Totara is the name of a new venture between Kineo + Catalyst IT - A leading open source company based in New Zealand, Australia and the UK. Catalyst are one of the core Moodle developers and have one of the largest Moodle development teams. Joining this are the Flexible Learning Network - An innovative New Zealand based e-learning company that leads the Mahara e-portfolio project, the most popular open source e-portfolio system world-wide and often used in combination with Moodle. Full press release here.
Totara will offer bespoke flavours of Moodle customised (as they do currently) to the corporate LMS market, integrating training tracking, etc, and now add personal learning plan in the shape of Mahara. IMO, HEIs & FE Colleges could benefit from these new ideas of Moodle / Mahara integration. This new venture also reinforces the increased awareness and uptake of Open Source solutions across the globe.
After trawling through another of my regular Google Alerts on e-portfolios this link caught my eye. It began as an interesting link to a web based tool to create a set of rubrics for assessing e-portoflios: called irubric . Very neat idea, for those just embarking on the use of assessed e-portfolios. And for those (like me) who are not exactly sure what a rubric is : A rubric is a scoring tool that's generally used for subjective and authentic assessments. In subjective assessments, rubrics help create a certain level of objectivity. As a result, learners are more clear about the expectations prior to assessment and are clear about their areas of weakness and strength after the assessment. In authentic assessments (which are usually subjective), rubrics help educators communicate and assess levels of performance.
Which also reminds me of the rubric wiki (for digital story telling) developed by the CEAL team in Cheltenham - again this is a proven framework you can pick up and adapt for your own cohorts.
Moving on to Rcampus - from the above irubric pages, I noted that they host e-portfolios and courses (like a VLE) all for free :OD - why pay more? Looks V good (at first glance) For more info watch the vid :
Just stumbled across this... what a fab idea? Does this mean we can now author some simple (interactive) learning objects (i.e. drag & drop) in MS Office & bang them directly up to Moodle? Or is that a bad idea? Puts the terminology "rapid elearning" in a whole new light :OD
The idea behind the add-in is simple. Now, when you got to Open or Save a file in Office 2003 or 2007, you can select to ‘Open from Moodle’ or ‘Save to Moodle’ directly. This makes it easier for your users to use Moodle natively, and hopefully will encourage them to make better use of your Moodle installation. (If you have a SharePoint-based learning platform, you get similar functionality in Office 2010)
The “Office Add-in for Moodle”
Uploading files to Moodle is now much easier. The Office Add-in for Moodle (OAM) is an add-in for Microsoft Office (versions 2003 and 2007) that allows teachers to open and save Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents to a Moodle website. Today, teachers who use Office and Moodle have to switch back and forth between their web browser and Office applications. With the OAM, teachers can create, open, edit, and save Moodle documents from within the Office applications. You no longer need to use your web browser when working with Office documents stored in Moodle. So what do you need in order to start using the add-in? OAM does not require anything to be installed on the Moodle server (note we only tested against Moodle versions 1.8-1.9). Anyone who is the teacher or owner of a Moodle course can install the add-in and access their documents. Once installed, the add-in adds two menu items to your File menu (Office 2003) or the Office Button menu: Open from Moodle and Save to Moodle. In order to browse course files on your Moodle you will need to first tell the add-in the address of your Moodle and the credentials you use to log in. Once added you can view the list of courses you are enrolled in. Naturally, students and others can access the content directly from Moodle as they normally would. We focused on teachers and content specialists first, since we know most documents posted to Moodles come from teachers. We’ve gotten some requests already about adding support for students and assignments, but we want to hear from you. So check it out, and let the EducationLabs team know what you think and if there’s anything you want them to work on. In order to get this beta tool in your hands right away and to get feedback before this gets fully locked down, we decided to roll this out before embarking on synchronization with other add-ins and other Moodle functionality.
Two local Universities (BCU & WLV) have made early steps to address the employability issues outlined by Lord Mandelson last year. He stated
"Set out how and what students will learn; their own study responsibilities; what that knowledge will qualify them to do…. Students should know about the opportunities for international experience, and how new technologies are integrated into their programmes. All universities should also be expected to demonstrate how their institution prepares its students for employment." (Lord Mandelson, 2009)
So now employers and employability is set to mould the way of Undergraduate study in this era of austerity we are now in- especially in the post '92 Universities. With the recent HEFCE announcement in cuts to HE funding, Universities are now having to look at what they are offering to their local and global economies. No longer can we expect students to roll out of Uni' with a good degree in yurt weaving (or similar), they need to have some real saleable skills in this competitive market place. IMPACT will have to be measured.
..which is choc' full of useful methods, approaches, case studies and critical interventions to help prepare Undergraduates for the wider world of work, critical reflection, and autonomy.
