Closer to the Dream:

Letting Pedagogy Transform Learning Management Systems

Ryan Gjerde – Luther CollegeBob Puffer – Luther College

Dan Beach – St. Olaf CollegeBarron Koralesky – Macalester College

Seven Elements of LMS Transformation

RecognitionInclusionSelectionConversionIntegrationImplementationAdaptation

Bob PufferLuther College

puffro01@luther.edu

Luther College - Recognition

• Increases in software licensing• Concerns about software quality• Barriers to adaptability and

integration• Need for increased capability

Luther College – Selection1. WHAT DO WE NEED?

Faculty survey of LMS usage 2. WHAT’S OUT THERE?

Edutools – www.edutools.info/course/compare3. WHERE’S THE BEST FIT?

• Xplana evaluation – reduce to top six• Reduce to top three and test on-site for:

Functionality Ease-of-useAdaptability SupportabilityAdministration burden

Integratability

Luther College - Selection• Commercial or opensource?• Barriers to opensource adoption:

– Support– Stability– Longevity– Accountability– Modifying complex code

Luther College – Adaptation

• The ‘M’ in Moodle – “Modular”

• Moodle development community - “Martin and the Twelve Heads”• Owner-enhanced

Blocks Language packsCourse formats Assignments

formatsImport/ Export ThemesFilters

Dan BeachSt. Olaf College

beach@stlolaf.edu

Selection• Determined what faculty were using

and why• Asked what people wanted• Compared several systems via

www.edutools.info/course/compare/• Moodle stood out• Set up a testing server

Integration/Implementation

• Database choice (PostgreSQL)• Authentication via LDAP• Create a Moodle course for every

class

Integration/Implementation

• Automatically enroll students into classes

• Import college ID photos • Training sessions for IT support

group

Implementation• Announced decision to the

campus• Offered training seminars• Self-taught• Quicklink

Outcome• Students grabbed onto it first

– "I think Moodle is interesting and I wish more classes would use it. It’s easier to have assignments posted online …”

– "It’s kind of cool to see who’s in your classes. It seems like it’s still a new thing for professors, since I have only one class using it. We use the forum for class a lot and it seems like there’s a lot of possibilities with Moodle."

-from the Manitou Messenger (student newspaper)

Outcome• 65-75 faculty currently using it• 150+ classes this semester• Just-in-Time-Teaching (JITT)• FERPA • Expanding uses

Barron KoraleskyMacalester College

koralesky@macalester.edu

Recognition – Motivation• Macalester didn’t have a CMS• New faculty arrive expecting

CMS• Students too!

Inclusion - Campus-wide collaboration is critical

• Instructional technologists• Web coordinator• Librarians• Central IT – Networking, Database• Faculty development center• Early adopter faculty

Selection – Why Moodle?• Needed a CMS to try• Rising use in our peer group• Open source

– Apache, mySQL, PHP

Selection – Pilot program• Started just two weeks before fall

semester 2004• Few hour initial setup• LDAP authentication = piece of

cake

Selection – Pilot program• Grew fast – outgrew server right

away• 1st semester = 20% of our

users!• 2nd semester = 50% of our

users!

Inclusion–Faculty Development

• Fall Teaching & Learning Seminar – Moving your courses online– Pedagogically (not technically) focused– Why you want to use the method, less on

how– Get faculty “talking about teaching”

• Fluid syllabus• Web-based reading reflections• Facilitating out of class discussions• Online assessment

Inclusion–Faculty Development

• Faculty Moodle Workshop– ½ hr pedagogically focused

introduction•Led by faculty•Again, more why

– 1.5 hr hands-on with IS support– Lunch– ~20% faculty in 2 sessions

Integration & Adaptation • Pilot to fully supported• Automatic course creation• Automatic course enrollment• Bring content into courses

– e.g. relevant library links• Other modules

Integration & Implementation

• New faculty/student orientation• Information Fluency program• Use by other campus groups• ~75% of students using Moodle

More information• http://moodle.org• http://moodle.macalester.edu• http://moodle.stolaf.edu• http://katie.luther.edu

– Username = educause– Password = educause