The article speaks for itself...
In reply to N Hansen
Re: A student's perspective of Moodle (Mildly Ominous Ole Designation Learning Eliminator)
by koen roggemans -
It surely points out a developers road map: one of the more important features is a page with all the photo's of a class combined on one mozaik photo page, so you don't have to go to class anymore to pick out a cute girl 
In reply to koen roggemans
Re: A student's perspective of Moodle (Mildly Ominous Ole Designation Learning Eliminator)
by Howard Miller -
In reply to Howard Miller
Re: A student's perspective of Moodle (Mildly Ominous Ole Designation Learning Eliminator)
by koen roggemans -
In reply to N Hansen
Re: A student's perspective of Moodle (Mildly Ominous Ole Designation Learning Eliminator)
by Howard Miller -
I guess his cheque (or check if you prefer) is in the post from WebCT/Blackboard.
A rather lightweight, petty article. A cheap shot!
A rather lightweight, petty article. A cheap shot!
In reply to N Hansen
Re: A student's perspective of Moodle (Mildly Ominous Ole Designation Learning Eliminator)
by Drew Buddie -
I think that article is load of peurile, claptrap and all it does is highlight the lack of research the author carried out in producing it. The feature he refers to perhaps is a cause for concern in this day and age where we have to be over-protective of our students. But in my case I have instructed, nay ORDERED all my pupils that they must NOT, on any account have pictures of themselves on my Moodle site. So they have used twe and fun icons to represent themselves.
For the author to pick up on petty areas to criticise instead of LAUDING the plethora of incredible features Moodle offers, just goes to show that there has to have been more to the writing of that article than meets the eye.
I provide some comments from MY A Level ICT students to counter those quoted in that article. I promise that these are unbidden, pupils wrote them when we were talking about good uses of ICT in education - oh, and they have only been using it a) with me and b) for the past THREE weeks. Made an impression quick, eh?
I'll leave the last words to them (BTW, Merapolis is the name of my MOODLE site):
"my favourite use of ICT is this Moodle site. it lets us talk to you much more than we could in class, especially as the classes are so big this year. also we can interact with chats and have simple things told to us, and then recap on it again afterwards. if we didn't have this then we could only use the information from lessons, and as we dont have many of them, we only get brief bits of info."
"I like the Merapolis site as you can post questions onto the forum and have them answered if you do no understand something you can post a question and see what responses you get to your question. Also I like the fact that it gives us more independance as we can check our grades and be trusted to submit work over the computer instead of handing it in, so you stand less chance of loosing your work, if you hand it in via computer and not by hand.
so it think Merapolis is the best use of ICT in the school."
"I also think that this site is really useful, especially the links to websites which help us with our homework, it is very user friendly too. "
"I agree with loads of you too. Merapolis is a really good use of ICT in school and its a shame all the other years in the school dont have it too. "
Drew Buddie
In reply to Drew Buddie
Re: A student's perspective of Moodle (Mildly Ominous Ole Designation Learning Eliminator)
by Tony Hursh -
We also have many positive comments from our students.
And yes, I have a similar policy for the separate Moodle server I've set up for them to use with their own students (they're all teachers themselves and are working on an on-line master's degree while continuing to teach).
I urge them to tell their students to NOT use their real photographs, use only a first name and an initial, sign up with Hotmail or other anonymous email accounts, etc.
Any perceived lack of privacy with Moodle is purely due to local policy, not inherent in the software, but learning that would've required doing some actual research.
And yes, I have a similar policy for the separate Moodle server I've set up for them to use with their own students (they're all teachers themselves and are working on an on-line master's degree while continuing to teach).
I urge them to tell their students to NOT use their real photographs, use only a first name and an initial, sign up with Hotmail or other anonymous email accounts, etc.
Any perceived lack of privacy with Moodle is purely due to local policy, not inherent in the software, but learning that would've required doing some actual research.
In reply to N Hansen
Re: A student's perspective of Moodle (Mildly Ominous Ole Designation Learning Eliminator)
by Mike Churchward -
What an idiot.
In reply to Mike Churchward
Re: A student's perspective of Moodle (Mildly Ominous Ole Designation Learning Eliminator)
by Ray Lawrence -
Typical student news letter / sixth form humour. Probably not worth more comment.
In reply to Ray Lawrence
Re: A student's perspective of Moodle (Mildly Ominous Ole Designation Learning Eliminator)
by Martin Dougiamas -
Yeah, I had a good laugh, party at and partly with. 
Moodle must be getting more mainstream to get comments like that. Then again, keeping the huge Moodle logo on the front page of their site is asking for ridicule, really.
