Moodle At DePauw

Moodle at DePauw:A Model for Managing Change
Michael Gough&
Lynda S. LaRoche
DePauw University

About DePauw
College of Liberal Arts and School of Music
Enrollment 2,298
Faculty (FTE) 238

Rules of Thumb
People don't like change
Technology changes at warp speed
Researching, relearning and training costs productivity
IT can underestimate the impact of a change
Recipe for strife between IT
and the rest of the campus community

Our Model
Bring stakeholders onboard
Identify factors pushing for change
Test and weigh options
Pilot with early adopters
Create a flexible roll out timeline
Communicate via multiple channels
Offer strategic support and training
Gather feedback

Bring Stakeholders Onboard
Who’s primarily affected by the change?
Users: faculty and students
Support: Instructional & Learning Services / Information Services
Electronic Reserves: Library
E-Services: Student information system
Streaming Audio / Media Resources: School of Music
Enable stakeholders to be an active part of the process

Identify Factors for Change
Faculty Survey – Blackboard Basic
How are you using Blackboard?
What does it do well?
How does it lack?
What do you want to do with a learning management system?
Results – Faculty Feedback on Blackboard Basic
You cannot cross-link files or areas across courses.
It is not easy to navigate – “it’s clunky”, too many “clicks”.
It’s not reliable because it’s down a lot.
It’s good for distributing my classroom handouts, but it does not have enough interactive features.
It’s not learner-focused.
I have to fit my pedagogy into the tool instead of fitting tools into my pedagogy…it’s compartmentalized.

Identify Factors for Change
Administrative Factors
Single sign-on capabilities (LDAP)
Integrate with other university systems
Sustainable and reliable
Predictable cost structure
Solid technical support from vendor or user community
Cross platform functionality
Customizable

Planning Strategy
Faculty Driven Decision
Partnership between Faculty Instructional Technology Support (FITS) and the Academic Technology Advising Committee (ATAC)
FITS provided expertise
ATAC openly communicated with campus through every stage
ATAC made the final recommendation on what system best fit the needs of our campus

Test and Weigh Options
Systems we originally researched: Sakai, Blackboard Enterprise System, Angel and Moodle
After further research and evaluation, the decision to focus our attention on Blackboard Enterprise System and Moodle was made
We already had experience with Blackboard and easily learned about the features of the Enterprise System
Moodle was new to us, so we spent significant time extensively testing it

Focused Testing
Again, we focused our attention on feedback received from stakeholders
Usability of desired features
Flexibility of the system – capability to make changes to code, licensing restrictions, etc.
Integration with other campus systems
All features supported by Blackboard Basic must be retained
Robust support system
Implicit and explicit costs – licensing, training, support, etc.

1st Pilot with Early Adopters
The Academic Technology Advising Committee (ATAC) recommended running a pilot on Moodle
We sent a call out to campus and received several faculty volunteers

1st Pilot with Early Adopters
“Train the trainer” sessions were held to ensure we had sufficient staff available for supporting our pilot volunteers
Considerable learning was done and important information was obtained
The results of this first pilotwere positive, so a second pilot followed that wasequally successful

What We Learned
No magic wand to easily convert courses from Blackboard to Moodle, but we did find bFree
Design factor in creating Moodle courses
Enable faculty and support staff to informally discuss what was going on – Moodle Users Group
Assure faculty you will be there for them as they go through the transition

What We Learned
Pilot testing provided an opportunity for support staff to gain a better understanding of what would be involved in training and supporting Moodle
The Academic Technology Advising Committee (ATAC) decided to recommend Moodle be adopted as the sole learning management system on campus
Over communication is better than a lack of communication

Create a Flexible Timeline
The larger the change the greater the need for careful planning and flexibility
Build enough time into your timeline so faculty members do not feel pushed into using a new system
When issues arise, listen to faculty members, let them know you understand their concerns and adapt your timeline appropriately
"I don't have time to upgrade right now."

Transition Timeline
Fall 2006 – Research, build test servers, extensive testing, “train the trainer” sessions
Winter Term 2007 – Training for faculty piloting system
Spring 2007 – First pilot
February 2007 – Faculty demonstrations for campus-at-large
March 30, 2007 – Recommendation to transition
Summer 2007 – Training for faculty participating in 2nd pilot
2007/2008 Academic Year – Provide both Blackboard and Moodle to campus
Fall 2007 – 2nd pilot also begins the transition to Moodle
Fall 2008 – Blackboard retired

Communicate Multiple Ways
Open communication during every phase of this project was a key factor in making our transition successful
Use every avenue of communication possible
Newsletter published by Faculty Instructional Technology Support
Informative emails
Blog
Campus Newspaper
WGRE - our campus radio station
Word of mouth from early adopters proved invaluable

Offer Strategic Support Training
Target early adopters first
Tiered training
Be available!
Moodle Transition
Intro to Moodle Sessions
Moodle User Groups (MUGs)
Moodle Showcases
Full-day Workshop
FITS Summer Workshop
"I don't know where to get help."

Moodle Training Strategy

Gather Feedback
Criticism is not a bad thing
Implement tweaks based on feedback
Reflect on the whole process
Moodle transition process
Feedback gathered from MUGs and Showcases
Feedback from student workers
“They don’t listen to me."

Lessons Learned from MUGs
Adding items were automatically previewed
Not able to edit gradebook, limited options
Quiz timer not accurate
Uploading a file to the advanced upload of files feedback removes grade and feedback

Moodle Adoption

Conclusions – Lessons Learned
The 5 Stages of LMS Grief
1. Denial or “I just figured out how to use Blackboard!”
2. Anger – Concerns over learning another system
3. Bargaining or “Give us one more semester!”
4. Depression – Low attendance at first
5. Acceptance or “Hey - this is cool!”

Contact Information
Michael Gough, Instructional Technologist and Coordinator of Student Instructional Technology Support
michaelgough@depauw.edu
Lynda S. LaRoche, Assistant Director of Instructional & Learning Services and Moodle Support Coordinator
llaroche@depauw.edu
Thank you!

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Moodle At DePauw

by mbgough on Dec 22, 2009

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