Curriculum and Educational Practices

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Category: Curriculum and Educational Practices

This was an article published in School Leaders Magazine in November/December 2008

The trick to using technology in schools is to properly integrate it, and to make technology a part of the learning process—not the end goal. For example, I have often seen students assigned a PowerPoint presentation at the end of a study unit. Too many times, the focus became the presentation and not the content of the material being studied.  Students nervously await their turn to do their PowerPoint and are thankful when that experience is completed.  What did they learn from this experience? How to create an animation, transition, or add sound to a presentation, perhaps. But what of the topic they were studying?

So when I came across Moodle in my graduate school studies, I was intrigued.

Moodle is an open-source (meaning the code is open –and not proprietary—and users can use and change the software, and redistribute it, if they wish) software that enables teachers to create an interactive classroom online. Teachers can post homework assignments, videos, lectures and podcasts; teachers and students together can post blogs or messages in forums.  While many schools have pages on their Web sites that allow teachers to post homework or documents or links, one of Moodle’s strengths is how it can combine many tools. A big advantage of Moodle, particularly in these times when school districts are strapped for cash: it is free.  Districts can learn more and can download it at www.moodle.org.

As a technology teacher, in the past, I have worked with teachers on creating web-based projects. For example, a few years ago I worked with some sixth grade teachers to create a web page for an endangered species unit they were teaching in science class.

But after looking into Moodle, I felt that using this program would allow the process with the teachers I work with to be much more collaborative.  Key to this was having a program that teachers and student could easily use without needing to know how to code HTML or use a complicated software editor program, or needing someone to upload files to a server whenever the teacher wants to make changes to a page. 

Here is how we set up a Moodle in Indian Hills Memorial School in 2006, and the teachers embraced it.

Getting Down to Work

The first step was to setup a Linux based Web site utilizing a web hosting service. (Moodle is primarily hosted on a Linux based server.) The website (http://www.techinedonline.com) would serve as the host for this Moodle collaboration.  (Districts can also have another site host it, although that would involve some cost.)

When we returned to school in September, each collaborative teacher had a course setup within the Moodle.  We set up time to allow an opportunity to meet with the teachers and to let them take a look at this “Moodle thing.”  Once they saw it,  they were hooked.

Why were teachers so enthusiastic? They appreciated the power behind the Moodle.  In the early stages of development, they used it primarily as a repository for information related to their class.  Teachers began by posting homework assignments, calendars of events, presentations given in class, links to other websites (including their on-line text book), RSS feeds, and Jeopardy games for students to prepare for tests.

But, as teachers became more comfortable with using the Moodle, they became more curious as to what more could they use it for. They discovered that they could setup forums that could be utilized for student discussions.  Students liked the idea of participating in discussions but requested more input into what could be discussed.  In searching the moodle.org website, a module was available that allowed students to create their own forums.  One of the advantages of Moodle is that there are downloadable modules that allow users to customize the program.

Modules are add-ins that further enhance the features available for a Moodle.  The module we used (Forum Plus) allowed students to create their own forums and gave them the opportunity to become active participants in the process. 

As teachers would express a desire to use Moodle in a different way, other modules were added.  For example, one teacher wished there was a way for students to be able to save files that they could move back and forth from home to school.  Another module, My Files, was found and added to the Moodle.  Another popular add-on was a module that allowed teachers to add YouTube videos directly into their Moodle course.  My recommendation is for anyone establishing a Moodle site is to keep an open ear to what teachers are requesting and to encourage teachers to explore the add-in modules to see if one fits their needs.

Another great part of using a Moodle is the Moodle community.  The on-line support is made up of other users.  You can post questions to the various forums and people are very quick to reply. An example happened last year when a Language Arts teacher wondered how others were using a Moodle for novel studies. She posted a question in the Moodle in K-12 Schools forum at 10:48 AM and by 12:26 PM she got her first reply.  Again, I encourage teachers to use the Moodle The ultimate goal is to move beyond simply having a Moodle site as a repository for classroom activities.  Students wanted more of a real-time option to post questions to other students or teachers.  We opened up a live chat for students to use.  Students began to use this to post questions about homework. Some students even used the live chat to ask each other questions in preparation for an upcoming test.  Another feature, Journal, allows students to have a one-to-one dialogue with their teacher concerning their writing.  On-line assignments, surveys and questionnaires further enhance student interaction.  

Where We Go from Here and Obstacles to Getting There

There are countless ways to further enhance a Moodle site to make it a truly interactive experience for students.  When students become involved with the material, their motivation level is increased. For example, the sixth grade social studies class was putting together a podcast to post on the Moodle.  We had a small group of students who were going to serve as the anchors of the podcast.  Each day for several weeks, students would come to my room during recess and lunch to work on it.  I didn’t have to prompt them or beg them to show up. In fact, there were times I was elsewhere in the building and would show up a few minutes late. There the students would be, waiting at my door impatiently tapping their feet.

I told this story a recent conference and the teachers were excited to hear how motivated these students were. Allowing students to participate in their own education reaps many rewards.  Classroom management becomes less of an issue, students are actually learning and applying the material rather them simply memorizing and regurgitating onto a test, and teachers feel a renewed sense of connection with their students.

