To Moodle or Blackboard? That is the question...

After playing around on the two e-learning websites I can see where teachers are coming from when they are voting for Moodle over Blackboard. I know that as a teacher I would have to jump through hoops, on one foot, atop a balance beam AND donate half of my salary to get Blackboard available at my school. Since researching the prices and availabilities of Blackboard to Moodle, that is not something I am willing to do. In 2008 a study comparing Blackboard to Moodle was done by The American Association of Community College’s Instructional Technology Council (ITC) and they have published results;  2007 Distance Education Survey Results. There’s a lot of interesting stuff in it. Here are the headlines:

* Distance education continues to grow at a very healthy clip, particularly in this market segment.

* Blackboard is losing market share rapidly

* Moodle doubled its market share in the past 12 months and now has the highest market share after Blackboard/WebCT in this market segment.

* ANGEL and D2L also grew their market share.

* We have reason to expect more LMS churn in the near future, which is bad for Blackboard.

*    The top 5 areas of likely distance learning-related service growth in this segment are (1) online student organization web site and services, (2) online counseling and advising, (3) online plagiarism evaluation, (4) audio/video streaming, and (5) online textbook sales.

It seems that in the time this study was conducted Blackboard lost 7% market share. Okay, if Blackboard is the loser in this report, then who are the winners? Clearly, Moodle is a winner, both in their book and mine! Having gone from less than 4% market share to more than 10% (in the segment) in a year’s time, Moodle is now the only non-Blackboard LMS with a double-digit market share in this segment. WOW!

Well, what’s so great about Moodle you ask? And why does it get my vote? Much like Blackboard, Moodle offers features such as course information and reading lists, access to electronic readings, discussion boards, online quizzes, multimedia content including video, and assessment collection. But where I really had some fun, was with the design and customization of Moodle.

Playing around on Moodle for a bit, one will notice (from the instructor’s point of view) that the Moodle screen can be fully customized in terms of layout and branding. Certain aspects of changing the look and feel require some design skills. This is where I feel I am savvy – as part of my job is designing a yearbook. Instantly, I noticed that the visual appeal on Moodle was much better than what I had seen on Blackboard (both as an instructor and a student). The two relevant components for customization were the Moodle front page and Moodle themes. In short, the settings (mostly front page settings as well as a few others) dictated what content users will see before and after they logged on. The theme was responsible for the design scheme or branding, that is, the header and footer as well as colors, fonts, icons, and so on used through the site. After attending a professional development course on Moodle at my school, I found out some cool tips about customizing the appearance of a front page. We used a test site generated for the PD course, much like we did for INST 5330.

The appearance of Moodle's front page changes after a user has logged in. The content and layout of the page before and after login can be customized to signify the uniqueness of the organization/class. To customize the front page, you either have to be logged in as Moodle administrator, or have front-page-related permissions in the Front Page setting. From the Site Administration block, select Front Page, Front Page Settings. The screen showing all available parameters will be loaded displaying your current settings that are changeable. To configure the left and right column areas with blocks, you have to turn on editing (using the Blocks editing on button). The menu includes blocks that are not available in courses such as Course/Site description and Main menu. Blocks are added to the front page in exactly the same way as in courses. To change their position, use the standard arrows. Really, like we have all noticed in one week, it just takes some time playing around and getting familiar with the site. Another plus and visually appealing Moodle site is the help page.Support and communities are just a click away!

A few weeks ago, while studying Prezi, I found a presentation that really helped me understand Moodle. Check it out!


(Presentation created by Christina Munoz)

     VS.  

Camtasia VS CamStudio

Well, as many of my classmates have also stated, Camtasia wins in comparison to CamStudio.

I have never spent so much time trying to figure out how to use a program as I did when I worked with CamStudio. Part of me wanted to take a zero on the project, so I could go enjoy Mardi Gras weekend in STL with my friends. BUT, through much convincing, I decided that would not be the smart idea. When looking back on the project, I must have spent around 24 hours total trying to figure it out. From the download to converting the video to SWF, everything was a challenge. I WILL not ever even think about using CamStudio again, and will never recommend it to anyone. As a matter of fact, I have already uninstalled it from my computer so I do not have to see it again.

Camtasia, on the other hand, was very nifty. Though it takes some time to watch the tutorials and teach yourself all of the options and tricks to the program, I did not have nearly as many questions or blockades as I did with CamStudio (eh – the name even makes me cringe). Camtasia has help windows and tutorials to watch to answer nearly every question one may have. Also, Camtasia has some cool options (zooms, callouts, etc.) that one can apply to enhance a video. Though I cannot say I like Camtasia as much as Jing, I may consider using it again or referring it to a friend.

Check out my Camtasia video below! I will be using this in the next few weeks in my American Literature classes while they work with and read the novel The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

Will Facebook Replace Company Websites?

This week while searching the web and reading up on some hot topics I came across a story that really caught my attention. I had recently been telling people how much I am using Facebook for learning purposes for grad school. Many in disbelief that I was actually doing homework on Facebook, I thought the information in this story would be something that those who aren't in the "education biz" could relate to.

In the past, Facebook had always just been a pastime for me; a way to stay connected to my friends from college and high school. Now, I am starting to believe that social networks are the next big wave for not only keeping in touch with others, but also have benefits for education, businesses, and institutions as well.

I thought is was especially interesting to read the part about the statistics on how many people visit Facebook and "like" an advertisement (hence reading/learning about it) compared to how many people actually visit the company websites. It is crazy to think how big of a difference it can make when comparing companies using Facebook to advertise to those that do not.

Though Facebook is not allowed on our district network, and it cannot be accessed on school grounds, my high school students have used it in many ways that relate to my classroom and lessons. The kids share photos for the yearbook, have discussions over homework, and recently they started a Facebook group for members of the yearbook staff to check in on deadlines! SO COOL! They have done it completely on their own, and it is something I have never been a part of (since I do not "friend" students). How neat is it that they have this tool available to them?!

What do you think about social networks being used to replace company websites? How about the use of Facebook in educational situations?