In reply to Martin Dougiamas
Re: A student's perspective of Moodle (Mildly Ominous Ole Designation Learning Eliminator)
by Chris Ainsworth -
There are pros and cons for all in this. Some may laugh, but what must be respected and however it is said it is someones personal opinion. Whether that opinion is right or wrong - ridicule is not toe way to look at addressing the issues. There is a very real RISK MANAGEMENT area to be addressed.
Some have mentioned policy - many have laughed it off - but how many of you have actually addressed it? There have been a couple of good suggestions come out of this thread - some of which I now propose to address at the Aussie conference in a couple of weeks time.
One interesting point is that of email addresses. I have implemented a policy of using a registering domain purely as a Moodle authentication and student course email account for some time now. I have control over where and what is sent to students, minimising spam and protecting participant identities.
Why not use this posting as a means of developing workable policies that we can all benefit from.
On a personal note I thought is was a good Risk Management provoking post - not tactfully written - but still thought provoking enough for many of you to jump on the bandwagon.
Food for thought ......
Chris A
In reply to Chris Ainsworth
Re: A student's perspective of Moodle (Mildly Ominous Ole Designation Learning Eliminator)
by N Hansen -
Chris-I completely agree with you. I think this perspective could be seen as giving more insight than a serious dry review because it is clear this student was writing exactly what he felt without worrying about offending anyone, and he is writing about his first impressions, which are always very important to take note of. This is the perspective of the people who are the ultimate customers of Moodle-students. Sometimes it is easy to get lost in a developers' world and think that one knows what is best for one's customers, and forget that the students should be the ultimate judges of what works and what doesn't in Moodle.
However, I took away from this article something different-security is definitely an issue-but what I took from it was this: What does it take to get a student interested in using Moodle? My father was a teacher of science to 13 year olds for many years, and from a young age I learned that sometimes you need "gimmicks" to "hook" students interest on something serious. Now I don't want to reduce the "personal profiles" to "gimmick" status, but if interest in reading their classmates' personal profiles gets students into a course for the first time, there's always a chance they might poke around more and discover the more serious stuff Moodle has to offer. And remember, when a student looks at another student's personal profile, they will see the threads the other students have started, which might encourage them to jump into the discussions. If students really are that interested in profiles, perhaps Moodle should take advantage of that and include other sorts of links to the students' work (such as publicly available workshops).
And yes, this student made fun of the Moodle name, but that actually tells you something positive. I bet a lot of students would be more intrigued to login and figure out what this new "Moodle" at their school is, than if it was simply called "Course Management System" or "Learning Management System."
However, I took away from this article something different-security is definitely an issue-but what I took from it was this: What does it take to get a student interested in using Moodle? My father was a teacher of science to 13 year olds for many years, and from a young age I learned that sometimes you need "gimmicks" to "hook" students interest on something serious. Now I don't want to reduce the "personal profiles" to "gimmick" status, but if interest in reading their classmates' personal profiles gets students into a course for the first time, there's always a chance they might poke around more and discover the more serious stuff Moodle has to offer. And remember, when a student looks at another student's personal profile, they will see the threads the other students have started, which might encourage them to jump into the discussions. If students really are that interested in profiles, perhaps Moodle should take advantage of that and include other sorts of links to the students' work (such as publicly available workshops).
And yes, this student made fun of the Moodle name, but that actually tells you something positive. I bet a lot of students would be more intrigued to login and figure out what this new "Moodle" at their school is, than if it was simply called "Course Management System" or "Learning Management System."
In reply to Chris Ainsworth
Re: A student's perspective of Moodle (Mildly Ominous Ole Designation Learning Eliminator)
by Frances Bell -
I agree with Chris that the highlighting of the article has been provocative and brought out some useful points. Students experience moodle by using a specific implementation of it. That experience includes configuration, content (supplied by teacher and those who contribute to forum), social policies, norms and interaction and will be very specific to the context. If they experience something that troubles them, like loss of privacy, they may think that "moodle" determined that loss of privacy whereas it may be a subtle outcome of many of the above aspects. I find that getting truthful student reaction to online and offline resources and activities is very helpful in improving practice and innovation.
Diana Laurillard talks about affordances of technology - I find that a helpful idea.
The origin of the name Moodle is in the documentation which is found by clicking a link named, oddly enough, "Documentation" on the front page of Moodle.org
I can understand this individual not being able to find this information as you have to read three brief paragraphs before coming to the relevant content.
I can only hope she/he isn't a History or Journalism major as research skills aren't apparent in the production of this article.
