I've recently come to find myself in an interesting position as being our Center's Moodle Advocate (thankfully not the advocate for the whole university because this is trying enough). Three months ago I only knew Moodle as, "the pesky thing that replaced WebCT at my husband's university," and suddenly, over the Christmas break, it became a major function of my job.
Needless to say I'm still learning all the ins and outs of Moodle, and I was just notified that I have to give an hour long pitch to one of our major funding agencies on what Moodle is (they've never heard of it) and a brief overview of how to use it.
So here's my question. If you only had an hour to not only highlight Moodle's good points but also give a brief look at how easy it is to use, what would you include? I have a test course set up to show them, and a (rapidly growing) set of handouts that highlights some of the features, as well as a lengthy reference list.
I've looked at several of the demo courses linked from this site, and have read through this forum and a few others but I'm having an information overload at the moment....so as a more seasoned group of advocates, what would you say are the most important points to hit on and what have you had the most success promoting?
you are making a pitch of a pedagogical tool to a funding agency? yikes.
A warning... I'm just another user. There are many folks around here with MUCH more experience pitching moodle.
My favourite way to pitch moodle is to make people who've used something like webct actually sit down and use it. As you can teach people to work with it in about 15 minutes (at the low end... basic forums and text stuff) it's a really great way to show how moodle really sets itself apart. (ps. don't ever do this with quizzes on a server that isn't fully ramped up... quizzes really beat up on the unprepared)
But for funders... here are some quick ideas... these are just from my own experience and should be considered worth the paper they are printed on
A warning... I'm just another user. There are many folks around here with MUCH more experience pitching moodle.
My favourite way to pitch moodle is to make people who've used something like webct actually sit down and use it. As you can teach people to work with it in about 15 minutes (at the low end... basic forums and text stuff) it's a really great way to show how moodle really sets itself apart. (ps. don't ever do this with quizzes on a server that isn't fully ramped up... quizzes really beat up on the unprepared)
But for funders... here are some quick ideas... these are just from my own experience and should be considered worth the paper they are printed on
- Get a list of the large institutions that are currently using it. There are many very cool big organizations currently using it. This counters the 'no one ever got fired for choosing IBM argument.'
- However, moodle is still out on the cutting edge. It's a combination of both the safe, reliable and the new and innovative.
- You'll need to counter the TCO (total cost of ownership) argument that is consistently thrown against open source products. There was a really great piece of research done on that last year. here's my synopsis and it also has a link directly to the Courant report.
- You'll want to say something about transferring skills from webct to moodle. How it isn't a 'whole new system,' but an improved system where alot of the pre-established literacies will transfer for both teachers and students.
- You may want to say something about how the data that goes into moodle is very portable... so that if 'something new comes along' in ten years its easy to move to that. (be careful with this one, it can backfire... and i don't mean any disrespect to the fine people here who support moodle, but it is a question that often needs to be addressed)
- As for test courses... this really depends on how much time you have. It's easy enough to drop some flash video or fancy graphics in moodle, given time. The one thing that has always held me back in moodle presentations is... believe it or not... the name 'moodle' itself and the look and feel. Drop a graphic in the installation for sure... if your people haven't already skinned it... they should before the presentation. I don't know how web savvy your backers are, but people who aren't familiar with web stuff will often focus all of their attention on a spelling mistake or an ugly font and ignore the great product.
That sample course idea is great. I think if they work with it themselves rather than watch me do it, maybe they'll be a little more open to it. The major thing that seems to be working on my side is they don't seem to have a strong pre-disposition to WebCT or any other system. They're just generally mystified about the whole process, and they think it might be something they want to use. Of course if they do it'll be very positive, so I want to make sure this goes good.
Also thanks for the info on open source and TCO. I know that will probably come up and I was dreading figuring out a way to answer that.
On a side note, your comment about the name 'moodle' made me chuckle. I made sure to put the moodle logo nice and big at the top of the handouts because I believe they're calling it "Noodle" right now...of course it doesn't help that I have a horrible cold and so that may sound like how I'm pronouncing it. 
You've given me some great ideas to work with! Thanks!
lol.
always with the noodle.
glad to be of help.... dave.
always with the noodle.
glad to be of help.... dave.
When they stop laughing after you say "Moodle," calmly say "Google" and see if anyone laughs.
Als Antwort auf Leslie Sandoval
Re: Need advice on advocating for/demoing Moodle
von Ghassan Geara -
Hi Leslie,
I'm late for your demo but i post anyway for future reference.
We have set at our university workshops (valid for Moodle 1.6.x):
- Moodle I (covering an introduction + resources) and
- Moodle II (covering some activities - Choice, Forum, Assignment - and course blocks).
Have a look at these workshops and their Quickstart guides (PDF files).
Cheers!
I'm late for your demo but i post anyway for future reference.
We have set at our university workshops (valid for Moodle 1.6.x):
- Moodle I (covering an introduction + resources) and
- Moodle II (covering some activities - Choice, Forum, Assignment - and course blocks).
Have a look at these workshops and their Quickstart guides (PDF files).
Cheers!
Als Antwort auf Ghassan Geara
Re: Need advice on advocating for/demoing Moodle
von Leslie Sandoval -
Thanks....those are going to be tremendously helpful. It looks like I'm going to get to give more of these advocacy talks in the near future (a good thing, I think!) so all this information I've collected is very helpful.
Thank you.
