Moodle, a tool to leverage technology integration

I have been aware of Moodle as a platform for creating online course materials for several years now. However, it has only been about a year since I began actually using it to create online content for professional development. What impresses me about this program other than it is free, is that it so easily lends itself to technology integration. For the most part, when an assignment is made, it requires a student to use technology to create, produce, research, share, collaborate, or communicate to complete the assignment.  That means that the student will be "using technology to achieve academic goals."

Up until now I was not sure about how to help high school teachers to get a handle on integrating technology into the curriculum. However, I think Moodle is one part of the solution. [Even as I say this, I am reminded that Mary Cooch (Moodle Fairy) has written a book entitled Moodle 1.9 for Teaching 7-14 Year Olds: Beginner's Guide. It can be ordered at https://www.packtpub.com/beginners-guide-moodle-1-9-for-teaching-7-14-year-olds/book. This book is well written and an excellent resource for using Moodle to create online course work for both elementary and middle school students.]  Using this tool may be yet another way to hook our teachers into technology integration. 

Now I am sure that some teachers are wondering why they would use an online course management system when they meet with their students everyday. One good reason is that current research seems to link the use of online learning to improved student achievement. 

"Students in online learning conditions performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction. The difference between student outcomes for online and face-to-face classes... was larger in those studies contrasting conditions that blended elements of online and face-to-face instruction with conditions taught entirely face-to-face."   Evaluation of Evidence-Based Practices in Online Learning

 For me Moodle is just another tool in the arsenal for leveraging teachnology (I know I misspelled the word. I did it accidentally, but I kind of like it.) into the curriculum. In the coming weeks I will share other approaches on how I am working to get our teachers to jump on board.

Diigo a Social Bookmarking Tool for Education

Getting teachers to allow their students to use technology to achieve academic goals is a challenge (my definition of technology integration.). Every now and then I run across a tool that is so good that many teachers will recognize its worth immediately. Technology tools in and of themselves are usually not transformative of educational practices. However, I believe that Diigo is just one of those tools.

Diigo is a social bookmarking site. I have known about Diigo for quite some time, but until recently I hadn't realized how powerful an educational  tool it really is. It is possible to highlight and annotate web pages and share those annotations with others. You can also sign up for an educator's account and create accounts for all your students. What a great tool for student research projects, collaboration among students, and project based learning! If you looked at my last blog entry, I included an annotated version of Thomas Paine's Common Sense. Check it out.

Here are two websites that will give you more information on this subject.
Two Uses of Technology to Improve Literacy and Critical Thinking

Teaching Social Bookmarking with Diigo Education

Religious Implications of Global Citizen First

Here is another question that was posed about the global first initiative, "Have you considered the question from a religious perspective?"

The religious question in this is quite interesting. Thomas Paine in his pamphlet Common Sense wrote, "government even in its best state is but a necessary evil in its worst state an intolerable one." Paine went on to write that the design and end of government was to provide security and freedom. In other words Paine believed in limited government that should interfere in the lives of people as little as possible. What is fascinating about Paine's view is that even though he was a deist, he used the Bible to show that God "disapproved of government by kings." To prove his point he referred to two incidents in the history of Israel, a nation that had no king at this time. The first incident was the victory of Israel over the Midianites led by Gideon. Following that battle, the people wanted to make Gideon king. Paine points out that "Gideon in the piety of his soul replied, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you, THE LORD SHALL RULE OVER YOU. Words need not be more explicit; Gideon doth not decline the honor but denieth their right to give it; neither doth he compliment them with invented declarations of his thanks, but in the positive stile of a prophet charges them with disaffection to their proper sovereign, the King of Heaven."

The second incident happened about 130 years later when the people of Israel came to the prophet Samuel and demanded a king. Paine writes, "But the thing displeased Samuel when they said, give us a king to judge us; and Samuel prayed unto the Lord, and the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken unto the voice of the people in all that they say unto thee, for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me, THEN I SHOULD NOT REIGN OVER THEM....Now therefore hearken unto their voice, howbeit, protest solemnly unto them and show them the manner of the king that shall reign over them."

This demonstrates the mindset of many of our founding fathers and their views toward limited government, and how they would cringe at the thought of adding another layer of government. By the way, you can read my Diigo annotated web page of Thomas Paine's Common Sense by clicking on this link: Diigo Common Sense.

The second intersection with religion relates to biblical prophecy and the creation of a world government. (Note: Rischard does not say that he is in favor of a world government. However, in order to create these GIN panel of experts, one would have to create a bureaucracy that would support these panels, including some kind of enforcement mechanism.) Many Christians believe that towards the end of time as we know it, a world leader will emerge (referred to as the antichrist) and create havoc on the earth. For at least one viewpoint on this issue, you can read the following article: Bible Prophesy and World Government.

These are just two of the ways that this issue can be looked at from a religious perspective. This is certainly not a comprehensive look at the subject.

What Does Global Awareness and Cooperation Look Like?