What stops more teachers from using a Moodle?  The first thing is people not being aware that it even exists.  That is why I travel around the country presenting at conferences.  There are now over 330,000 Moodle users worldwide.  Word is quickly spreading. I’ve setup my own Moodle site: www.techinedonline.com/moodle for educators to use.  I now have users coming from as far away as Korea to participate in this Moodle.

However, the bigger obstacle to teachers using a Moodle, which is true of all technology integration, is the lack of professional development.  Too often, I’ve seen districts purchase equipment that sits unused, or equipment that is used in a traditional teaching style where the teacher is in the front of the room with a PowerPoint presentation projected onto an Interactive Whiteboard, while the students sit there in a fog.

It has become clear to me that the way to truly integrate technology into learning is through professional development.  Technology specialists need to get into the classroom with the teachers and work right beside them to better understand their world and how technology can be a part of the process of learning. 

The excitement of the Moodle is real!  I’ve seen the impact it has had with teachers and students. Once they begin to use it, the possibilities to expand are endless. I started off collaborating with three teachers in the district. Since then it has grown tremendously. I’ve trained close to 40 teachers in a district of just over 900 students. I’ve presented, and continue to present, to conferences around the country and I’m still amazed at the excitement that it generates. 

Did I mention it is free?

Alan J. Taylor is the lead technology teacher at Indian Mills Memorial School in the Shamong Township school district. He also runs the Web site Techonline.com and frequently presents programs on technology at educational conferences. Taylor is a doctoral candidate in Educational Leadership at the University of Delaware; his specialization is technology.

He can be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Category: Curriculum and Educational Practices

One of the major concerns regarding our educational policies today is the trend towards a "back to basic" approach to education.  Where test scores are the critical measurement of success.  In preparing our students, when looking at mastery learning, incorporating numerous instructive materials, is it just a method of memorizing a specific set of materials instead of genuinely learning?  And in so mastering of concepts, are we honestly promoting learning?  In our methodology, we have trained, not educated, students.  Students become disseminators of sound bites of information without knowledge beyond the simple yes or no answer or choice between A, B, C, or D. In being so focused on standardized testing to measure what students know, we have turned students from learners into products. "This "scientific'' movement was predicated on three main concepts: (1) The School as Factory, (2) The Child as Product, and (3) Standardized Testing as Quality Control. The child was considered a piece of raw material to be shaped by the educational "factory" into a quality "product.'' (Serafini F. W, 2002)

A better alternative would be to involve students in a more reflective, curious approach.  Our current methods of separating into subject matters seem more for operational convenience than for knowledge acquisition. The question is, does the specialization of subject matter feed into the idea or existence of keeping people separated and isolated from one another, and thus, by isolating people, we keep them apart and not a united front in perhaps questioning our policies and procedures?  Teachers think their area of expertise is more critical than others; a common occurrence in today's schools only reinforces this separation.  And does this specialization tend to make people feel their only value is in what they know in their tiny area of the universe (their specific classroom)? Bruener's Spiral Curriculum concept of the mini-adult and specialist turns students off from education.  When we turn the child into a physicist, as he states, we remove the curiosity of that child to explore their world.   We force them to study information that has no connection to their world.

In looking at the time I have spent in the educational field as a computer teacher and technology coordinator, I have continually worked towards integrating technology into the curriculum.  When I entered the technology field, students were sent to computer classes as a special, similar to art, music, or physical education classes.  The teachers would drop off their students and utilize the time as prep time.  The computer class time was seen as separate from the regular classroom lessons or activities.
Over the years, this mindset has continued to a certain degree.  The classroom is separate from what goes on in computer class.  I have worked with the teachers to understand that computers can be a powerful tool to supplement the curriculum.  But more needs to be done.  I have found that some teachers are very excited about using technology in their classrooms, while others fear or reject the idea.  As John Dewey stated in his book Democracy and Education, "But we are very easily trained to be content with a minimum of meaning and to fail to note how restricted our perception of the relations that confer significance is. We get so thoroughly used to a kind of pseudo-idea, a half perception, that we are not aware of how half-dead our mental action is and how much keener and more extensive our observations and ideas would be if we formed them under conditions of a vital experience which required us to use judgment: to hunt for the connections of the thing dealt with."

Education can be an exciting experience if we can figure out what excites students about learning.  With the advent of technology, learning has entered a new era of excitement.  Where before, information was sometimes antiquated using old textbooks with the Internet, new information is now at our beckon call.  Any new scientific discoveries can be brought into the classroom with a computer and the Internet.  We can apply this scientific information to our curriculum, thus making the curriculum both relevant and exciting.  Education and fun do not need to be separate.  Applying current situations to past events takes the information out of the textbook and places it right in front of the student to explore and question.   We can apply current events to multiple disciplines, creating a more integrated approach to education.  Instead of the material being foreign to the student, it becomes something for the student to relate to in their own life experience.

References
Bruner, J. S. (1960). The process of education. Cambridge,: Harvard University Press.
Dewey, J. (1961). Democracy and Education: an introduction to the philosophy of education. New York: The Free Press, London: Collier-Macmillian.
Serafini F. W. (2002). Dismantling the Factory Model of Assessment. Reading and Writing Quarterly, 18(1), 67-85(19).