Getting Started with Moodle
Moving to Moodle district-wide is one of the biggest new items in the technology world here in the district. It can easily be a large source for a nasty ball of stress that sits in your chest. But it shouldn't be. Despite being new to most of us and requiring the learning of some new skills, incorporating Moodle is a positive and exciting thing. We're moving forward by leaps and bounds towards developing 21st Century Learning skills, meaningfully integrating technology into our daily work, and providing a platform for the kind of personalized learning that has become a cornerstone of the educational landscape of the future.
It's a pretty big deal, but we just have to remember that this sort of thing takes years not days or weeks and that we'll get there eventually. So as we get started with this new school year, we need to take deep breath and realize that moving forward with Moodle is a series of small steps towards an eventual goal not a jump into the abyss.
The ability to use a singular LMS like Moodle across the district means just one tool for staff and students to learn no matter the grade, department or building. Even though students will be experiencing Moodle in different ways throughout the district, the skills required to access and interact with the material will be the same and will carry forward as students progress through the grades.
The downside to this approach is always the loss of some specific function or capability unique to a class. For example: "With program X I could do A, B, & C but with Moodle, I can do A and B but am unsure if I can do C or C seems more complicated." This concern is not lost, however it seems a fair trade when one considers how quickly ed tech can become overwhelming for students and families. We have seen that parents quickly become overwhelmed by technology with which they are unfamiliar, thus inundating them with lots of software that is unique to a building, grade, or classroom results in lower overall engagement. So, it is my hope that as we integrate Moodle (including providing opportunities for parent learning on Moodle and Skyward) parents and students across grades and buildings will begin to feel more comfortable with technology. They will begin to realize that we use Google Apps(including the new website), Skyward and Moodle across the board and those three things take care of about 95% of all the information and material that makes up our daily work; thus it's about getting comfortable with three programs rather than 25.
Sunny summer days work like a Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, wiping away things you need to know now. If you are struggling to get going with Moodle this year, don't worry. I've created a spot in the staff intranet just for Moodle.
Here you can find important information and help with issues specific to Moodle. On the left you will find information for adding video trainings on various software such as Moodle, Google Apps, Skyward, and the digital curriculum systems. This means you can self-enroll in Moodle for these trainings so they show up on the home screen of your Moodle or under "My Classes."
The right-hand column has a Moodle Training playlist from the Tech Integration YouTube channel. The bottom has a searchable Frequently Asked Questions area. I will continue to add as more questions come in.
Students will begin the year with a completely blank Moodle, that is they will have no classes added. They will add their own classes using the same process as staff. So you may want to try adding a course/training in your own Moodle to see how it works. I will provide a .pdf handout for you to use when you're ready to have your students enroll and will make a tutorial video on the front page of Moodle explaining the process for students. Once a student enrolls in your class, it will immediately take them into the class to view your Moodle page.
Just as a heads up, you'll need computers and 15 minutes of class time. Most kids that get logged in will complete it in 5 minutes.
1. Students login to the computers, login to their Google acct, and then navigate to Moodle via the district Website.
2. They click the link posted in Moodle to take them to the master course list.
3. They navigate to your class and click the key/door icon.
4. They type in the course key number (available on the staff Moodle help page) and are enrolled.
That's it.
Most kids are set to be enrolled for a year and will automatically be removed in the summer. If you have a semester course or kids drop, I will show you how to remove students.
SpEd teachers & Interventionists will be added to classes as needed and by request. The purpose for this is for these folks to have access to the resources and materials that are being assigned to kids on their caseload. For example, Student A heads to resource and doesn't have the study guide assigned by Teacher X. Teacher Y simply opens up that Moodle page and low-and-behold, there's the study guide. Of course, a crucial link in the chain is that the study guide is there as a .pdf, .doc, or GoogleDoc.
If you see a staff member added to your Moodle Course, realize it is because of IEP, 504, or intervention needs. This teacher does not have access to change, alter, or delete your materials or information. They do have more permission than a student and are able to access sections or items that are hidden. This can be very useful as you can post assignments with accommodations/interventions as required by IEP/504 and leave them hidden. The general population cannot see them but the SpEd teacher can along with any notes you provide.
