Moodle in English: I think I am out of luck

I think I am out of luck

by Doug Moody - Wednesday, January 27, 2016, 7:20 PM

Been using MOODLE for many years, and now I think I have been obsoleted by an upstart LMS called HAIKU.

Our school district (81 schools and 56,000 students) recently decided that HAIKU would be the LMS of choice for all teachers. It started last summer when it was introduced, and was declared "optional". But that didn't last...

Well, its adoption was so rapid and accepted by most teachers and admin that recently the superintendent stated that it will become mandatory for all teachers next school year.

So, I feel like a meteor has fallen to earth and I am a dinosaur.....

Has anyone else gone through this? I am totally sad , since I have put my heart and soul into MOODLE for over 5 years), and developed many great courses that will now have to be transitioned to HAIKU.

The main technical issue is that AFAIK, there isn't a 1:1 ability for HAIKU to import MOODLE content into HAIKU. Therefore, not only do I need to spend my summer learning HAIKU, but I also have to figure out how to technically import all of my MOODLE content and/or recreate it. It's all very daunting, and of course I can't explain to a non-techie superintendent how MOODLE is clearly superior.

Color me sad, since I also won't be visiting these forums much anymore and talking to the excellent people I have met here over the years.

Any advice would be very welcomed

Re: I think I am out of luck

by Visvanath Ratnaweera - Wednesday, January 27, 2016, 7:25 PM

Read this running discussion: https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=326150.

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Re: I think I am out of luck

by Derek Chirnside - Wednesday, January 27, 2016, 8:09 PM

Sad Doug, and our thoughts are with you.

Just out of curiosity, is there any rationale for the change?

It's a while since I looked at Haiku. It has some nice aspects that may be frustrating in Moodle to some, particularly three: media handling, portfolios (simple basic but OK for K-12) and standards based stuff (that often is in the Moodle flavours that are more used in the workplace).

This from their PR:

Our philosophy is based on the essential 80: if at least 80% of our users will find a feature an asset and not an obstacle, then we'll build it!

If it serves only a few then it becomes little more than a distraction to everyone else. That's why we ask for user feedback so often, and it's why our digital learning platform is so sound.

Last bit not quite a sequeter.

I also suggest reading the link Visvanath mentioned, and maybe you could let us know of progress in your summer of re-design.

-Derek

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Re: I think I am out of luck

by Marcus Green - Wednesday, January 27, 2016, 9:14 PM

Hi Doug

My advice is don't think about importing, rebuild. I know that seems like the hard way, but you would never get a perfect import anyway. And come back in 6th months or so and tell us how it went. When switching VLE I suspect people discover that "the devil is in the detail".

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Re: I think I am out of luck

by Ken Task - Wednesday, January 27, 2016, 10:24 PM

Problem is an interesting one ... and am not talking about which LMS platform is better/worse, etc. ... but that of data/usage here (X) at present and moving to there (Y).

There probably does not exist a tool to import a Moodle 2/3 backup into other LMS, but what if, for at least a transition period, one could use a tool like LTI.

Haiku does have LTI:
https://support.haikulearning.com/hc/en-us/articles/202584253-Can-you-give-me-some-example-LTI-Apps-to-use-

Is your school looking at or planing on becoming a Google Apps school with a Google/ISD domain?

https://support.haikulearning.com/hc/en-us/articles/202584173--d-How-do-I-add-Google-Apps-integration-to-my-existing-Haiku-Learning-School-Domain-

Moodle has an LTI tool for accessing LTI content remotely. It's one of those tools for which many have not found a need, nor explored, but if they did/had their approach to online learning might actually change.

Moodle also has an LTI Provider plugin.
https://docs.moodle.org/30/en/LTI_Provider

Moodle can also auth vs Google Domain and use Google Drive/Docs.

In time, when the new wears off, teachers start to demand something that X won't provide, etc. (the etc. includes ongoing cost) I predict another 'cycle of seeking the perfect LMS'. Maybe, by then, student access via smartphone/tablet wirelessly will become the 'norm' ... so that's an area to watch ... which/what LMS does provide the 'best' platform for the device students have?

Lurking in the wings ... maybe not yet on the radar screen .... Google Classroom?

Many times K12 folks miss the bigger picture ... does either LMS have analysis of student performance tied into an interface that will help teachers ... remediate, recommend, reteach, etc. individual students, i.e., the LMS is more personalized. How about the ISD's grade book system? Does XY have the ability to interface? Long term data ... for lack of a better term ... does XY track a students progress from when they enter (any grade) all the way through until they graduate or leave?

You teach middle school if I re-collect correctly. Wouldn't it be nice to be able to see a history of the new students that come to your class?

Questions asked here are just food for thought or research action items.

Have to say this ... there is only one constant ... that's change! For better or worse, it will happen.

Best of luck ...

'spirit of sharing', Ken

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Re: I think I am out of luck

by Rick Jerz - Wednesday, January 27, 2016, 10:38 PM

Doug, I know exactly what you are going through. Of course you know that I use Moodle. However, in one of my schools where I teach, they use BB. In the other school, they use D2L and soon will be moving to Canvas (it appears). So I struggle with these school administrators constantly.

Here is my position that seems to be working so far. "Am I allowed to link to the publisher's products that they sell with the textbooks for homework, the textbook, etc.?" "Am I allowed to link to other Internet-based resources, such as YouTube and Wikipedia?" If the answer to these types of questions (is the obvious) yes, then what problem is there to link to some of my own resources, like (the obvious) moodle? Isn't this the nature of the Internet? Can a school really prevent linking to external resources on the Internet?

You might see where I am going with this. At one school, I set up D2L's topics with a good share of "links" to course resources. When a student click on some of these links (like this one) the get to content on my website. No problem, right? When they click on other links within a topic, they get to... guess what (you tell me, but here is a hint)?

Of course for this to work, your school would have to have intelligent administrators.

Look at my example below, this is one of my topics in D2L. These activities are all "links." Some go to content on my website, and some go to moodle. Yes, the student needs to login to moodle. Hmmm, does anyone have students who can't do this?

Yes, a little more work for me, but I think that I end up with the best of both worlds.

If administrators stay focused on "How do we provide the best education?" then my method works.

Incidentally, it takes some effort, but I get myself on "review" committees where I can compare features between moodle and these other products. It doesn't happen immediately, but little by little I demonstrate the power of moodle. I do not know HAIKU.