Moodle Now Available on Campus
Roberta Lembke, Director

This summer, IIT rolled out our new course management system called Moodle. A course management system can be defined as a software application used for learning and teaching that organizes course materials, facilitates class discussions, assists with testing and grading, and provides a flexible way to present various types and modes of course materials. A course management system both assists the faculty member in organizing the course in a way that is flexible to fit a variety of student learning styles and needs.

The IIT staff researched a number of course management systems that would give us the core features most commonly used in WebCT, while at the same time we looked for a user front end that was a little more friendly. Features or modules that we felt were critical included discussion forums, assignment drop boxes, chat, calendar, on-line quizzing and grading, etc. We also looked very closely at the on-line help features, authentication and security issues. While cost was considered, it wasn’t considered a tie-breaking element. We also consulted with some of our peers to see what others are using and how satisfied they were with their selection. In the end, Moodle came out on top.

Moodle is an open source software package developed as part of a PhD project and is now used in institutions throughout the world. One very positive aspect of Moodle is that, because it is open source, a variety of programmers, faculty, and students have contributed to the development of new modules and features and continue to participate in on-line discussions about how to effectively use the software, what features should be developed, or just about teaching with Moodle in general (see moodle.org). On the downside, however, there isn’t a commercial support line that we can call when problems arise. With users and developers across the world we decided that this negative aspect was something we could deal with.

Late in August, 32 faculty members from 19 different academic departments attended a 6-hour seminar on Moodle presented by IIT staff and sponsored by CILA. There were two hours of lecture and learning and 4 hours of actual course development time. Overall, the seminar was a success and many of the faculty left the session with a good start on their courses. We are currently working on a technical issue regarding foreign language character input and unfortunately do not expect that this problem will be resolved until later in the semester.

To make things easier for faculty we have set up a course space for every course offered. Every night we query the registration database so that students are automatically added to the courses they are signed up for. Like your course space on the Netware servers you need to submit a request to root to get added to your course alias before you will be added as the instructor for your course.

You can learn more about the features of Moodle by reading through the Teachers Manual on the St. Olaf Moodle site (moodle.stolaf.edu). We found the on-line help features and the overall documentation for Moodle to be some of the best we have seen. After doing some initial research if you think you want help getting started contact your IIT staff representative to arrange a tutorial.

Classroom Technologies Update

Are you aware that St. Olaf has its own real-time chat server, that you can use a threaded discussion board in your classes, or that server space is created automatically for every class on campus for use in sharing and collecting documents?

New and not-so-new faculty may be surprised at the different tools and technologies that IIT provides for instructional use in and out of the classroom. Some of these services have been around for years; some are new this fall. For a complete overview of the various tools available to you for teaching, check out the Instructional Technologies document on the IIT web site.

New Technology Lab and Video Recording Studio in Rolvaag Library

Over the summer, IIT staff installed a new technology lab in the Library. While the initial focus was to create a computing space for students to use when the Library assumed the role as the late night study spot (Holland Hall formerly served as the after-hours study location), the lab evolved into a general purpose lab that could also serve as a centralized spot for multimedia-based applications (video editing, scanning, etc.). This new lab, located in RML 330 (the area housing the microfiche readers), is set up with both Macs and PCs for general use, two scanning stations (one Mac-based, one-PC based), 5 viewing stations accommodating both DVDs and VHS tapes, as well as two fully-equipped video editing stations (iMacs with iMovie, Final Cut Express, mini DV and VHS decks, and analog-to-digital converters). This lab should be especially helpful to students required to create short videos for course multimedia or web portfolios.

Also new this year will be the addition of a video taping room in Rolvaag Library 349A. This new facility is slated for completion by the middle of September and is geared towards those students who need to submit a short video clip of themselves for their management studies or education program or perhaps for submission to their language instructor. The camera and associated equipment will be permanently installed in the room and will be set up so that one person can operate the equipment, as well as tape themselves! With just a single power button the equipment will turn on and will be ready to begin recording. This facility will be accessible only through a key that will be checked out through the Library front desk.

Information and Instructional Technologies • St. Olaf College

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