Educational IT: The College Level

Moodle vs. Blackboard

What is Moodle? What is Blackboard? Coming to college I had heard of neither, but had both at my disposal. Moodle is a software package for producing Internet-based courses and web sites. It is a global development project designed to support a social constructionist framework of education (Moodle). Blackboard is also a software package in particular a learning management system founded in 1997 (Wikipedia). Blackboard may be older than Moodle, but that does not mean it has fell asleep at the wheel. Blackboard has made many strides to stay up to date with modern technology and made it easier for students to get access to schoolwork, grades and collaborative assignments.

Educational IT at the college level has been growing and improving on a yearly basis.

Some colleges use Blackboard and other universities such as the one I attend, University of North Carolina at Charlotte are moving towards a more functional and student friendly programs like Moodle. My freshman year at UNCC we were in the transition from Blackboard to Moodle and have been using it since.

Moodle offers an easy an ideal way to post grades, forums, notes etc. Teachers are more in touch with students needs and students are more connected to their professors. Moodle was recently voted best Course Management System in Top 100 Tools for Learning in 2012 according to Centre for Learning and Performance Technologies (C4LPT). There are nearly 12 thousand registered sites in the United States alone, with over 62 million users worldwide (Moodle.Stats).  Moodle offers a secure login (https) which enables the software to be able to present grades from teachers to students without having to worry about other students seeing the grades of others and compromising privacy laws. Many students are very familiar with the benefits and working operation of Moodle, because we have been using the software for years, but if we were incoming freshman and we had to choose which software we would prefer to use it would be best to know what all Blackboard had to offer as well.

Blackboard offers many platforms for multiple Markets such as:

• ·      K-12, Higher Education
• ·      Career Colleges
• ·      Corporations
• ·      Associations
• ·      Government, Military

Blackboard Learn for Career Colleges creates a rich, active learning environment, which increases student engagement and content retention for better learning. Learn program offers access from virtually anywhere at anytime. The accessibility of discussion boards, wikis, blogs, journals, and group workspaces enables social learning and interaction with peers and professors (Blackboard Learn).

For professors Blackboard Learn 9.1 offers a new way to stay in touch with students and keep up with their rising needs of posting grades, online assessments, interactive rubrics, active collaboration, and student activity reporting to see which students could use a helping hand in some topics. The platform also lets the professor see where they can put more time and energy in class information. The semester is only so long and Blackboard helps keep everyone on track and up to date on assignments due and topics to be covered (Blackboard).

In the end both programs are great and contribute a lot to the universities that use them.
To me choosing between them comes down to preference, Moodle is ideal for me and most seniors at UNCC because we have used it for years now, but that does not mean Blackboard could not take its place in years to come. The university will choose the software which best fits the needs of students and staff.

References:

https://moodle.org/stats/ (Moodle.Stats)

http://docs.moodle.org/23/en/About_Moodle (Moodle)

http://www.blackboard.com/Platforms/Learn/Products/Blackboard-Learn.aspx (Blackboard)

http://www.blackboard.com/Platforms/Learn/Products/Blackboard-Learn/Teaching-and-Learning.aspx (Blackboard Learn)

Homeschooling and the Involvement of Technology

Technology is everywhere and anywhere, even the unexpected know how to use some sort of technological device, even kindergarteners know how to use advanced technology. Homeschooling and technology haven’t gone hand and hand until now. It’s no surprise that there are so many homeschooled children with a high capacity of the use of technology and for that reason homeschooling has become a more viable choice for many families due to the extensive range of the curriculum that can be found online.

There is nothing wrong with public schools, but in the eyes of some parents public schooling doesn’t offer the best learning experience for their children. Many parents believe that homeschooling their child allows to create a better learning environment than the traditional classroom. Even though public schools are advancing in the use of technological teaching devices there is a ratio of four students to one computer. Public schools are beginning to use whiteboards, the availability and access to computer labs are starting to increase and now some schools are even offering online subscriptions to resources and databases (Jones).

With the national average of students with access to computers of four to one machine, homeschooled students have an all day access to computers. Homeschooled children have an easier access to technology, which gives them a certain advantage. With this advantage, technology is an easy way for them to keep their children learning at home with the access to so many programs that create a different independent learning experience. There are even programs that can help with students that have a difficulty with learning, for instance Apple’s program that allows dyslexic kids learn by reading them long sentences (Jones).

