I am attempting to design some criteria by which to assess Moodle courses within my colllege. This would then be used to audit the courses within a department to see 'where they are at'. I am hoping to develop a number of different benchmarks that our teaching staff can then aim for to motivate them to develop more interactive courses.
Has anyone else tried anything similar? If so I would be very grateful to hear your experiences and whether you have any tips.
Hi Joanna,
I think it depends what you're trying to audit. Are you trying to see how many people use Moodle (in which case the logs should give you enough)? Are you trying to see how much of a course is online/blended (I'd go to look at the files and the spread of activities).
In my mind the best audit is from students. I have numerous forums and feedback activities. I get students to tell me of their experiences and the good/bad parts of the system. If you want a benchmark then you set a decent target level e.g. 80% satisfaction rating and then ask students to rate a series of items e.g. useability etc. and take the score from that.
I can add more if you let me know the direction.
Kind regards,
Paul
I think it depends what you're trying to audit. Are you trying to see how many people use Moodle (in which case the logs should give you enough)? Are you trying to see how much of a course is online/blended (I'd go to look at the files and the spread of activities).
In my mind the best audit is from students. I have numerous forums and feedback activities. I get students to tell me of their experiences and the good/bad parts of the system. If you want a benchmark then you set a decent target level e.g. 80% satisfaction rating and then ask students to rate a series of items e.g. useability etc. and take the score from that.
I can add more if you let me know the direction.
Kind regards,
Paul
Hi Joanna! it really does depend what your trying to measure in terms of 'where they are at'?
I've done a few such audits. It's tricky to qualitatively measure or compare the respective courses. That is, you can account for course activity, participation level & number of activities & resources, BUT this says nothing about the quality of teaching, learning or interactions.
Here's some suggested (quantitative) metrics:
Activity Reports
-query course logs, to get number of...
+user actions performed in given period
+unique logins performed in given period
Activities
-number of...
+assignments
+forums
+glossaries
+quizzes
+wikis
etc
Resources
-number of...
+documents
+presentations
+media
My preferred approach is to actually survey the users about their perceptions of the quality of teaching, learning, resources, activities, assessment etc. The end result is more qualitative data and subjective opinions from teachers, students & parents.
Let us know how you get along.
I've done a few such audits. It's tricky to qualitatively measure or compare the respective courses. That is, you can account for course activity, participation level & number of activities & resources, BUT this says nothing about the quality of teaching, learning or interactions.
Here's some suggested (quantitative) metrics:
Activity Reports
-query course logs, to get number of...
+user actions performed in given period
+unique logins performed in given period
Activities
-number of...
+assignments
+forums
+glossaries
+quizzes
+wikis
etc
Resources
-number of...
+documents
+presentations
+media
My preferred approach is to actually survey the users about their perceptions of the quality of teaching, learning, resources, activities, assessment etc. The end result is more qualitative data and subjective opinions from teachers, students & parents.
Let us know how you get along.
Thanks for the replies, that's all really helpful. We do conduct student surveys, and pull out generic stats from the logs and this has been useful, but getting a broad sweep of students to respond to the surveys has been challenging.
I am really trying to gauge the skill level of staff in each department, this can then inform our staff development sessions for the next year.
We have a lot of Moodle use at the moment but need to encourage more interactivity. A lot of courses are simply document repositories.
I would like to set up a series of benchmarks for staff to try to achieve. Perhaps grading the courses at different levels depending on the content and use of the course. My hope is that this would give staff clear standards to aim for and be useful for department heads when setting targets.
I'd appreciate any further ideas/comments.
Hi Joanna
I am just starting down this track as well. I liked the work done by the team at Colleg Gwent with their Moodle Academy.
I have adapted it slightly (attached), but can't report progress as am only just getting underway.
Cheers
David
I am just starting down this track as well. I liked the work done by the team at Colleg Gwent with their Moodle Academy.
I have adapted it slightly (attached), but can't report progress as am only just getting underway.
Cheers
David
That's really useful thanks David. I like the way you have attached training routes to each level. Do you offer face-to-face training or just online materials?
It would be really useful to hear how you get on with it. I am starting to develop a framework in my mind now of how it might work in my college.
The Colleg Gwent stuff is great too - it's interesting to see the different emphasis on using certain tools.