It's all being pushed forward as apart of a re-jigging of the whole curriculum with a move to 20 credits. This also involves moving towards a more blended delivery whereby the VLE, eportfolio, and other "e" tools are being blended with F2F delivery over a range of methods (e.g. e-submission, assessment, ePDP).
I sat through a presentation about this the other day, and it seems that the underlying tenet appears to be to redesign curricula to ensure previously seemly unconnected modules are now working in harmony, to "un-stuff" current content heavy delivery, and a streamlining of learning objectives. So the course is king, made up of less , but more focussed modules. It's all good. I hope that this means an new pedagogic approach in designing student centred activities? Let's hope so.
This is my second posting covering last weeks Learning Technologies conference. The biggest UK conf' for e-learning types to sell their wares, and prospective customers to zoom around obtaining intial ideas of what's hot or interesting, in the middle of the deepest recession in our time!
http://etherpad.com/ - real time collaborative text editing - like a wiki - but in real time. This is now Open Source. I was given an alternative by Andy Black from BECTa - i'll chase that up.
http://wetoku.com/ - record short vids for your blog - or use it to meet up online using a web cam - like OovoO or ??
Adobe Acrobat Connect Pro - when you join Macromedia with Adobe only good things can happen - and this Learning management system/authoring/live presenting doodah - has it all (for a price!)
www.xyleme.com/LT - collaborative authoring platform using open standards. A neat approach.
http://www.thinkingworlds.com/ - 3D engine to create immersive worlds - good for games based learnign and mor realistic scenarios/simulations
http://www.myknowledgemap.com/ - a capable assessment based eportfolio platform, that's being reworked into a PLE - expect more from me on this in the near future -as it's in alpha at present.
http://prezi.com/ - create engaging zoomy type flash presentations (with videos), A steep learning curve. Alternatively use Buzan's imindmap - much easier.
Adobe Acrobat Acrobat 9 Pro(extend) - a bit of a mouthful! But.. this version allows you to create PDF documents with ease, including embedded videos and assessments. If you get this version, you automatically get the PowerPoint plug-in, that gives the same functionality as Adobe Presenter. - like Articulate or Lecturnity
http://www.e-learningwmb.co.uk/ - green screen video production technology, creates high quality video training vignettes. Quality product at an affordable price.
http://wwww.videoarts.com - high quality video training clips/course from an industy giant - now they can be streamed into your VLE
http://www.trax-uk.co.uk/ - they scan paper based hig hstakes assignments into digital format for further analysis, storage, etc. A neat solution.
www.bitesizeltd.com - as it suggests - excellent nuggets of self paced , self contained tutorials on how to use most Microsoft products. Quality stuff.
Don't forget I have a wiki page entirely dedicated to the use of video in education. Case studies and technical aspects are all covered in some depth. Please take a look
Looks like LMS' (VLEs) are in gradual decline in the business arena as well as education! No one really "likes" them, tho' they all feel that the LMS is here to stay, but will be part of a larger collection (cloud) of e-systems (incl' plenty of Web 2.0 apps). The word free application seems to resonate with our cash strapped training/learning and development dept's. Strangly tho' not many seem to understand that eportfolios are part of the answer!! Most seem to be gravitating towards informal learning or Presonal learning Environments (PLEs ) - aggregated social networks, etc, as an anitdote to shrinking training budgets - but not really understanding far reaching implications. And no mention of underpinning pedagogies/scaffolding.
There seems to be a collective thought that, "if we find the right tools (Yammer, Huddle, etc), they will come - and all learn informally hapily ever after!! Tho' many cite internal communities of practice - and knowledge of, are needed to drive business efficiencies. Another Web 2.0 / elearning bandwagon is being jumped on, with little thought as to why - apart from most of these tools are free!
But some are more cautious tho' - citing our frivolous trends in this rapidly changing web 2.0 world, i.e. friends re-united was hot, now it's not - is that what will happen to Facebook in a couple of years time? One company blocked access to Facebook @ work and reported an immediate 11% increase in productivity . And plenty of talk about what impact e-learning is having on business upskilling and driving efficiencies. No one seems to be evaluating past e-learning successes, to their peril, as senior managers still don't "get it" - as the strong businesses cases are not being promoted. The age of BS "smoke and mirrors" selling e-learning to business is well and truley over. Strong tangible business benefits is what SMT are only (and have always been) interested in.
IMPACT is the new mantra. Implement, anaylse, and evaluate, or die trying. If you don't do this, the bean counters are more likely to say, "why sould we pay for a new microblogging platform" when we've got email?" Unless e-learning companies or inhouse dept's can present quantitave data clearly illustrating improvement in business efficiences and cost savings, those bean counters, are quite at liberty to say.
