With all the excitement of BETT 2012 I almost forgot to post the updated Moodle 2.2 Administration Map. Click on the image below to download an A4 copy of the map.
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The map was first created to accompany our Moodle 2 Admin Training so if you want a ‘guided tour’ of the destinations on the Moodle 2.2 route (sorry – couldn’t help myself) email joel.kerr@synergy-learning.com for more information on our Training options.
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Just to introduce myself, I am Kenny McCormack, Operations Manager at Synergy Learning and I look after the development and design teams. As I have just passed my first year in the company, I thought I would write a blog on one project that I have some personal interest in, it involves my old grammar school in Derry city, St. Columb’s College.
The project is called the Foyle Cloud and the project team is aspiring to be a model for adoption of Virtual Learning Environments (VLE) for schools and colleges in Northern Ireland, which is by no means an easy task. In addition the aims and objectives for the 3 year programme and beyond are to:
As you can imagine with such ambitions there are many challenges that must be overcome by the team to successfully deliver the project, this blog will try and cover some of these and where Synergy Learning services has helped.
The technology solution bit
To help achieve the aims and objectives of the programme the customer needed to select a solution that would be easy to use, robust, scalable, would allow schools to have their own VLE, but still provide a means for students and teachers from different schools to collaborate.
The Foyle Cloud selected Moodle as their VLE platform of choice. Moodle is the world’s leading open source Learning Management System with a global user community and is recognized for its many benefits.
|
Features |
Moodle Benefits |
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Anytime |
Support |
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Rapid |
Upload |
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Knowledge |
Stimulate |
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Assignments + Quizzes |
Test |
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Feedback + Choice course activities |
Quickly |
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Tracking |
Learners |
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Communication |
In |
One other important reason why the Foyle Cloud selected Moodle, was its ability to link any number of Moodle environments together using its proprietary MNET protocol. Once the system is configured correctly, each school has their own VLE and a central hub VLE is established to provide the inter-school collaboration platform.
Learners from different schools are able to roam from their own school VLE to the central hub to participate in shared curriculum courses reducing the need to travel to the school in person.
Teachers can manage their own courses on their school VLE, share information and collaborate with other tutors from other schools in the network on the central hub.
The diagram below illustrates the Foyle Cloud Moodle network setup and the main user type responsibilities:
Foyle Cloud Moodle Network Model
In addition to providing the ability to network different Moodles together the MNET protocol also allows another open source system, Mahara, to be linked to any of these VLE environments. Mahara provides the missing technology bit that Moodle does not have; e-portfolio services.
Once linked to the Moodle network, the Mahara site provides a system for all learners of the VLE to store and share documents within a collaborative and reflective platform.
Users of the system can demonstrate their life-long learning, skills and development over time to selected audiences.
So where does Synergy Learning come in you may ask? The Foyle Cloud contracted us to provide the solid hosting platform required to cope with the large number of concurrent learners and teachers that would be using the system on a daily basis. We also provide the expertise and support to maintain the systems and ensure their optimum use.
Communication + programme structure
With the number of schools in the Foyle area who have already come on board and also those planned for year three, it is clear that a good organisation structure is essential.
Synergy Learning’s experience again has helped the Foyle Cloud management group develop a comprehensive communication structure with clear roles and responsibilities for those involved.
The agreed organisation structure is illustrated below:
Organisational structure
This model could be adopted by other similar organisations attempting to gain the benefits of working together as a network of schools or colleges.
Part of the implementation of this organisation structure was to agree a standardized protocol for managing the different VLE’s. This operations protocol includes agreeing one single process for:
In addition to standardizing how the system is used, the Foyle Cloud also availed of Synergy Learning’s theme design services to create a consistent look and feel for all of the Moodle sites whilst still allowing each school to be branded separately.
The story so far!
Since implementation of the technology components of the system earlier in the year the Foyle Cloud ran a pilot course on the central hub site called ‘Building Bridges’, which was launched in tandem with the opening of the new Peace bridge in the city. This course content was created through the collaboration of pupils from a range of different schools and backgrounds in the city.
Since the kick off the project 7 schools have come on board to the Moodle network:
The plan is to have 18 or more at the end of the 3 year programme.
So what’s next for Foyle Cloud!
Along with continuing to bring in more schools and colleges in the area to the network, the Foyle Cloud intends to:
Synergy Learning will continue to support the Foyle Cloud to ensure the success of the programme.
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Hi, I’m Adam Moran – a placement student at Synergy Learning. After 4 months of working here I am finally ready for my first blog post!
The post is a case study on Christel House Academy so read on for more information…
Introduction
Christel House Academy opened their first learning centre in 1998 after businesswoman and philanthropist Christel DeHaan had a series of life-changing visits to various children shelters in Mexico.
DeHaan realised that underprivileged children would need more than food and clothing to make a lasting difference in their lives and the way to do this was to give them the opportunity of an excellent education. In a bold effort, DeHaan opened charitable Christel House learning centres in Mexico, Venezuela, India, and South Africa.
