The South East Training Programme for General Practice, based in the city of Waterford, was established in 1991 to prepare doctors for working in General Practice. In February 2009 the Programme commenced online training with the view to enhancing the onsite training.

After a review of course management systems in use by universities and businesses, it was decided Moodle offered the best solutions.  According to the research carried out by the South East GPTP(1), some of the benefits of Moodle included the ability to:

1. Create a course for GP trainees and control access to the course
2. Lay out the topics for a term and upload aims and objectives, documents, presentations, web links and multimedia
3. Engage in discussion forums with teachers and learners
4. Set and review assignments and receive submissions

Synergy Learning worked closely with the South East GPTP to implement the new Moodle site providing Moodle Hosting, Support and Training.

Results

Questionnaires carried out by the South East GPTP found trainee’s experience of Moodle was overwhelmingly positive:

1. 84% of respondents believed that Moodle had brought positive changes to the training programme
2. 95% respondents would recommend Moodle to colleagues in other GP training programmes

Respondents were asked to comment on their experience of Moodle.  In all, 95% of respondents made comments.  The most frequent topics raised in the comments were:

“ Easy to use, great communication tool, allows wide sharing of information and cuts down on paper waste.”

“Topics posted in plenty of time prior to meetings which allows for better preparation and planning.  Better follow-up by particiapants in topics raised as documents can be uploaded within the week.”

“Immediacy of contact, promptness of reply and all the information in one place.”

“Has fitted in well with the running of meetings and also useful as a study tool”

“It has resulted in better communication between trainees and programme directors and facilitated better planning of day release.  It has also made it easier to communicate with the programme administrator”

“Very positive, all GP training schemes should have one.  Has facilitated communication and information-sharing, I think it has been of enormous benefit”

Conclusion

In conclusion, the authors of the Research Article comment:

“Moodle is easy to use [and] the online learning environment was rapidly adopted and maintained to facilitate teaching and learning.

“Moodle has been successfully implemented in the South East GPTP.  The course management system has received widespread acceptance and participation from trainees, programme directors and trainers.

“Moodle repays the time and effort made by all parties in making it work.  The members of the South East GPTP recommend the use of Moodle to augment general practice training.”

(The South East General Practice Training Programme is funded by the Health Service Executive.)

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I’ve finally managed to drag Caroline Kennedy, our Multi-Media Designer (and recent winner of the Moodle 2.0 Theme Design Contest), away from her computer to talk us through designing Moodle Themes, her experiences of Moodle 2.0, and her time at Synergy Learning…

Congratulations on your success in the Moodle 2.0 Themes Contest. You must be pleased?

Yes I’m delighted and really excited to see the theme in the Moodle 2.0 core. It has been a huge learning curve for me over a short period of time and a great opportunity to get to grips with Moodle 2.0.

How long have you been working with Synergy Learning?

I am pleased to say I have been working at Synergy Learning since September 2007. This excludes my time here for placement during my University years.

As a Multimedia Designer at Synergy Learning, I am responsible for creating engaging and interactive eLearning content that will make your virtual learning environment unique to you.

Synergy Learning is a leading Moodle and Mahara partner in the UK and the only Moodle Partner offering full service solutions, therefore, I play a huge role in the design and development of themes for these eLearning platforms. I am also very much involved in any multimedia/web-based design that goes on here at the studio.

What makes Synergy Learning themes different?

Apart from having years of experience and a specialist team of designers and developers, we also offer a personal touch to each and every theme. We work very closely with our clients, to produce a theme that is right for them in design and functionality, whatever their budget.

We love a challenge and also have the expertise to fully customise a theme to give the client exactly what they need. With Synergy Learning you can achieve a theme, which is slick and professional, showcasing your learning environment.

What process do you go through when designing a Moodle Theme?

This will vary slightly depending on which of the 3 Moodle Theme packages the client purchases.

The Bronze theme package, allows the client to choose one of our template designs and personalize it with their logo and a colour scheme.

