to undertake the activities they want to do, this wheel provides ideas of which apps on the iPad could be used to support them.

Of course the iPad and apps would not be the only option open to the learners and that’s where the inner circles of the wheel will help those who don’t have, can’t use or don’t want to use the iPad.

The Padagogy Wheel by Allan Carrington is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.  Based on a work at http://tinyurl.com/bloomsblog.

app of the week, ipad, iphone

ToonCamera – iPhone App of the Week

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ToonCamera Image

ToonCamera – App of the Week

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This is a regular feature of the blog looking at various Apps available. Some of the apps will be useful for those involved in learning technologies, others will be useful in improving the way in which you work, whilst a few will be just plain fun! Some will be free, others will cost a little and one or two will be what some will think is quite expensive.

This week’s app is ToonCamera.

ToonCamera is an amazing video and photography app that turns your world into a live cartoon. Apply real-time cartoon and art effects to your camera feed, record video, snap photos, and convert existing video and photos from your albums to create instant works of art. Save your creations and share them with friends through email, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Tumblr, Instagram, and YouTube, all from within ToonCamera.

£1.49 (currently on sale at £0.69)

ToonCamera

I have an infinity for various apps that convert images into cartoons, one of my favourites has to be Paper Camera. Another app has recently found favour with me is ToonCamera.

ToonCamera is a lovely way to create cartoon images and videos. You can either use images you already have, or use the camera to catch images and video live. It also an universal app so works equally well on the iPad as well as the iPhone.

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You can apply effects on the fly or after you have captured the image.

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There are various tools that represent crayons, pencils, ink, paint. You can also adjust the “thickness” of the strokes.

What for me is a weakness is that it is difficult to ascertain what each of the tools or effects do, so as a result it can be challenging to create a similar effect across a range of images, especially if you are using the app at different times.

After creating your image you can then save to the camera roll or share to various social networks and online services.

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This is a really nice app for creating cartoon style images. These images could then be used in other applications such as Comic Life or Keynote.

Get ToonCamera in the iTunes App Store.