Critical Walkthrough of a Moodle Site sofos consultancy


Commons Attribution 3.0 United States License. 2

1 Synopsis

Synopsis: Advice "Critical walkthrough of a Moodle site"

Half day session with a small group of stakeholders to assess their Moodle

site from various perspectives.

Target group: A small work group representing four stakeholders: management, teaching

staff, students, and ict support staff.

Objectives: The participants:

• Assess from their own perspective the strengths and weaknesses

of the current Moodle implementation.

• Receive information on organizational, didactic, and technical

experiences from other Moodle sites.

• Build a common agenda for improvements.

Content: The advise process takes half a day. It consists of:

• Collecting some vital Moodle statistics and comparing it with data

from other sites.

• Preparing mini reports from the four stakeholders perspectives.

• Exploring the Moodle site and 1-2 typical Moodle courses,

collecting examples of good and improvable practices.

• Identify pending issues in the organizational, didactic and technical

domains.

• Classify these issues as strategic, tactical or operational.

• Prepare a mini advice to the management containing a common

agenda for the coming year.

Methods: Various individual and group exercises, some of them supported by the

Moodle system itself.

Workload: The advising process takes half a day (4 h).

Authors: Pieter van der Hijden MSc

Rights: The name Moodle™ is a registered trademark of the Moodle Trust.




2 30' Introducing

Introducing consultant, participants and agenda

Introducing the consultant: Pieter van der Hijden MSc

Management consulting on

organization, information and

ict

International Simulation and

Gaming Association

Simulation and Gaming

Association - The Netherlands

Expertisecentrum Onderwijs & ICT Suriname

Dutch Moodle Association

International Fab Lab

Association

?




Introducing the participants

Introducing the Agenda

See frontpage.




3 30' Collecting statistics

Collecting some vital Moodle statistics and comparing it with data from

other sites.

Moodle statistics

Moodle

System:

A B C

Date:

Version: 1.9.7+ 1.9.1+

Courses: 123 45

Users: 2279 158

Role

assignments:

4214 561

Teachers: 54 28

Posts: 1474 5815

Questions: 509 1697

Resources: 1708 550

Environment

OK?:




4 30' Preparing mini reports

Preparing mini reports from the four stakeholders perspectives.

1. Materials: Tactec gameboard, rectangle stickers red and green, markers, stakeholder status

form (see Appendix).

2. You are going to reflect on your stakeholders. You identify as many stakeholders as there are

participants in this workshop. The maximum is seven, however. Stakeholders could be e.g. the

students, the teachers, the ict staff, the management. For each stakeholder a stakeholder

status form has been prepared.

3. The participants are sitting in a circle.

4. Receive all a form from the consultant. If there are more participants than forms, create small

groups working on a single form.

5. Fill the form (top row) with: the current situation from the perspective of the stakeholder, and

the required situation one year from now.

6. Fold the top row of the form backward to hide your text.

7. Wait for a sign by the consultant.

8. Give your form to your left hand neighbor and take a form from your right hand neighbor.

9. Fill the newly received form. Note, that it regards another stakeholder than the eralier one.

10. Wait again for a sign by the consultant, fold the current top row and hand on the form. This

process continues until you all have filled all forms minus one.

11. When you received the last form, fold it forward to reveal all the texts written by the other

participants. Read and review these texts. Underline the comments that you consider as most

relevant. Skip eventual trivialities.

12. Summarize your findings in a few keywords and write these with a marker on a red sticker

(current situation) and a green sticker (required situation).

13. Position the stickers on the game board. Explain your stickers to the other participants.




5 30' Exploring the site

Exploring the Moodle site and 1-2 typical Moodle courses, collecting

examples of good and improvable practices.




6 30' Indentifying pending issues

Identifying pending issues in the organizational, didactic and technical

domains.

Go quickly through the list of Moodle management issues below and rate every entry:

• G(reen) = relevant for our site and OK,

• R(ed) = relevant for our site and NOT OK,

• B(lack) = not relevant for our site,

• ? = do not know and/or do not understand

Once you completed your list, discuss the question marks with the other participants and try t

replace them all by either Green, Red or Black.