I can understand this individual not being able to find this information as you have to read three brief paragraphs before coming to the relevant content.
I can only hope she/he isn't a History or Journalism major as research skills aren't apparent in the production of this article.
John, about research skills: it says below the article "Staff writer Carl Schroeder is a senior from Minneapolis, Minn. He majors in music composition."
Ok, I was being nasty
, sorry.
I found the article a bit odd too, maybe it's the "artist" way. On the other hand, I've heard comments from elsewhere too that not too much profile information is wanted to be public. This is not a built-in problem of Moodle though, as this information can be rather blank, or password restricted.
Ok, I was being nasty
I found the article a bit odd too, maybe it's the "artist" way. On the other hand, I've heard comments from elsewhere too that not too much profile information is wanted to be public. This is not a built-in problem of Moodle though, as this information can be rather blank, or password restricted.
Also, if you Google the writers name the first result is his own, unusually forthcoming, webpage complete with photo, biography and email address (not to mention a discograpy of his compositions).
Having said that, I feel a few of the responses here are having a slight sense of humour failure. It is a mildly amusing piece that deals with the often overlooked social aspects of introducing new technology in organizations and also manages to raise the increasingly important issue of privacy in the digital age. Not bad for an 'artist' and only to be applauded in my opinion.
Having said that, I feel a few of the responses here are having a slight sense of humour failure. It is a mildly amusing piece that deals with the often overlooked social aspects of introducing new technology in organizations and also manages to raise the increasingly important issue of privacy in the digital age. Not bad for an 'artist' and only to be applauded in my opinion.
I'm not so shy
http://www.stolaf.edu/people/schroedc/
seems like a very accomplished gentleman to me. Here's his pictures for you stalkers out there....
http://www.stolaf.edu/people/schroedc/
seems like a very accomplished gentleman to me. Here's his pictures for you stalkers out there....
The poster is young, rash, outspoken and didn't do a great deal of research, he poked fun at the decisions of his elders and "betters" and pointed to a potential issue with privacy/security/impressing girls. I guess that makes him similar to a gazillion other young people over the last few thousand years. As a result of his post we have got a bit of a debate going. He chucked a spec of grit in the perl that is moodle.org. ...... so long as he never makes fun of any coding I have done of course
Surely getting a bit of a (fairly mild) slagging off is just another sign that Moodle has "arrived"! They'll be pulling Martin's pigtails next
Howard, you made me laugh so hard I'm crying...
I normally only have that effect on women!!
I am a woman...
Well that just proves it then!
LOL!!!!!!!!!!! 
Samuli, who cares? I wasn't researching him for an article which would be primarily negative and based on misunderstanding. The article was in the "St. Olaf College's Weekly Newspaper" after all. This article was published in the "Opinions" section so I suppose a certain journalistic freedom is afforded these writers. On the other hand this individual is a staff writer and has been published frequently. Hopefully his other articles have been researched more thoroughly.
I'm assuming that the editorial staff doesn't have enough influence to ensure that writers check their facts.
Had this article been published in the humor section it could have been a good learning opportunity while generating a chuckle.
I'm assuming that the editorial staff doesn't have enough influence to ensure that writers check their facts.
Had this article been published in the humor section it could have been a good learning opportunity while generating a chuckle.
I can see my attempt at this so called humour was maybe as failing as in the article in question. Maybe I should just give up my career as the "classroom clown all grown up" and leave humour to the pros.
The writers issues of privacy concerns are somewhat valid though, but I too found the self-made Moodle acronym to be quite forced, at least.
The writers issues of privacy concerns are somewhat valid though, but I too found the self-made Moodle acronym to be quite forced, at least.
In reply to N Hansen
Re: A student's perspective of Moodle (Mildly Ominous Ole Designation Learning Eliminator)
by Don Quixote -
Hi all,
"The article speaks of itself..."
I would rather say: "The article speaks of himself (the author)".
Basically I think constructive criticism is always valuable, but this article is probably not of that kind. It must be my bad day to comment it, but here are some thoughts:
Andreas
"The article speaks of itself..."
I would rather say: "The article speaks of himself (the author)".
Basically I think constructive criticism is always valuable, but this article is probably not of that kind. It must be my bad day to comment it, but here are some thoughts:
- After logging in, selecting any of your courses and clicking the "Participants" link, Moodle displays the names and photographs of everyone enrolled in that class.
It is quite common to see the faces and to know the names of the participants of the class you are enrolled On the other hand he writes
"you no longer have to learn or remember your classmates names."
