I dig action research. I was very lucky in my graduate experience to be invited to the Center for Teaching Excellence Action Research conference in Taos in 2006 to present my study on a strategy I used in my classroom.
During the 2006-2007 school year, I lead an action research study using CTE grant funding with a wonderful team of teachers at my site. We studied Moodle in our own professional learning and we used it with our students - collecting data and reflecting on our work along the way.
The result is the lengthy Action Research Report that I will post today. It's been in Google Docs for a long time now and it's time to put it on record. This report will be included in the CTE Action Research report which will come out in June at this year's conference.
The report is located here: http://docs.google.com/View?docid=dg2jjhbv_45dndxn5
As Moodle has changed, so has the relevance of the technical discussion of Moodle within the report. The highlights, however, reveal that customized professional development and access to a professional learning community supports teachers in their adoption and implementation of Moodle. By working together, educators mediate the challenges of implementing new tools with students. There is also some interesting data on the attitudes of the students who participated.
Almost a year out from the busy time when I wrote this final report, I view it more as a comprehensive snapshot of what we worked on and what we learned, rather than something which informs other educators from a research standpoint. Don't get me wrong~ It could very much be useful, but I am learning every day how the little things about technology change rapidly and the conversation is more about reflective practice than analysis of the tool.
I look forward to future writings on my work with educators and Moodle, now that I can see the study from different angles. I would enjoy engaging in a discussion about the report and the question of how it could inform what teachers are doing today with online tools.
Friday, February 22, 2008
Moodle@Picacho: Transforming Teaching with Interactive Online Course Management Tools
Wednesday, February 06, 2008
Theme of the Day: Help people learn more in better ways!
I received some excellent news updates today on the topic of differentiation and assistive technology. What it all boils down to is that the edtech leaders and evangelists among us have much to do with special education and assistive technnology, or rather all of us, in all of those fields, have work to do, together.
Then TechCrunch served up this story about Howcast. What a perfect opportunity to break down a task analysis in the spirit of Dr. Poel at NMSU.
Here's an example of the helpfulness and straight up 'how to ness' of Howcast. How do we get these clever ex-Googlers to work for the Force? Of course, by force I mean, the good side....aren't all of us ed-vangelists on that side?
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Free books on Digital Media and Learning for download
Here's the description from the website at http://www.mitpressjournals.org/loi/dmal?cookieSet=1
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Series on Digital Media and Learning examines the effect of digital media tools on how people learn, network, communicate, and play, and how growing up with these tools may affect a person's sense of self, how they express themselves, and their ability to learn, exercise judgment, and think systematically.
The full text of each volume in the Series is provided for free and open access thanks to the generous support of the MacArthur Foundation. The full text of these chapters is openly available below. We ask that you complete a brief site registration process, or log in if you are already registered at MIT Press Journals. Registration is entirely optional, but we hope you will register because the information that we gather helps us learn more about open access publishing.
If you're experiencing access problems or have questions about e-access registration, please email journals-access@mit.edu.
Monday, November 12, 2007
To the beat of a 'distance' drum
Online learning tools are used in many different ways. Educators often play their distance learning drums to a unique beat, playing up their strengths, improvising at times, but always listening for subtle changes in tempo and mood. When distance learning jams come together, the community can be a powerful source of inspiration - harmonious collaboration. This week, NMSU is celebrating National Distance Learning Week with a number of different distance learning events and RETAMoodle Open House. Please extend our invitation to all of the distance learning drummers you know.
