Is there participant documentation on how to use Moodle or has someone developed an orientation or "participant boot camp" on their site which could be used as a model?
I've attached a first attempt if anyone is interested in an annotated "home page" with javascript driven pop up boxes describing the basic features. Maybe crude but my first attempt with javascript cut and paste. I'm certainly not as sophisticated as some of the subscribers! (Missing icon from this quickie attachment is a "Info" icon. Question mark with page.)
I'd like to create a short self-paced course taking folks through the basic tasks, especially file uploading and checking for grades and feedback.
Hi, Warren.
Sorry! I thought I'd already responded!
I like the page you've done ... it ties in with the "pedagogical support" I have been thinking about to guide teachers through the process of designing a course - so I may even consider adding your popups into the main product (with a switch so you can turn it on and off).
The idea of a short self-paced course is particularly exciting! If you're interested, I can offer you space to put it here on this site - it might make a good replacement for Demo 101 - perhaps down the track it could even be included in the distribution.
Cheers!
Martin
Sorry! I thought I'd already responded!
I like the page you've done ... it ties in with the "pedagogical support" I have been thinking about to guide teachers through the process of designing a course - so I may even consider adding your popups into the main product (with a switch so you can turn it on and off).
The idea of a short self-paced course is particularly exciting! If you're interested, I can offer you space to put it here on this site - it might make a good replacement for Demo 101 - perhaps down the track it could even be included in the distribution.
Cheers!
Martin
Glad to hear from you. I was beginning to wonder if anyone was interested in or had concerns about users' abilities to navigate and use the system. I have to believe that someone somewhere has done something along these lines!
1. Feel free to lift and particularly to improve on my attempts to develop some user aids! I like the notion of having "explication" switches built in and probably should have used the smiley faces as information icons for consistency.
2. I'll take a stab or two at putting together an orientation course. You might find some useful pieces to share on your site. I'd appreciate the chance to contribute to this effort. FYI, I completed my MS in Instructional and Performance Technology at Boise State University through distance learning. I began the program with a DOS based super-bulletinboard tool followed up with Learning Space then ultimately a customized version of Lotus Notes. Notes added enough user complexity (client and host synchronization, offline work then replication up and down of the databases, authentication, etc. to say nothing of the usual upload, download, navigation tasks) that BSU instituted a program of "boot camp" for new students which was required in order to participate. I was impressed with the introduction. I taught a proprietary course for a vendor using Blackboard and wished something similar had been available to provide more support for some of my participants.
Aside: I worry that using Moodle and requiring a real time connection might challenge or "select-out" users without efficient connections with good bandwidth. As you know, requiring the Notes client for each user meant that users at BSU could replicate, then work offline, then re-replicate. That opened doors for some participants. However, despite the bootcamp, I've wondered if the user overhead of installing, understanding, and maintaining the Notes client wasn't itself a signficant barrier.
Keep up the good work. Thanks for your continued support of this tool despite your other commitments. Regards, Warren Cole
1. Feel free to lift and particularly to improve on my attempts to develop some user aids! I like the notion of having "explication" switches built in and probably should have used the smiley faces as information icons for consistency.
2. I'll take a stab or two at putting together an orientation course. You might find some useful pieces to share on your site. I'd appreciate the chance to contribute to this effort. FYI, I completed my MS in Instructional and Performance Technology at Boise State University through distance learning. I began the program with a DOS based super-bulletinboard tool followed up with Learning Space then ultimately a customized version of Lotus Notes. Notes added enough user complexity (client and host synchronization, offline work then replication up and down of the databases, authentication, etc. to say nothing of the usual upload, download, navigation tasks) that BSU instituted a program of "boot camp" for new students which was required in order to participate. I was impressed with the introduction. I taught a proprietary course for a vendor using Blackboard and wished something similar had been available to provide more support for some of my participants.
Aside: I worry that using Moodle and requiring a real time connection might challenge or "select-out" users without efficient connections with good bandwidth. As you know, requiring the Notes client for each user meant that users at BSU could replicate, then work offline, then re-replicate. That opened doors for some participants. However, despite the bootcamp, I've wondered if the user overhead of installing, understanding, and maintaining the Notes client wasn't itself a signficant barrier.
Keep up the good work. Thanks for your continued support of this tool despite your other commitments. Regards, Warren Cole
Just a few quick thoughts in response (I'm supposed to be finishing a conference paper)...
A good orientation course could be a great thing ... I could possibly put a "portal" to it within normal Moodle courses.
Cheers and thanks,
Martin
"I was beginning to wonder if anyone was interested in or had concerns about users' abilities to navigate and use the system."Firstly, one of the main aims of the design is to make the interface as obvious as possible in the first place... secondly, there is a fair bit of context help for teachers to provide more info .. thirdly, there's lots of room for improvement, but fixing this is the first priority for Moodle 2.0.
A good orientation course could be a great thing ... I could possibly put a "portal" to it within normal Moodle courses.
Cheers and thanks,
Martin