# Description Ratin

g

9.02 apply security measures, monitor security, backup / restore system

8.04 backup/restore course data, student data, import / export / convert course data and student

data

3.06 decide on accounting model

2.11 decide on allocation of responsibilities and authorizations, auditing, evaluation regarding

content / data

1.11 decide on allocation of responsibilities and authorizations, auditing, evaluation regarding the

functions of the system

3.11 decide on allocation of responsibilities and authorizations, auditing, evaluation regarding the

technical aspects of the system

2.06 decide on copy right policy for incoming and outgoing course materials (a.o. intellectual

property of course developers)

2.01 decide on curricula

2.03 decide on development of online courses (which courses? completely online or partially?,

make or buy?)

1.01 decide on educational innovation (many aspects a.o. instructional design, policy for

synchronous / asynchronous activities, norms for course development and course delivery,

class size, student / teacher ratio)

3.04 decide on enterprise application integration

1.09 decide on fair use policy

1.04 decide on ICT needs (functions, user interface)




1.06 decide on implementation strategy (big bang, shadow processing, function y function,

faculty by faculty, pilots, volunteers first)

1.07 decide on name and address of the Moodle site

3.01 decide on norms for technical operations (acceptable risks, required performance,

acceptable course size, maximum upload size, etc.)

3.09 decide on outsourcing or not

2.05 decide on remuneration for course development and course delivery

2.02 decide on standards and recommendations for development of online courses

2.04 decide on standards and recommendations for online course delivery (a.o. adaptation of

exams regulations)

3.02 decide on supporting software (which web server, which database, which operating

system?)

3.03 decide on technical infrastructure (server, network, and clients, a.o. availability of computer

+ Internet connection for students)

3.07 decide on updates, technical changes, technical tuning

1.02 decide on use of Moodle

1.08 decide on user registration policy (a.o. guest access allowed? Google access allowed?)

1.03 decide on Moodle functions (course components needed plus generic supportive functions

like chat, e-mail, e-groups)

8.02 deliver courses (tutor, administrative staff)

8.01 develop course materials and courses

2.10 evaluate the effects of content / data related decisions, make projections, decide on

changes or updates

1.10 evaluate the effects of functions of the system related decisions, make projections, decide

on changes or updates

3.10 evaluate the effects of technical aspects related decisions, make projections, decide on

changes or updates

8.03 follow course, learn

9.03 install software/ updates, tune system, keep up and running, monitor performance, apply

quota, collect use statistics

9.04 monitor error signals and messages, analyze errors, execute preventive and curative

maintenance, integrity checks

6.02 organize user registration (link to student administration system, e-mail authentication, etc.)

4.02 organizing user role allocation (course creator, teacher, tutor, administrative staff, enrolled

student)




5.01 planning, organizing and evaluating course development, storage, maintenance and delivery

(see below), advise on future strategic decisions

4.01 planning, organizing and evaluating support (see below), advise on future strategic decisions

6.01 planning, organizing and evaluating technical operations (security, faults, accounting,

configuration, performance), advise on future strategic decisions

1.05 select and acquire/build Moodle, decide on updates, functional changes, functional tuning

7.02 support course deliverers (tutors, administrative staff) (training, manuals, help desk, advise)

7.01 support course developers (training, manuals, helpdesk, advise)

7.03 support students (training, manuals, help desk, advise)

9.01 support users (training, manuals, help desk, advise)




7 30' Classifying issues

Classifying these issues as strategic, tactical or operational.

1. Combine the ratings from the previous exercise in a quick way (simple arithmetic). Give each

of them a Green, Red, Black or Question Mark as score.

2. Copy the Red entries (including their code) on Yellow stickers.

3. Stick the yellow stickers on the right part of the poster (look at the code and take the first

figure, 1-9).

Functional Content /data Technical

Strategical

1

2

3

Tactical

4

5

6

Operational

7

8

9




8 30' Preparing mini advice

Preparing a mini advice to the management containing a common agenda

for the coming year.

1. Each of the participants becomes responsible for one of the stakeholders in the mini reports.

2. Review in silence the outcomes of classification.

3. Identify four subsequent actions that have to be executed to bring your stakeholder from the

current situation to the required situation.