In 2002, changes to state education law in Indiana allowed the Mayor of Indianapolis to authorise the first public Christel House in the United States. Located in Indianapolis, Christel House Academy is a K-12 school that uses holistic education principles, along with meaningful technology, to help children break the cycle poverty by earning a college prep diploma and gain access to further education opportunities.
After over 12 years of high expectations of student excellence and worldwide recognition, Christel House decided to come to Synergy Learning to introduce a new level of E-Learning to their operations.
Director Carey Dahncke has helped to explain the reason for this change in direction:
“We wanted to roll out a 1:1 netbook program for our students, but wanted to make sure that the netbooks would be used in meaningful ways. We also wanted the technology to be a ‘game changer’ in how we conduct teaching and learning. We looked at various options and decided that the ability of the internet to allow learning anywhere anytime was where we wanted to land.”
The Solution
Christel House need very specific functionality for their E-Learnin
g so it was concluded that the best option would be to combine the VLE Moodle with the ePortfolio Mahara (Mahoodle).
Carey has explained why an amalgamation of the two programs was important:
“We looked at a number of commercial programs and decided that something organic in nature would allow us to create a system that worked to support our curriculum and instructional practice– rather than having technology that disrupts and changes those patterns”
Results
Since introducing Mahoodle Christel House has worked hard trying to integrate the changes into how they operate on a day to day basis. Things aren’t always expected to run smoothly from the off and it is only natural to assume there will be some constraints. When asked about the potential barriers involved in introducing Mahoodle, Carey replied:
“Time and training have been our biggest challenges. We attempted to launch it on a domestic hosting site. That had issues with stability. Despite conventional wisdom pertaining to the physical location of the hosting site, having a Mahoodle site that cannot remain stable under heavy user demand, renders the entire project completely ineffective. After experimenting with hosting providers, we decided to work with Synergy Learning on the hosting too. Synergy’s experience with managing not only the design, but also hosting platforms, made all the difference for us. Synergy has been able to deliver a rock solid platform to run our site.”
Apart from these minor setbacks, Christel House has got off to a good start with Mahoodle and is excited to see the true capability of the software. When asked about how the experience was working with Synergy Learning, Carey added:
“Synergy Learning was able to produce a very high quality site in a relatively short time period. The finished product is simple and very attractive. Unlike a raw Moodle site, this conveys a professional finished appearance. We were very impressed.”
We are confident that in the future this VLE will be able to improve the operations at Christel House and it is clear that the feeling is mutual. We will be sure to keep you up to date with the progress at Christel House as their association with Mahoodle continues to grow!
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This is an excellent video I found on the Guardian website, showcasing how Moodle has benefited all those involved with Great Corby School. Students, Teachers, Parents and Governors all actively use the Moodle site and the footage explains how it adds to the education process. Well worth a watch.
As always – if you should require any further information on Synergy Learning’s Moodle Services please feel free to contact us on info@synergy-learning.com or by calling +44 (0) 28 9042 2000.
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For anyone looking a demo of Moodle you could do a whole lot worse than visit Mount Orange, the pretend school set up by Moodle HQ to give the visitor an idea of how Moodle would work in an educational establishment.
Aimed at people who are completely new to Moodle all the way up to experts who want to try out the newest features, Mount Orange gives visitors the opportunity to play with the software without fear of reprisal as the site is completely restored every hour on the hour.
You will also have the opportunity to collaborate on course creation with other visitors and test out those courses from a Manager, Teacher, Student and Parents viewpoint.
There is a useful video introduction available on Moodle HQ youTube site which you can visit by clicking on the image below
And if you would like to visit Mount Orange itself click on the following image
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If you are interested in finding out more information on Moodle, Moodle 2 or the Moodle Services offered by Synergy Learning please feel free to email us at info@synergy-learning.com or call us on +44 (0) 28 9042 2000
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Moodle 2.1 is here and now… so is the Moodle 2.1 Administration Map! Such was the success of the original version we couldn’t go without updating the map to include the new features of 2.1, most notably the addition of Mobile devices. Click on the image below to download an A4 version of the map.
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We were delighted to hear how useful it has proved in the past and hope that continues.
If you are interested in reading Alex’s account of how he arrived at this novel interpretation of Moodle 2 Administration (and it is worth a read) you can do so by visiting the original post (click here).
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Moodle 2.1 is here and would you believe it’s bang on time! Moodle HQ’s new release policy is to put the emphasis on meeting the deadline other than the features wish list. As a result there are a few features missing, but still plenty to get excited about.
There are a number of new features, all of which can be viewed by visiting the Moodle 2.1 release notes . The main ones according to Martin Dougiamas are:
It doesn’t need to be said that the release of Moodle 2 attracted a lot of attention and excitement, but 2.1 has been the milestone schools, universities and businesses have been waiting for before taking the big step.
Now it’s here we have a number of ‘Route to Moodle 2’ options that will help you on your way. For more information visit our Moodle 2 page, contact me via email or by calling +44 (0) 28 9042 2000.
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Friday 17th June | 9.45am
City Hotel Derry
This Friday Foyle Learning Community (FLC) will launch their new ‘Foyle Cloud’, with the ultimate aim of being the first Learning Community in Northern Ireland to connect every educational establishment within their area – with a little help from Moodle and Synergy Learning.