With the advantage that homeschooled students have over others is the constant access to technology that allows the students to be able to teach themselves through the one-to-one programs that are offered through the net (Urrea). With these programs students have to have at least a basic knowledge of how to use a computer (ex. using a mouse, scrolling, downloading) (Jones). These programs allow the home scholars to alleviate the lack of training that some parents might have in teaching (Urrea).

Home scholars are able to find new ways of learning as well, for example they are able to use the webcam to communicate with other student around the country to discuss issues, many assignments can be accomplished with help of other students online and being able to learn a foreign language through online sources. There are about two million students that take part of the homeschooling environment and according to recent polls, about 64% of homeschoolers say that have used or are using some sort of technology in their daily studies. Out of that percentage about 87% say that there will be an increase in the use of technology by homeschoolers in the future (Jones).

If homeschooling your children is something that you are considering and you feel that your children will get a more of a learning experience if they are taught at home know that there more than enough technology to help with the leaning process. Children these days are exposed to so much technology that teaching with technology can be a more efficient way to teach them.

References:

 Jones, Kerry. "Homeschoolers May Be Ahead of The Technological Curve." About.com Homeschooling. N.p.. Web. 16 Oct 2012. <http://homeschooling.about.com/od/computersinternet/a/technology.htm>.

Urrea, Claudia. "Technologies for Learning vs. Learning about Technology." Educational Technology Debate. N.p.. Web. 16 Oct 2012. <https://edutechdebate.org/ict-in-schools/technologies-for-learning-vs-learning-about-technology/>.

Educational IT: Toddler & Pre-school

Education is one of the most important aspects of life that we begin to learn at a very early age. Some may not realize that most education actually starts in the earliest years of a child’s life. In this blog, we will be discussing toddler and pre-school Educational I.T. that allows children to begin a lifetime of learning. 

Most toddler and preschool educational I.T.’s are created through games online that are very hands on and exciting for the children. This allows the child to learn without even realizing that they are learning. Some programs use interactive characters that help the child to learn the objective, and to better understand simple concepts. These online educational I.T.’s have created a fun learning environment that makes the children stay interested in what they are doing. 

With the use of educational I.T. programs, children begin learning online at home, and get a head start on the things they would typically learn in kindergarten. Studies have shown that the younger you are, the easier it is for you to grasp new things, and retain that knowledge. This is one reason why education is pushed for at such a young age, and educational I.T.’s help to establish this knowledge.   

There are various educational I.T. that are used to help toddlers and pre-school children to begin the learning process. Some of the most common are Leapfrog and Jumpstart. Leapfrog is an Educational I.T. that teaches the very basics of education. Pre-school children can learn simple words, math skills, and spelling through Leapfrog. The devices are meant to make learning fun and also show the child’s progression.  Toddlers also use leapfrog to learn colors, respond to open ended questions, and pick out words and pictures in books. Since Leapfrog makes learning fun with various games, the children don’t even realize that they are learning valuable lessons that they will carry with them forever. 

Jumpstart is another educational I.T. that toddlers and pre-school children enjoy to play, but it also stimulates learning. Jumpstart uses online games that teach toddlers their ABC’s and other basic tools. By using Disney and DreamWorks Animation, Jumpstart has created an exciting way of interacting with the child’s favorite cartoon characters. They have made the games very accessible by using apps that can be downloaded on handheld gaming devices, and also on iPhone and Android devices. Jumpstart has also created a program called “Math Blaster”, which has been used in schools over the country, as well as online. The pre-school Math Blaster uses games such as, “connect the dots”, “what’s my phone number”, and “friend’s numbers” to make learning math more realistic. 

There are many other online educational I.T.’s that help toddlers and pre-school children learn through an exciting environment. Sesame Street, Nick Jr., and Fisher-Price are some of the smaller online education I.T.’s, but they are just as useful as Jumpstart and Leapfrog. The main difference between the smaller education I.T.’s and the most common ones are the ability to only access the smaller ones online and not use other devices. 

Educational I.T. has changed the way education used to be taught, and has seemed to make learning more fun and exciting for all involved. Toddlers and pre-school children are becoming more adapt to online learning, and are getting ahead of the game! 

Chelsea Brown