4. Write these four actions with a marker on four square stickers.

5. Position the stickers on the game board. Explain your stickers to the other participants.




9 30' Evaluating

Evaluating the workshop and summarizing follow-up actions

• What was good?

• What could be improved?

• Other comments?

• Follow-up?




10 Appendices

Stakeholder Status Form

CURRENT REQUIRED

Stakeholder: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .




Moodle components




Didactics

From didactic requirement to Moodle technical solution




Moodle Management Matrix

Functional Content / Data Technical

Strategical 1.01 decide on educational

innovation (many aspects

a.o. instructional design,

policy for synchronous /

asynchronous activities,

norms for course

development and course

delivery, class size,

student / teacher ratio)

2.01 decide on curricula 3.01 decide on norms for

technical operations

(acceptable risks,

required performance,

acceptable course size,

maximum upload size,

etc.)

1.02 decide on use of Moodle 2.02 decide on standards and

recommendations for

development of online

courses

3.02 decide on supporting

software (which web

server, which database,

which operating system?)

1.03 decide on Moodle

functions (course

components needed plus

generic supportive

functions like chat, e-mail,

e-groups)

2.03 decide on development of

online courses (which

courses? completely online

or partially?, make or buy?)

3.03 decide on technical

infrastructure (server,

network, and clients, a.o.

availability of computer +

Internet connection for

students)

1.04 decide on ICT needs

(functions, user interface) 2.04 decide on standards and

recommendations for

online course delivery (a.o.

adaptation of exams

regulations)

3.04 decide on enterprise

application integration

1.05 select and acquire/build

Moodle, decide on

updates, functional

changes, functional

tuning

2.05 decide on remuneration for

course development and

course delivery

3.05

1.06 decide on

implementation strategy

(big bang, shadow

processing, function y

function, faculty by

faculty, pilots, volunteers

first)

2.06 decide on copy right policy

for incoming and outgoing

course materials (a.o.

intellectual property of

course developers)

3.06 decide on accounting

model

1.07 decide on name and

address of the Moodle

site

2.07 3.07 decide on updates,

technical changes,

technical tuning

1.08 decide on user

registration policy (a.o.

guest access allowed?

Google access allowed?)

2.08 3.08

1.09 decide on fair use policy 2.09 3.09 decide on outsourcing or

not

1.10 evaluate the effects of


related decisions, make

projections, decide on

changes or updates


content / data related

decisions, make


changes or updates


technical aspects related

decisions, make


changes or updates




1.11 decide on allocation of

responsibilities and

authorizations, auditing,

evaluation regarding the





evaluation regarding

content / data




evaluation regarding the

technical aspects of the

system

Tactical 4.01 planning, organizing and

evaluating support (see

below), advise on future

strategic decisions

5.01 planning, organizing and

evaluating course

development, storage,

maintenance and delivery

(see below), advise on

future strategic decisions

6.01 planning, organizing and

evaluating technical

operations (security,

faults, accounting,

configuration,

performance), advise on

future strategic decisions

4.02 organizing user role

allocation (course creator,

teacher, tutor,

administrative staff,

enrolled student)

5.02 6.02 organize user registration

(link to student

administration system, e-

mail authentication, etc.)

Operational 7.01 support course

developers (training,

manuals, helpdesk,

advise)

8.01 develop course materials

and courses 9.01 support users (training,

manuals, help desk,

advise)

7.02 support course deliverers

(tutors, administrative

staff) (training, manuals,

help desk, advise)

8.02 deliver courses (tutor,

administrative staff) 9.02 apply security measures,

monitor security, backup

/ restore system

7.03 support students

(training, manuals, help

desk, advise)

8.03 follow course, learn 9.03 install software/ updates,

tune system, keep up and

running, monitor

performance, apply

quota, collect use

statistics

7.04 8.04 backup/restore course

data, student data, import

/ export / convert course

data and student data

9.04 monitor error signals and

messages, analyze errors,

execute preventive and

curative maintenance,

integrity checks

Critical Walkthrough of a Moodle Site

Education

Transcript of Critical Walkthrough of a Moodle Site