Here are some questions asked by one educator after viewing my rants against the global citizen first movement. "How can we support teachers in making the connections for these [global] collaborations? How can we look at our curriculum and determine where these types of collaborative conversations fit well and support the learning taking place in our schools?" These are good questions, and I will try to give you a concrete example of how to get a handle on some of these global issues and support our teachers.

Another of Rischard's 20 global crises is deforestation particularly the destruction of tropical rain forests. How do we stop a country like Costa Rica from destroying its tropical rain forests? These forests are important for many reasons including the number of medicinal drugs that come from plants in these rain forests.
Check out this site: Welcome to the Rain Forest.

There is a technology integrated lesson plan that comes from EasyTech (adopted Technology Applications TEKS curriculum in the El Paso Independent School District) called Bake Sale Spreadsheet. One of the introductory activities to this math lesson plan is to read a chapter from the book It's Our World Too! by Phillip Hoose entitled "Founders of the Children's Rain Forest," pp. 83-93. It tells the story of how "forty first and second grade students from a small school in Sweden became upset when their teacher told them that rain forests were being destroyed rapidly throughout the world. They wondered what they -- so young, so few, and so far away from the tropics -- could do that could really matter. Their answer has helped to preserve rain forests around the world." What the children decided to do was raise money to buy rain forest land in Costa Rica to preserve these forests. You can check out their story here: Dream the Forest Wild.

From this introductory activity, the lesson plan calls for students to create a bake sale spreadsheet to calculate how much money they could raise. Of course, the extension for this lesson suggests that students actually do a project to raise money for saving the rain forests or some other worthy cause. Here is a handle to help our students to develop global awareness and support our teachers in this effort. Notice that we are using the tools of technology to help our students achieve these academic goals. Also notice that a GIN panel of global experts was not needed to come up with a solution  to the crisis or to pressure these students to act. What we need are globally aware citizens of sovereign states to step up to the plate. It is our responsibility as educators to help our students become globally aware, NOT to indoctrinate them in the political mindset to become Global Citizens First!

Not All Experts are Created Equal

I want to deal with another issue as to why I am so diametrically opposed to the ISTE leadership position on being a Global citizen first and Rischard's proposal to create Global Issue Networks to dictate solutions to the issues that threaten the world. Rischard lists economic collapse as one of his top 20 crises. Now I agree that the economies of the world are linked together. However, we are not all equal in the impact that we have on the world economy. We in the United States have no business telling Greece how to solve their economic crisis. We do need to solve our own problems which would greatly help the world economy. How do we do that? The answers are not difficult to find. The problem is the will to do something about it. For example, deep down everyone knows that the one key step we have to take to solve our economic crisis is to stop spending more than we take in. That seems simple. I have to do that everyday in my family budget. What makes it so difficult on a national scale? The national scale is complicated by the power that is generated by money. How else can you explain the millions/billions of dollars spent on such projects as researching pig odor in Iowa, tattoo removal for gang members in Los Angeles; Polynesian canoe rides in Hawaii; termite research in New Orleans; and the study of grape genetics in New York. Now all these problems may be major issues for the people in these states, but why do I, a Texan, have to pay for it? If they are really critical issues, then let those states take care of it. It is certainly not a federal issue. However, these politicians can garner votes by passing bills that spend this kind of money. So there you go. The solution to the problem is obvious, but we don't have the political will or the character to make the right decisions.

The present administration continues to make excuses about what a bad situation they inherited when they entered office. Certainly, there were problems, but these problems then and now are no where near as severe as during the Carter administration. It seems that people have forgotten that time. I remember waiting in long lines at the gas station and wondering if I would have enough gas to get to work. Inflation was at 13.5%. I was afraid to look at what prices had shot up to each time I went to the grocery store. Unemployment was over 7% and interest rates were at 21%. Try to sell a house under those conditions. I was stuck with two house payments for several years.

When Reagan came into office, he cut taxes and unleashed the power of free enterprise. Surprisingly to some, federal revenue increased dramatically, and all these economic indicators began to decline. In contrast the present administration has decided to pour trillions of dollars into the economy (Keynesian economics) raising the national debt to levels never imagined before. I can't even remember hearing the word "trillions" being used to describe government spending until just recently. Now it seems common place. Even though we have burned through over a trillion dollars without effect, the only solution offered by the so called economic "experts" that the current administration is relying on is to spend more money. Will the madness ever stop?

Solutions reached by the so called "experts" will not fit every nation and would probably be counter productive to economic growth in our country. Each country needs to face up to its own responsibilities and resolve its unique problems.

In conclusion, global cooperation is desirable. Global interference and enforcement is not. The United States can set the example by balancing the federal budget, reducing deficits, and creating a sound fiscal policy. The solution is easy, but I don't see Democratic or Republican politicians who are willing to take a stand and do what is necessary to correct the problem. Every now and then you will find a politician like Chris Christie in New Jersey who will have the courage to say and do what is necessary. (Keep your eye on what happens in that state.) However, such politicians are few and far between.