The Silver theme package allows me to design a complete Moodle makeover based on the client’s logo and any visual identity guidelines they may have in place.

The Gold theme package allows the client to experiment more with their Moodle environment and incorporate customized functionality in order to achieve more of a website style look and feel.

I would work closely with the client to make sure I understand their requirements and start a process of ‘Moodle-boarding’ and feedback, which leads to a professionally designed Moodle theme.

What do you think makes a good Moodle Theme?

Moodle is Open Source, the functionality is there and continually being improved, so for me a good Moodle Theme is one that makes excellent use of the features Moodle has to offer but at the same time, comes with a strong design concept.

A lot of the core themes are pretty standard in terms of design, so to be able to build upon what is there and give it an edge, is very important.

What challenges did Moodle 2.0 present?

Moodle 2.0 came with a huge number of core changes to the platform. Getting to grips with the new layout structure was possibly the most challenging. However, these changes have created greater flexibility in terms of skinning a theme.

Any tips for Moodle Themers out there?

Have patience! It is not always easy to work with someone else’s code. Think outside the box… almost anything is possible when it comes to themeing for Moodle.

To view the winning Moodle 2.0 ‘Splash’ Theme click here.

For more information on Synergy Learning’s Moodle Theme Services click here or email info@synergy-learning.com.

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Drupal is a Content Management system with built-in functionality and add-on modules that allow for a whole load of features:

1. E-Commerce
2. Blogs
3. Collaborative authoring environments
4. Forums
5. Peer-to-peer networking
6. Newsletters
7. Podcasting
8. Picture galleries
9. File uploads and downloads

Like both Moodle and Mahara, Drupal is:

1) Open-source software distributed under the GPL

2) Highly customisable – according to Saad Bassi, “You can mould it into any type of content-centered / user-generated site: from a social media site that allows users to submit and vote on content, a forum, a job board, to an image gallery or a service for deploying portfolio sites for designers – Drupal can get it done.”

3) Supported by a large community of enthusiastic users and developers - with this comes all the benefits of collaborative products – great modules, quick bug fixes, core updates, support and an endless supply of documentation and tutorials

Some Examples of Drupal Sites

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Firefox

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Mozilla

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My Play

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The New York Observer

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If you are interested in finding out more about how Drupal can benefit your organisation, or to find out more about Synergy Learning’s Drupal services, email me at joel.kerr@synergy-learning.com

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Cheering on the competitors at 6am – the crowd on the famous bridge

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100m to go

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KM 50 and “Still feeling good”

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In the Stadium with 50m to go

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Well done boss.

Our Senior Designer, Laura Sweeney, has been working on the site in whatever free time she can get.  I got a sneak preview of what it looks like this morning and I am thinking it has been worth the wait.

Here’s what it looks like so far…

This is entirely unrecognisable from the results I got using my basic Moodle skills (click here for screen shots) and is what you can achieve if you know your way around Moodle software.

Thankfully for me Laura understands the technology and pedagogical requirements of an elearning site, meaning I could give her minimal material and she could turn it into a site that is engaging and easy to navigate.

There is still work to be done on the lessons and quizzes so it’s not ready for release yet.  Laura is a busy girl!

I’ll keep you updated with the progress…

Joel

Reports commissioned by BECTA conclude parents want schools to keep them better informed of their child’s progress, finding 82% of parents felt ‘left in the dark’ about their child’s education.  BECTA’s research also found that a lack of communication with parents hampered a student’s progress.

Online reporting enables parents to get closer to and support their child’s learning, enabling them to work with schools to improve the learning outcomes of their child.

For schools that use Moodle, ZiLink makes this achievable through the effective interoperability of their management information systems and their Moodle.

ZiLink is an affordable, sustainable and scaleable addition to Moodle.  As a Moodle ‘super-block’ ZiLink enables online reporting and parental access to information on their child’s attainment, targets, progress, attendance, behaviour, SEN status.

By incorporating ZiLink in Moodle, parents also have direct access to their child’s currently assigned work, their targets, timetable and one-click access to comments and feedback from their child’s teachers.

