Linux.com | Educators can manage course content with Moodle

I am about to make a major push at Rider to try to make people aware of Open Source alternatives to Learning Management Systems like Blackboard. There are a lot of problems with Blackboard as an enterprise system, not the least of which is price, but also support issues, upgrade woes, questions of monopoly, and a real lack of innovation, despite the endless upgrades. Enter Moodle, an open source Learning Management System that is truly looking at what’s going on in the web 2.0 tools for inspiration of its features, like wikis, rss, flash video, and 3rd party service integration. I can, and will, go on about this, but in the meantime, take a look at what another instructor is saying about Moodle, because I couldn’t have said it better. Moodle is already installed at Rider - if you want to try it, just call me at x7145. As always, click the link for the whole story. - j.

Linux.com | Educators can manage course content with Moodle
Why use Moodle?

One reason I recommend Moodle is because it provides a full variety content of activities that teachers can add to a course. Moodle has more than 100 gradable activity modules and plugins such as chats, forums, and tests. While other gradable modules, such as flashcards, podcasts, LAMS, and galleries, are not included in the standard package, they can be installed as modules later. Moodle also allows administrators to back up and restore courses. Once created by a teacher, a course can be reused in subsequent years with little effort.

Another reason to recommend Moodle is because of its philosophical foundations. Moodle is designed with a social constructionist philosophy, a belief that people actively construct new knowledge as they interact with their environment, and that learning is more effective when you’re constructing something that others experience. In other words, collaborative learning and discovery are at the foundation of this CMS application. You may not agree entirely with this philosophical foundation — I do not — but educators in the sciences and in the humanities can accept much of this philosophy since the social constructionist philosophy lies somewhere in between the strict qualitative and quantitative extremes.

Create Visual Metaphors with Open Source Software

Visual metaphors are becoming a popular teaching tool in the classroom. What exactly is a visual metaphor? A visual metaphor is substituting an idea or object with another and is used to help explain a concept or an idea. It is done using visual imagery or symbols. We see visual metaphors everyday, especially in advertisements. Since educators have access to different types of media (like web 2.0 tools), why not introduce visual metaphors as teaching tool? Our ability to learn via images dates back to the time where information was passed down by oral history. Some experts claim its wired into our brains to learn through visual metaphor. So you’re interested in using this teaching tool in your classroom, but your budget is tight. Well why not use some free open source programs that could help you create visual metaphors that would complement the literary metaphors you use in the classroom. Here is a list of open source programs that can get you on that track.

The GIMP- The GIMP stands for GNU Image Manipulation Program. If you are familiar with Photoshop, than the GIMP is the open source alternative to it. You can load photographs and edit them in the GIMP. Change colors, edit and crop, write text, the possibilities are endless!

Inkscape- Inkscape is a vector art program. You can create images, graphs, charts, etc. and you are able to resize them without losing the quality (sharpness) of the drawn objects (since they are vector). Create simple or complex diagrams to help explain a process or problem.

Blender- Ever want to demonstrate something in 3D? Well you can create and animate simple or complex models in Blender. It’s recommended that you have some experience in 3D software, but it is not required. The user interface can be tricky at first, but it becomes easier with experience.

The GIMP, Inkscape, and Blender have many user forums and a big user community, so there are a lot of free tutorials and documents to help get you started in your open source journey. Use these tools to help create your visual metaphors that will help your students connect with concepts in the classroom. Happy exploring!

~Angel Brady

Article: Social Software in Education

I was reading an article from Futurelab . The title was called ” Social Software in Education”. It’s a great introductory piece for any faculty member that is thinking about using web 2.0 tools this semester for teaching. Each section discusses a certain web 2.0 piece of software (blogs, wikis, etc) and how students use these tools for communication and collaboration related to class. It’s a great article to read and gives you an idea of how each social software is different in it function and purpose, and how it is intended to be used. Hopefully these explanations and examples with inspire you to investigate using these tools in your classroom.

You can read the article here: http://www.futurelab.org.uk/viewpoint/vision/vision_03_03.htm

~Angel Brady

Infinite Thinking Machine: Digital Resources and Ideas for Faculty and Students

The Infinite Thinking Machine is a place were faculty and students can learn how other educators and students are innovating ways to use different technologies in the classroom. I found this link on Google for Educators (http://www.google.com/educators/index.html).

The Infinite Thinking Machine has a lot of blogs you can read from as well as internet TV. They focus on using Google tools in the classroom (Picasa, Blogger, SketchUp, Google Earth, etc), which are free, and it might give you a creative idea to present the same material in your classroom. If you have ideas or videos you would like to share, you can send them to the Infinite Thinking Machine as well. You will need to read their guidelines. This is a resource worth checking out!

~Angel Brady