Links and Kinks to Effective Moodle

Training for Faculty at DLS-CSB: A 3-in-1

Story Dela Cruz Jr., Rogelio B.Rodriguez, Marissa A. Salazar, Anthony, C.

Goals

• Provide a background of e-learning in the Philippines

• Introduce DLS-CSB as an academic institution

• Present the highlights of DLS-CSB’s journey towards e-learning

• Generate insights about the challenges of e-learning implementation

ICT in the Philippines

• Low budget for education • PeLS (Philippine e-Learning Society)

established in 2001• Driven by private institutions

ICT in the Philippines

• 35 million urban population in 2007– 9.8 million Internet users

• 6.9 users aged 10-29 years

Source: AC Nielsen Media Philippines

Social Networking Data from comScore World Metrix 2010

About DLS-CSB

• Established in 1988 • Private college in Manila, Philippines• One of 17 schools under De La Salle

Philippines (DLSP)

About DLS-CSB

• With six (6) schools– School of Deaf Education and Applied Studies (SDEAS)– School of Design and Arts (SDA)– School of Hotel, Restaurant and Institution Management

(SHRIM)– School of Management and Information and Technology

(SMIT)– School of Multidisciplinary Studies (SMS)– School of Professional and Continuing Education (SPACE)

About DLS-CSB

• Three (3) terms in one school year, 14 weeks per term

• With 800-900 faculty members, including teaching and non-teaching– 80% are part-time teachers

• Student population close to 11,000

In the beginning…

• WebCT subscription between 2002 and 2004– Training sessions– Low utilization (2 teaching faculty)

• Open source exploration in mid-2004– Three (3) Moodle explorers, teaching faculty– One (1) academic service faculty

Now…

Our Moodle journey was lengthy and challenging…

Challenges

• Institutional priorities• Training manpower• Faculty resistance

SY 2005-2007 SY 2007-2010

What made the

BIG difference?

Feedback

• Average perceived effectiveness– Training objectives– Facilitator/Trainer– Topics/Content– Logistics/Venue

• Interpretation scale– E (4.50-5.00), VG (3.50-4.49), G (2.50-3.49), F

(1.50-2.49) and P (1.00-1.49)

Favorable training feedback, LOW

outcomes

Favorable training

feedback, HIGH

outcomes

Review of…

• Training process• Faculty support

Training process

Criteria Low Outcomes High Outcomes

Duration 6 hours 6 hours

Participant selection Open registration Departmental

Content Broad topics, with hands-on exercises

Moodle-specific, with hands-on exercises

Delivery Teacher-led, mix of face-to-face and online sessions

Facilitator-guided, face-to-face

Trainee’s role Student Student and teacher

Output Reflection paper, forum posts

Online courseware (simple & ready-to-use)

Faculty support

Criteria Low Outcomes High outcomes

Follow through Individual consultation Individual consultation and “small” communities of practice

Communication Help desk Help desk, mobile and online support

Institutional support Recognition Recognition and reward (promotion) for effort

But wait…

New challenges

• Due to increased utilization of the LMS– Bandwidth traffic– Application server issues

Who will help us address these challenges?

Review of…

IT support and services

Criteria Low Outcomes High Outcomes

SY 2005-07 SY 2007-08 SY 2008-09 SY 2009-10

Server One server for both application & database

Upgrade of memory and CPU

One more server for database

No changes

Network 2 Gbps Ethernet backbone

No changes No changes Network backbone upgrade to 10 Gbps

Internet connection

4 Mbps bandwidth

No changes 25Mbps with bandwidth shaping

35 Mbps

STOP

There’s only one story…OUR story.

The DLS-CSB E-Learning Story

Systems Thinking Framework“… an integrated whole whose properties cannot be reduced to those of its smaller parts. All the essential properties of a living system depend on the

relationships among its components.”

Fritjof CapraPhysicist, Author of The Tao of Physics and The Web of Life, Cofounder and Chair of the Center for Ecoliteracy

“Relationships”

Culture of “Relationships”

• Social constructionist philosophy• Departmental approach to participant

selection• Integrated response to the challenges

of e-learning

Synthesis

Questions, Comments and Insights

Salamat.Thank you.

Rogelio: delacruzr@dls-csb.edu.phMarissa: rodriguezm@dls-csb.edu.phAnthony: salazara@dls-csb.edu.ph