"No thanks, we'll stick with our intranet, email, free web 2.0 tools, and less (more focussed) F2F training. "
And who could blame them? That goes for UK education as well. "Will this new web 2.0/ Open Source tool save us money ? If so how much?"
Informal learning, internal knowledge transfer, eliminating travel to training, Communities of practice are "trending" - but very few have cracked it - apart from BT's "Dare2Share" social networking portal. See also the vid below:
That's the main feeling - but e-learning business is still strong - as training dept's are being forced to use e-learning due to reduced budgets and reduced personell -and they are doing it well! Blended and distance training (webinars) are looking stronger - with good reports of trainees really taking to these new methods. Pricewaterhousecoopers ran an excellent presentation on their global training stratgey - drastically revamped to use primarily webinars. So, at last, it's taken a global recession for business to start being forced to use e-learning to make significant training and devleopment savings. With the added benefit of employees actually taking to it!! There's hope for us all, maybe the education sector is next - considering cuts in funding are iminent. HFECE has announced serious cuts today - and it's splashed all across the news. Time to blend learning UK HEIs , time to give some serious thoughts to integrating "e" solutions into F2F delivery, rather than ignoring it/us, and hoping we'll go away to play with shiny ipads - we wish!
I've been keeping half an eye on this topic for a while now. And it's getting to the point where I really cannot just keep ignoring it! Apparently most colleges are not sure how to handle the rise of web "learning/information platforms" such as Twitter, facebook and blogger! Do they ban them all, or work out a policy for acceptable use? It's a real mess out there I can assure you. And there's plenty of scaremongering going on. All this is resulting in drastic knee jerk reactions from schools, HE & FE to lock out the world of Web 2.0 until someone tells us all how to handle the torrent of Web 2.0 app's that staff & students want to use.
And it's also a good idea to keep tabs in JISC Legal as they are our definitive reference on all things legally e-learning. Their section on legal aspects of Web 2.0 covers some of this remit (blogs, wikis ,social networks, etc..).
Whilst at a conference last week there was plenty of discussion on how employers now routinely use facebook accounts to screen prospective graduate applications. So, just ensure you look at those privacy settings before you post an image of yourself dancing semi naked in the pub on Saturday night - just to impress you mates! It could cost you a job/contract?!?!?
In fact art /design graduates are now using social media like face book and blogs to build a professional profile of themselves and their work during their degree studies, to get a head start in the tough job market. It seems that the magic word "EMPLOYABILITY" is starting to become very important when applying to Uni' and studying these days?
A few notes and resources for those Moodlers out there in e-learning land.
Firstly you will see from the image above we've been playing around with some themes for our Moodle. We've (Colleen our IT guru) managed to combine the simplicity of the custom corners theme with the snazzy icon set from the chamelon theme. Simples!? So for those of you who want a quick win to pep up you tired looking Moodle, go for a new theme. Very little "tweeking" involved. Dload free themes from http://moodle.org/mod/data/view.php?id=6552
I was passed this from our accessibility advisor. An excellent report advising the do’s and don’ts for visual impaired and blind users, for Moodle please keep this in mind when creating style sheets or content http://randall.test.opensourcery.com/clients/cannect/
Finally.... the next UK Moodle Moot is April 14th - 15th in London . go to http://moodlemoot.org/ for full details. I attended one of thes a few years ago. They're well worth attending to get the lastest Moodley news.
Is the vitual learning environment now obsolete (was it ever used well??), considering how Web 2.0 & e-portofolios are gaining greater acceptance? You decide by watching the debate unfold.
It's bascially Sharepoint with some added features to improve and enhance the document management system style of workflow already inbuilt into Sahrepoint. The ability to author, and share content was fairly impressive, and the navigation seemed to suit some advocates of MS tools. But is it a Moodle or Blackbored killer? Nope, but a worthy adversory nevertheless. Especially for those organisations completely new to VLEs and are MS /active directory centric. For those types it could proove a neat way of designing, delivering, managaing content to learners .
A note of caution here, using a document management system requires an organisation to evaluate & refine existing (bad/inefficient) practices and procedures well before you let Sharepoint or similar system out of it's cage.
What we also could not fathom is why Microsoft had essentially licenced this Dutch company to design,develop & roll out the LMS version of Sharepoint? Why aren't MS doing it themselves?
They also promise an eportfolio to be added onto the next release. Mind you when we were shown the existing Sharepoint "mysite" option that appeared to add a high degree of personalisation onto the document management system. This mysite could be a pseudo eportfolio tool that could answer your prayers?
Those clever people @ VLEMiddleware (AKA Kiddi College) in the West Mids have upated their StickyMoodle. That is Moodle + a server all on a USB drive.