Introduction
Foyle Learning Community is one of 30 Learning Communities across Northern Ireland. It’s made up of 15 post-primary schools and an FE College with over 10,000 students.
The Learning Communities were set up to allow schools to collaborate in direct response to the Entitlement Framework, the governments 14-19 Strategy, stating that all young people, post 16, should have access to at least 27 subjects and 24 subjects at GCSE level.
As there is a considerable distance between each of the schools, Foyle Learning Community recognised the important role Virtual Learning Environments would play in meeting the objectives.
After careful consideration of all the relevant software available, one outright winner was chosen. Rosa McLaughlin who is project managing the rollout for FLC explains the decision:
For us Moodle was the best choice for what we required. It’s right up there in terms of features and functionality offered by online classrooms and the fact there is no annual license fee means a considerable saving for our Learning Community.
We were aware of Synergy Learning’s expertise and track record in this area and having them on hand to help rollout a project of this magnitude was certainly a deciding factor.
Objectives
The Foyle Learning Community aims to develop a VLE that will provide the member schools with the following:
Strategy
Synergy Learning is working closely with the Foyle Learning Community to execute the implementation in a manner that will optimise uptake for the new online classrooms.
In order to introduce the VLE effectively, a 3-phase approach is being taken:
Rosa is feeling optimistic:
It is vital that the rollout of the new VLE is well planned in order for it to be manageable for our team and well received by the schools. Synergy Learning has experience in setting up large scale Moodle Networks so their advice has been invaluable.
We are just about to launch the initial pilot, with our teachers fully trained and ready to go! With a project as big as this there is always nerves, but there is a real peace of mind having Synergy Learning’s team available for ongoing support.
Jonathan McAlister, Synergy Learning’s Business Development Director and project lead at Synergy Learning for this project comments:
We are delighted to be working with Foyle Learning Community on a project that is breaking new ground in Northern Ireland’s education process.
Within our global client base we are used to dealing with clients who have big ambitions, so it is great to see a community closer to home that are setting their sights high and realising the potential Moodle offers.
Synergy Learning will host FLC’s Moodle sites on our new platform that has been built in-house and optimised specifically for Moodle software.
The Future
This is an exciting project, not just for Foyle Learning Community but also for Synergy Learning as it has the potential to connect every educational establishment within Derry City Council, and inspire other similar projects in Learning Communities across Northern Ireland. Rosa comments:
Eventually we hope to connect learners of all ages, across all learning providers in the city, including our local university, primary schools and community learning providers.
We want to become a city of learners that are upskilling, not just through our access to a wider range of qualifications but also upskilling our digital skills through the use of our VLE. This Moodle network will play a vital part of the cityís bid to become ‘Digital Derry’.
We’ll be sure to keep you updated!
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For those of you who missed Alex Büchner’s much lauded presentation at this year’s UK Moodle Moot here is your chance to see it again!
The title of the talk is ‘Course, Chat and Match – Creating a Moodle Course as a Game’, the aim is to create a game in Moodle using the Conditional Activities, Course Completion and Progress Tracking functionality. As Alex says, Angry Birds it isn’t, but teachers and students could have a lot of fun with this.
To view the recording click on the image below and ‘launch playback’
If you do try it for yourself, let us know how you get on!
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You don’t need to be involved with Moodle for too long before you realize it has an enthusiastic community of users across the globe who are always singing the praises of the open source VLE.
As we know Welsh people sing better than most and one Moodle chorister has proved the point by coming up with a marvellous plan to raise money for Moodle.org.
Karen Coyle, a member of the Wales Moodle Steering Group, first contacted Synergy Learning back in January to request sponsorship for a run of Moodle “Diolch” badges. Karen explains further:
Moodle is the VLE of choice for most of Wales. As a form of national “Diolch” (thanks in Welsh) to Moodle.org for Moodle we have started the Diolch.org campaign. The aim is to sell as many “Diolch” badges as possible, helping towards sustaining the development of this now important resource in education.
And Synergy Learning was only too happy to help
Getting sponsorship for the first batch of badges was our biggest difficulty, but that all changed when I approached Synergy Learning. Their response towards the initiative was immediate and supportive and they have been integral in getting the diolch.org campaign up and running.
Having only recently been launched through Synergy Learning social networking channels and the UK Moodle Moot, interest in the badges has been explosive and continues to gather momentum. Already Karen has been approached by Moodlers from other countries looking to take her idea to the likes of Germany and Holland. This is something that Karen had aimed for from the outset:
I’m hoping other counties will take our lead and sell their own ‘Thanks’ badges. If you do, please get in touch because I will buy one! Who knows I may end up with badges from all over the world?
Here’s a photo of the boss himself, Alex Büchner (can you tell?), proudly wearing his badge pinned to his Synergy Learning fleece.
If you want like to purchase a badge please contact Karen Coyle karen@deeside.ac.uk or Richard Wenner richard.wenner@btinternet.com.
The pin badges are £2 each and ALL profit goes directly to Moodle.org. For more information visit Diolch.org
Go on… it’s for a great cause.
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