If you would like to add paras that are in your classes and would need the same access, please send me their name and the class to which to add them.
In order to get you added to the courses you need, I will need a list of the courses to which you need to be added.
It's a pretty big deal, but we just have to remember that this sort of thing takes years not days or weeks and that we'll get there eventually. So as we get started with this new school year, we need to take deep breath and realize that moving forward with Moodle is a series of small steps towards an eventual goal not a jump into the abyss.
A Big Deal
The ability to use a singular LMS like Moodle across the district means just one tool for staff and students to learn no matter the grade, department or building. Even though students will be experiencing Moodle in different ways throughout the district, the skills required to access and interact with the material will be the same and will carry forward as students progress through the grades.
The downside to this approach is always the loss of some specific function or capability unique to a class. For example: "With program X I could do A, B, & C but with Moodle, I can do A and B but am unsure if I can do C or C seems more complicated." This concern is not lost, however it seems a fair trade when one considers how quickly ed tech can become overwhelming for students and families. We have seen that parents quickly become overwhelmed by technology with which they are unfamiliar, thus inundating them with lots of software that is unique to a building, grade, or classroom results in lower overall engagement. So, it is my hope that as we integrate Moodle (including providing opportunities for parent learning on Moodle and Skyward) parents and students across grades and buildings will begin to feel more comfortable with technology. They will begin to realize that we use Google Apps(including the new website), Skyward and Moodle across the board and those three things take care of about 95% of all the information and material that makes up our daily work; thus it's about getting comfortable with three programs rather than 25.
Moodle & The Summer Slide
STAFF MOODLE HELP PAGE
Here you can find important information and help with issues specific to Moodle. On the left you will find information for adding video trainings on various software such as Moodle, Google Apps, Skyward, and the digital curriculum systems. This means you can self-enroll in Moodle for these trainings so they show up on the home screen of your Moodle or under "My Classes."
The right-hand column has a Moodle Training playlist from the Tech Integration YouTube channel. The bottom has a searchable Frequently Asked Questions area. I will continue to add as more questions come in.
Moodle & Student Accounts
One of the major reasons we moved students to the isd186.org domain is so they will not have yet another user name and password. They will log into Moodle using the same process as staff (i.e. click the login button on the bottom left of the moodle.isd186.org page).Students will begin the year with a completely blank Moodle, that is they will have no classes added. They will add their own classes using the same process as staff. So you may want to try adding a course/training in your own Moodle to see how it works. I will provide a .pdf handout for you to use when you're ready to have your students enroll and will make a tutorial video on the front page of Moodle explaining the process for students. Once a student enrolls in your class, it will immediately take them into the class to view your Moodle page.
Just as a heads up, you'll need computers and 15 minutes of class time. Most kids that get logged in will complete it in 5 minutes.
1. Students login to the computers, login to their Google acct, and then navigate to Moodle via the district Website.
2. They click the link posted in Moodle to take them to the master course list.
3. They navigate to your class and click the key/door icon.
4. They type in the course key number (available on the staff Moodle help page) and are enrolled.
That's it.
Most kids are set to be enrolled for a year and will automatically be removed in the summer. If you have a semester course or kids drop, I will show you how to remove students.
Moodle & Intervention/SpEd
SpEd teachers & Interventionists will be added to classes as needed and by request. The purpose for this is for these folks to have access to the resources and materials that are being assigned to kids on their caseload. For example, Student A heads to resource and doesn't have the study guide assigned by Teacher X. Teacher Y simply opens up that Moodle page and low-and-behold, there's the study guide. Of course, a crucial link in the chain is that the study guide is there as a .pdf, .doc, or GoogleDoc.
GenEd Teachers:
If you see a staff member added to your Moodle Course, realize it is because of IEP, 504, or intervention needs. This teacher does not have access to change, alter, or delete your materials or information. They do have more permission than a student and are able to access sections or items that are hidden. This can be very useful as you can post assignments with accommodations/interventions as required by IEP/504 and leave them hidden. The general population cannot see them but the SpEd teacher can along with any notes you provide.
If you would like to add paras that are in your classes and would need the same access, please send me their name and the class to which to add them.
SpEd Teachers/Interventionists:
In order to get you added to the courses you need, I will need a list of the courses to which you need to be added.