You download the zip file and unzip it onto a USB drive. I've tried the previous version and it works a treat. Ideal for anyone who wants their very own Moodle to carry around. Trainers, developers, teachers, and even students who could have their own VLE!!
"Genuine active learning ensures students gain a thorough conceptual understanding. It makes them reflect and check they have properly understood. It encourages them to test their understanding by applying the learning in different contexts. This is sometimes called deep learning."
This comment by Rosmary Clarke in the education supplement today really caught my eye, as this encompasses the main reasons for new builds (incorporating flexible learning spaces) and effective use of learning platforms (VLEs)! It fundamentally exemplifies good teaching/learning by ensuring differentiation is attained by group work, peer learning, etc.
The Guardian today also featured a mini supplement covering the building schools for the future (BSF) programme currently sweeping the country. It was encouraging to read of some local stories of good practice from Walsall, Telford, and Solihull. It's all about change management and supporting staff in the process. The supplemnet also covered in depth the option for local autorities to opt out of a managed ICT service for their schools (or consortia). Most have opted to saty in which means rich pickings for RM & other preferred suppliers. This links with my previous post on a managed service and Open source solutions. It appears thay BECTa & the BSF programme have already decided what's good for all - a managed service! Is that a good idea? It could be, but one size does not fit all, and where does the likes of Mahara , Mahoodle, and Magoogle fit into RM's plans? I constantly argue for the option to consider buying in external expertise for skill and cashh strapped orgnaisations, but this is the opposite end of that nightmare! surely there must be a middle ground in these two extremes?
BTW , I blogged this using SCRIBEFIRE a plugin for the Firefox web browser, whilst surfing the web in the way to a meeting , using my laptop + mobile connection. Truely deeply mobile & lovin' it :o)
We've had Mahoodle (Mahara eportoflio + Moodle + single sign on) suite of tools, now we've got Magoogle (Google docs + single sign on). Last week in our recorded discussion Martin mentioned Google Docs + Moodle VLE. Since then I've come across some interesting articles relating to Open Source applications and their cost, etc.
First of all here's the full skinny on Moogle. The same (Open Source schools) website also discusses the government's new stance on "levelling the playing field" with purchasing Open Source software. Please remember that OSSwatch another JISC service also have a wealth of knowledge and experience with this subject and have plenty of resources to help ogfnasiations understand the cost of OSS.
Thanks to : Bruce Nightingale for this info
Google applications have proven to be a very useful set of integrated applications enabling collaboration, peer review and other types of formative feedback. But now Google have released an education edition of Google applications. Google Apps Education Edition includes communications tools like Gmail, Google Calendar, and Google Talk; collaboration apps, such as Google Docs, Google Sites, and Google Labs (for software code review); and various administration features and APIs for integration with existing systems.
A moodle developer http://moodlerooms.com/ is launching a new enhancement to MOODLE in collaboration with Google to provide access to the application suite using a single sign-on. Through integration, users loaded into Moodle will be automatically loaded into Google Apps Education Edition, providing users with Web-based e-mail, document authoring, spreadsheets, presentations and sites, all integrated with their online learning platform. From a teacher's perspective, this provides an easy way to assign students to collaborative tasks without having to worry about the students having different operating systems or incompatible software or being unable to access an online system. From an IT backoffice perspective, this provides an integration tested with large-scale data loads and built to industry standard SAML 2.0 and OAuth protocols for secure single sign on and information transfer.
The comon misnomer with Open Source is that the word "free" applied does not take into consideration total cost of ownership (TCO) of running a VLE. Recently I've come across some posts and been involved online discussions concerning the options available to run a Moodle VLE in house or "out source" the hosting and and support of sed VLE. Needless to say the options are many and varied. And I personally feel that external hosting is a viable option for cash strapped organisations, and those whose IT support dept' concerntrates soley on on maintaining a secure and stable "network", where the users wants and needs come second place! Sound familiar?
thanks to Laurence Fouweather for this info
these are some of the factors involved in any software system acquisition:-
1) Server costs -- hardware purchase, operating system setup and any licence fee, ongoing server support (maintenance, bug fixes and routine updates), backup device and media usage, network cards and high speed access point to school network.
2) Application system support costs - this is the cost of just keeping it going (i.e. with no one using it) in terms of initial installation, diagnosis of problems, installation of bug fixes and other updates, backups and data security.
3) Integration costs to other systems - e.g. Student records/ assessment systems
4) Content provision costs - e.g. bought in or teacher provided
5) User support, training and conversion costs - internal or external
Don't forget that most of the costs will be of staff (either direct or indirect) and that any salary needs to be increased by the overhead cost (Usually 40%+ but your HR/Accounts department will usually be able to give a figure).
On a releated note the next UK Moodle Moot occurs on April 7th & 8th in Loughborough
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