So, what does he want now? Anonymity or not? Being exposed to stalkers or to fight the anonymity in our everyday life?
In fact, in Moodle you can choose in your profile to hide your email address, if the teacher allows it you could just enter a nickname, you can keep the default pic ...
"you no longer have to learn or remember your classmates names."
So, what does he want now? Anonymity or not? Being exposed to stalkers or to fight the anonymity in our everyday life?
In fact, in Moodle you can choose in your profile to hide your email address, if the teacher allows it you could just enter a nickname, you can keep the default pic ...
- "While I suppose I could continue by pondering the philosophical and ethical ramifications of Moodle"
Sorry for being evil, but I doubt that the author could do this. Lack of knowledge of what he is talking about (Moodle, society, learning, ...) and probably also lack of personal maturity.
- "anything with a name as ridiculous as "Moodle.""
You can really always discuss such names. You like it or you don't like it.
And if you want you can interpret each name, brand, etc in the way you like. Some examples:
And if you want you can interpret each name, brand, etc in the way you like. Some examples:
- "Coca Cola": It sounds like a baby's first attempts to speak. But if you want you can also sing the word "coca-cola" with a nice Reggae melody and it transports "easy life", "happiness", "joy"
- "Windows" (the OS): Is it where you throw your PC soon when you work with windows or is it the "window that opens when you escape the narrow world of a simple machine"?
- etc... this works always
- What does "Moodle" mean?
It has probably been at my first visit on moodle.org when I got to know this. As John Captain pointed out... not too difficult too find, really.
Now, that I have finished with my comments, I realise that in fact it isn't even worth. But as I've taken my valuable time, I will hit the "Post to forum" button.Andreas
A joke (sort of):
ORDERING PIZZA IN 2004
Operator: Thank you for calling Pizza Hut. May I have your national ID number?
Customer: Hi, I'd like to place an order.
Operator: I must have your NIDN first, sir.
Customer: My National ID Number, yeah, hold on, ahhhh, it's 6102049998-45-54610.
Operator: Thank you Mr. Sheehan. I see you live at 1742 Meadowland Drive, and the phone number is 494-2366. Your office number over at Lincoln Insurance is 745-2302 and your cell number is 266-2566. Email address is sheehan@home.net. Which number are you calling from sir?
Customer: Huh? I'm at home. Where'd you get all this information?
Operator: We're wired into the HSS, sir.
Customer: The HSS, what is that?
Operator: We're wired into the Homeland Security System, sir. This will add only 15 seconds to your ordering time.
Customer: (sighs) Oh well, I'd like to order a couple of your All-Meat Special pizzas.
Operator: I don't think that's a good idea, sir.
Customer: Whaddya mean?
Operator: Sir, your medical records and commode sensors indicate that you've got very high blood pressure and extremely high cholesterol. Your National Health Care provider won't allow such an unhealthy choice.
Customer: What?!?! What do you recommend, then?
Operator: You might try our low-fat Soybean Pizza. I'm sure you'll like it.
Customer: What makes you think I'd like something like that?
Operator: Well, you checked out 'Gourmet Soybean Recipes' from your local library last week, sir. That's why I made the suggestion.
Customer: All right, all right. Give me two family-sized ones, then.
Operator: That should be plenty for you, your wife and your four kids. Your 2 dogs can finish the crusts, sir. Your total is $49.99.
Customer: Lemme give you my credit card number.
Operator: I'm sorry sir, but I'm afraid you'll have to pay in cash. Your credit card balance is over its limit.
Customer: I'll run over to the ATM and get some cash before your driver gets here.
Operator: That won't work either, sir. Your checking account is overdrawn also.
Customer: Never mind! Just send the pizzas. I'll have the cash ready. How long will it take?
Operator: We're running a little behind, sir. It'll be about 45 minutes, sir. If you're in a hurry you might want to pick'em up while you're out getting the cash, but then, carrying pizzas on a motorcycle can be a little awkward.
Customer: Wait! How do you know I ride a scooter?
Operator: It says here you're in arrears on your car payments, so your car got repo'ed. But your Harley's paid for and you just filled the tank yesterday.
Customer: Well, I'll be a #%#^^&$%^$@#
Operator: I'd advise watching your language, sir. You've already got a July 4, 2003 conviction for cussing out a cop and another one I see here in September for contempt at your hearing for cussing at a judge. Oh yes, I see here that you just got out from a 90 day stay in the State Correctional Facility. Is this your first pizza since your return to society?
Customer: (speechless)
Operator: Will there be anything else, sir?
Customer: Yes, I have a coupon for a free 2 liter of Coke.