Thank you.
Als Antwort auf Leslie Sandoval
Re: Need advice on advocating for/demoing Moodle
von Anthony Borrow -
Have you come across the Moodle PowerPoint on the features of Moodle? I remember borrowing from one when I was doing faculty training.
Als Antwort auf Anthony Borrow
Re: Need advice on advocating for/demoing Moodle
von Leslie Sandoval -
I haven't seen it, and if I wasn't on a time crunch I'd definitely go hunting for it. (suddenly the funding agency is coming at lunch today...yikes!) But if you ever happen to find it again let me know. I have a feeling I'm going to be doing more of these advocacy talks.
If you have any last minute questions... feel free to use my contact information to contact me directly. Not saying i can help, but sometimes just knowing that there's someone you can ask is a good thing. If you use skype... i should be around on that too
dave.
dave.
If they haven't heard of Moodle, then possibly they are not up on this type of software. It would be worth in my opinion getting hold of some good SCORM content and showing it working inside Moodle. This will give the bells and whistles wow factor that people like to see.
Then show them how easy it is to set up things like forums/discussion groups etc. - Let them do it to see how easy it is.
Finally, explain to them that because it's opensource anyone can install it to play with it at home. It also has a very large number of people being automatically 'trained' to use it because they're playing with it.
Lots of schools/education authorities are using it which again meets the training requirements of the future.
Finally, you have a support network for free via the web which can answer questions truthfully rather than in a guarded way that other companies might give - mmm... just like I am now!
Hope that's of some help to you.
Then show them how easy it is to set up things like forums/discussion groups etc. - Let them do it to see how easy it is.
Finally, explain to them that because it's opensource anyone can install it to play with it at home. It also has a very large number of people being automatically 'trained' to use it because they're playing with it.
Lots of schools/education authorities are using it which again meets the training requirements of the future.
Finally, you have a support network for free via the web which can answer questions truthfully rather than in a guarded way that other companies might give - mmm... just like I am now!
Hope that's of some help to you.
Als Antwort auf J Franklin
Re: Need advice on advocating for/demoing Moodle
von Visvanath Ratnaweera -
Hi Leslie
May be I'm too late for your big rally. In any case, you got excellent advice from the Moodle PR department
In case you, or anybody else, could use some non-PR thoughts, here are some:
- a hands-on session with "decision makers", to be completed within an hour? I would think it over. The network connection is the first thing to buckle, then comes the great login - logging into the client I mean. If all that goes smoothly when it comes to logging into Moodle (a second login, with different username/password) people will be _very_ busy
- don't show too involved things in an introduction, Survey, Journal, Wiki, etc. have to wait. The suggestion to go through some SCORM sequences is good. A "lesson" may be.
The simplest classroom possible, what we call "X-mas tree model" works best. It has a document tree, a time plan and a forum. It helps good students to get prepared in ahead, the not-so-good students to catch up and the teacher to minimize damage caused by any disruption. And it doesn't cost very much.
For the managers and planers present: All that is _added_ quality. The quality has a price tag.
May be I'm too late for your big rally. In any case, you got excellent advice from the Moodle PR department
In case you, or anybody else, could use some non-PR thoughts, here are some:
- a hands-on session with "decision makers", to be completed within an hour? I would think it over. The network connection is the first thing to buckle, then comes the great login - logging into the client I mean. If all that goes smoothly when it comes to logging into Moodle (a second login, with different username/password) people will be _very_ busy
- don't show too involved things in an introduction, Survey, Journal, Wiki, etc. have to wait. The suggestion to go through some SCORM sequences is good. A "lesson" may be.
The simplest classroom possible, what we call "X-mas tree model" works best. It has a document tree, a time plan and a forum. It helps good students to get prepared in ahead, the not-so-good students to catch up and the teacher to minimize damage caused by any disruption. And it doesn't cost very much.
For the managers and planers present: All that is _added_ quality. The quality has a price tag.
Als Antwort auf Leslie Sandoval
Re: Need advice on advocating for/demoing Moodle
von Leslie Sandoval -
For everybody that helped out I just wanted to thank you. The demo actually went REALLY well. I let the funders play with my test course while I did some background "blah blah blah" about what Moodle could do. I didn't even make it through my pitch though, because apparently one of the funders is pretty tech savvy and when she saw the wiki listed in my handouts she jumped in and started asking questions and then got really excited and told the others in the group, "This is what we want."
Then when I showed them the little flash presentation we had put together for one of our courses they all got on the bandwagon and the presentation got totally sidetracked while they started planning what they were going to do.
So I guess for this funding project Moodle's a go, and others may be jumping on the bandwagon. And for everyone who listed demo sites, I cited them in my resources so they'd have some ideas of how much more infinitely cool their course could be than the basic one we have set up now. So hurray...I guess Moodle is here to stay. Now I just wish I hadn't been so sick at the Moot last week because I probably could have used the information from it.
Then when I showed them the little flash presentation we had put together for one of our courses they all got on the bandwagon and the presentation got totally sidetracked while they started planning what they were going to do.
So I guess for this funding project Moodle's a go, and others may be jumping on the bandwagon. And for everyone who listed demo sites, I cited them in my resources so they'd have some ideas of how much more infinitely cool their course could be than the basic one we have set up now. So hurray...I guess Moodle is here to stay. Now I just wish I hadn't been so sick at the Moot last week because I probably could have used the information from it.