<div><span style="font-style: italic;">Following is an interesting reply by Kathy Hooper to the Moodle Post that I just made on another list .. some good classroom practice hints.</span><span style="font-style: italic;"></span>
<br style="font-style: italic;"><br style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Regards Roland</span><br><hr></div>I
found your discussion quite intriguing as it reflects the position I
have come to over the past ten years of playing around with <a title="Main Glossary: information and communications technology" href="http://moodle.westallsc.vic.edu.au/mod/glossary/showentry.php?courseid=113&concept=information+and+communications+technology" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
ICT</a> in a large secondary school. I made my first Moodle site about three years ago in order to support the work done with my <a title="Main Glossary: student" href="http://moodle.westallsc.vic.edu.au/mod/glossary/showentry.php?courseid=113&concept=student" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
student</a>s in class and it proved quite successful. I felt I could not insist that my <a title="Main Glossary: student" href="http://moodle.westallsc.vic.edu.au/mod/glossary/showentry.php?courseid=113&concept=student" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
student</a>s use it however until I was sure that most of them had easy access to to a <a title="Main Glossary: Linux" href="http://moodle.westallsc.vic.edu.au/mod/glossary/showentry.php?courseid=113&concept=Linux" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
computer</a>
at home. This year, after much persuasion, the school has adopted
Moodle and the site has gone live. It has been a great success despite
the fact that, as yet, no time has been made available to properly <a title="Main Glossary: teach" href="http://moodle.westallsc.vic.edu.au/mod/glossary/showentry.php?courseid=113&concept=teach" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
train</a> all teachers in Moodle techniques. The teachers are very keen to get their <a title="Main Glossary: hands-on" href="http://moodle.westallsc.vic.edu.au/mod/glossary/showentry.php?courseid=113&concept=hands-on" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
hands on</a> it however.<br><br>This year I have told my <a title="Main Glossary: student" href="http://moodle.westallsc.vic.edu.au/mod/glossary/showentry.php?courseid=113&concept=student" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
student</a>s (and they have accepted) that I expect each <a title="Main Glossary: student" href="http://moodle.westallsc.vic.edu.au/mod/glossary/showentry.php?courseid=113&concept=student" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
student</a> to have access to a <a title="Main Glossary: Linux" href="http://moodle.westallsc.vic.edu.au/mod/glossary/showentry.php?courseid=113&concept=Linux" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
computer</a>
either at home or at school - they are available for use before, during
and after school. I pointed out that there was a time when schools
expected <a title="Main Glossary: student" href="http://moodle.westallsc.vic.edu.au/mod/glossary/showentry.php?courseid=113&concept=student" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
student</a>s to provide their own pens and that this time had now arrived with <a title="Main Glossary: Linux" href="http://moodle.westallsc.vic.edu.au/mod/glossary/showentry.php?courseid=113&concept=Linux" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
computer</a>s. I am now planning my work with this in mind.<br><br>One
of the strategies I am using is to put all the homework for the week on
the course calendar. The Monday of each week lists what needs to be
completed by the next Monday. The rule is I am not allowed to add
anything after Wednesday so that they do not get a nasty surprise on
Sunday evening! Included in the list is usually one or two links to <a title="Main Glossary: quiz" href="http://moodle.westallsc.vic.edu.au/mod/glossary/showentry.php?courseid=113&concept=quiz" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
quizzes</a>.
The results of these are tabulated in the gradebook and I can easily
check to see who is keeping up. This has been partially successful -
but it is early days yet and it helps that I have a lunchtime duty in
one of the <a title="Main Glossary: Linux" href="http://moodle.westallsc.vic.edu.au/mod/glossary/showentry.php?courseid=113&concept=Linux" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
computer</a> rooms!<br><br>One of the most successful aspects of my earlier site was the <a title="Main Glossary: student" href="http://moodle.westallsc.vic.edu.au/mod/glossary/showentry.php?courseid=113&concept=student" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
student</a> lounge. Here 3 <a title="Main Glossary: student" href="http://moodle.westallsc.vic.edu.au/mod/glossary/showentry.php?courseid=113&concept=student" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
student</a>s were in charge of a course page where they put on links and created chat sessions and <a title="Main Glossary: forum" href="http://moodle.westallsc.vic.edu.au/mod/glossary/showentry.php?courseid=113&concept=forum" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
forums</a> that were related to the subject (sometimes!) I look forward to setting more collaborative work and as the <a title="Main Glossary: student" href="http://moodle.westallsc.vic.edu.au/mod/glossary/showentry.php?courseid=113&concept=student" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
student</a>s become more accustomed to working with Moodle this should become much easier and more successful.<br><br>For me, one of the most important things is to encourage <a title="Main Glossary: student" href="http://moodle.westallsc.vic.edu.au/mod/glossary/showentry.php?courseid=113&concept=student" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
student</a>s
to take responsibility for their own learning and so I am quite excited
by the opportunities that have opened up now that the school has
adopted Moodle and made it accessible to <a title="Main Glossary: student" href="http://moodle.westallsc.vic.edu.au/mod/glossary/showentry.php?courseid=113&concept=student" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
student</a>s at home. Sadly, as the teachers gear themselves up to use this technology, many <a title="Main Glossary: student" href="http://moodle.westallsc.vic.edu.au/mod/glossary/showentry.php?courseid=113&concept=student" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
student</a>s have left this behind - <a title="Main Glossary: Linux" href="http://moodle.westallsc.vic.edu.au/mod/glossary/showentry.php?courseid=113&concept=Linux" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
computer</a>s are not new technology to them and for many <a title="Main Glossary: student" href="http://moodle.westallsc.vic.edu.au/mod/glossary/showentry.php?courseid=113&concept=student" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
student</a>s they are not at all exciting.<br><br>cheers<br><br>kathy<br><br><div><span class="gmail_quote">On 22/04/06, <b class="gmail_sendername">Roland Gesthuizen</b> <<a href="mailto:rgesthuizen@gmail.com" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">
rgesthuizen@gmail.com
</a>> wrote:</span><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">Good report from a post to the Moodle K12 discussion list about Moodle
<br>and Pupil's use of IT at home in the UK. (PDF version attached)<br><a href="http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=44129" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">http://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=44129
</a><br><br>"The communication and collaboration tools that Moodle provides would
<br>be one way of taking some aspects of the leisure use of computing at<br>home and re-purposing it to more educational ends ... if a school can<br>provide this sort of functionality, then myspace, facebook and bebo<br>
perhaps become less appealing."
<br><br>Regards Roland<br><br>--<br>Roland Gesthuizen - ICT Coordinator - Westall Secondary College<br><a href="http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au
</a><br><br>"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can
<br>change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has."<br>--Margaret Mead<br><br><br></blockquote></div><br><br clear="all"><br>-- <br>--<br>Roland Gesthuizen - ICT Coordinator - Westall Secondary College
<br>
<a href="http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au" target="_blank" onclick="return top.js.OpenExtLink(window,event,this)">http://www.westallsc.vic.edu.au</a><br><br>"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it is the only thing that ever has." --Margaret Mead