Operator: I'm sorry sir, but our ad's exclusionary clause prevents us from offering free soda to diabetics. The New Constitution prohibits this. Thank you for calling Pizza Hut.
ONE NATION: UNDER SURVEILLANCE
ORDERING PIZZA IN 2004
Operator: Thank you for calling Pizza Hut. May I have your national ID number?
Customer: Hi, I'd like to place an order.
Operator: I must have your NIDN first, sir.
Customer: My National ID Number, yeah, hold on, ahhhh, it's 6102049998-45-54610.
Operator: Thank you Mr. Sheehan. I see you live at 1742 Meadowland Drive, and the phone number is 494-2366. Your office number over at Lincoln Insurance is 745-2302 and your cell number is 266-2566. Email address is sheehan@home.net. Which number are you calling from sir?
Customer: Huh? I'm at home. Where'd you get all this information?
Operator: We're wired into the HSS, sir.
Customer: The HSS, what is that?
Operator: We're wired into the Homeland Security System, sir. This will add only 15 seconds to your ordering time.
Customer: (sighs) Oh well, I'd like to order a couple of your All-Meat Special pizzas.
Operator: I don't think that's a good idea, sir.
Customer: Whaddya mean?
Operator: Sir, your medical records and commode sensors indicate that you've got very high blood pressure and extremely high cholesterol. Your National Health Care provider won't allow such an unhealthy choice.
Customer: What?!?! What do you recommend, then?
Operator: You might try our low-fat Soybean Pizza. I'm sure you'll like it.
Customer: What makes you think I'd like something like that?
Operator: Well, you checked out 'Gourmet Soybean Recipes' from your local library last week, sir. That's why I made the suggestion.
Customer: All right, all right. Give me two family-sized ones, then.
Operator: That should be plenty for you, your wife and your four kids. Your 2 dogs can finish the crusts, sir. Your total is $49.99.
Customer: Lemme give you my credit card number.
Operator: I'm sorry sir, but I'm afraid you'll have to pay in cash. Your credit card balance is over its limit.
Customer: I'll run over to the ATM and get some cash before your driver gets here.
Operator: That won't work either, sir. Your checking account is overdrawn also.
Customer: Never mind! Just send the pizzas. I'll have the cash ready. How long will it take?
Operator: We're running a little behind, sir. It'll be about 45 minutes, sir. If you're in a hurry you might want to pick'em up while you're out getting the cash, but then, carrying pizzas on a motorcycle can be a little awkward.
Customer: Wait! How do you know I ride a scooter?
Operator: It says here you're in arrears on your car payments, so your car got repo'ed. But your Harley's paid for and you just filled the tank yesterday.
Customer: Well, I'll be a #%#^^&$%^$@#
Operator: I'd advise watching your language, sir. You've already got a July 4, 2003 conviction for cussing out a cop and another one I see here in September for contempt at your hearing for cussing at a judge. Oh yes, I see here that you just got out from a 90 day stay in the State Correctional Facility. Is this your first pizza since your return to society?
Customer: (speechless)
Operator: Will there be anything else, sir?
Customer: Yes, I have a coupon for a free 2 liter of Coke.
Operator: I'm sorry sir, but our ad's exclusionary clause prevents us from offering free soda to diabetics. The New Constitution prohibits this. Thank you for calling Pizza Hut.
ONE NATION: UNDER SURVEILLANCE
In reply to Mike Churchward
Re: A student's perspective and other privacy issues...
by Don Quixote -
Customer: (furious) Then you probably also know that I am currently taking a Spanish language course at foo.languagemoodlers.com, right?
Operator : Sorry, sir. This isn't in your record. Your teacher has probably disabled your Moodle profile to the public for privacy reasons. But thank you for informing me. I will include this in your record right away, since we have write access, too.
Operator : Sorry, sir. This isn't in your record. Your teacher has probably disabled your Moodle profile to the public for privacy reasons. But thank you for informing me. I will include this in your record right away, since we have write access, too.
Most excellent Mike!
In Canada we've headed down that path ourselves although not quite as far. Speaking of such things, tonight, on the CBC - "the fifth estate" is running "Dick Cheney - his life story". The media has been calling it "The un-authorized biography" and it promises to lay out a few facts that the average citizen may not be aware of.
In Canada we've headed down that path ourselves although not quite as far. Speaking of such things, tonight, on the CBC - "the fifth estate" is running "Dick Cheney - his life story". The media has been calling it "The un-authorized biography" and it promises to lay out a few facts that the average citizen may not be aware of.