ZiLink has entered the market at a time when many schools are aiming to meet former Minister of State for Schools and Learners, Jim Knight’s targets for all secondary schools to provide parents with online reports by September 2010 and all primary schools to do the same by September 2012.

For more information on how your school can meet those targets, or to find out more about our ZiLink services email info@synergy-learning.com.

Here is a photo of Laura, Caroline, Andrea, Marie and Donna sporting their medals after breezing past the finishing line on Sunday 30th May.

If you want to add to the donations so far visit www.raceforlifesponsorme.org/synergylearningladies

ZiLink supports parental engagement by adding more than reporting attainment, progress, attendance, behaviour and SEN status. By incorporating ZiLink in Moodle, parents also have direct access to their child’s currently assigned work, their targets, timetable and one-click access to comments and feedback from their child’s teachers.

ZiLink will also assist student assessment, learning, support and achievement with the inclusion of Individual Learning Plans.

Jeremy Meades, Director of ICT Strategy and e-Learning at School’s ICT says:

“For the first time schools can expect and achieve genuine interoperability between their management information system and Moodle. Plus, they can meet the September 2010 target of being able to report online to parents about their child’s attainment, progress, attendance, behaviour and SEN information.

ZiLink is sustainable, affordable and scalable solution to the problem of interoperability of disparate systems in schools.”

Synergy Learning is the only Moodle Partner in the UK offering ZiLink services.

Roy Kerley, Synergy Learning Director, comments:

“Synergy Learning is pleased to add ZiLink to our growing portfolio of Moodle products. As the UK and Ireland’s leading Moodle Partner we are increasingly aware of the vital role parental engagement plays in a student’s development.

ZiLink offers a straightforward, effective solution to support communications between parents and teachers”

For more information on our ZiLink services email info@synergy-learning.com

THE INFLUENCE OF ICT ON BEHAVIOUR | FRIDAY 4TH JUNE 2010: HILTON BELFAST HOTEL

The ICT for Education Conference 2010 in Belfast will address the issues facing those responsible for using ICT to achieve the highest educational standards and most effective educational environment in UK schools.

The event is aimed at those responsible for the selecting and purchasing the ICT for your school or education authority or advise those who buy ICT for education – Head teachers, Heads of ICT, ICT managers, ICT co-ordinators, ICT consultants, LEA purchasers and Network managers.

The ICT for Education Belfast Conference Speakers are:

• Jimmy Stewart Director, C2K

• Richard Hanna Director, CCEA

• David Knox Principal, Ballyclare High School

• Ian Glasscock Director, Games for Life

• Grahame Ward Director of Capital Programmes, Kent County Council

An open floor question time will allow the delegates to question all speakers.

For more information on the ICT for Education Conference in Belfast click here.

Here is a quick look at where we are at presently.  There are no images added as of yet, and there are a lot of Moodle tweaks to be made, but already you can see an incredible difference between this and what I could create with my basic Moodle knowledge.

The idea of the Moodle Test Drives is to show people the possibilities within Moodle.  There are of course a number of benefits to choosing Moodle other than just the customisable software.  I have had a look over the Moodle case studies that have recently been added to the Synergy Learning website to compile a list of Moodle benefits that were highlighted by companies who are using the software package:

1. Moodle has a low overall cost of ownership
2. There is a long-term sustainability with Moodle
3. With Moodle comes free support offered by the Open Source Community
4. Moodle is suitable for large-scale installations
5. Moodle can also be used for elearning networks that will allow one VLE to connect to another
6. Moodle offers a more engaging way of learning

The integration of Moodle also offers the option of distance learning and with that comes a number of other positives:

1. Cost savings on travel, resources etc.
2. An increased user catchment area
3. The opportunity for teachers and learners to increase ICT competence
4. Learners can complete courses in their own time

If you are interested in implementing Moodle, or getting more from the Moodle you already have and there is anything you would like to see included in our Moodle Test Drive site, or have any questions or comments then you can join us on Facebook (click here) and get the conversation started.