Artifact 4- Creating My Own Moodle Site

For this website we had to use Moodle to effectively communicate information in the discipline of Distance Education. I had to use a variety of media to demonstrate how to use the application of “Google Drives” and the smaller applications within the Drive. I learned how to use screen capture technology to communicate the information in a way that would help those who have trouble reading step-by-step instructions (5.7). I also included the step-by-step instructions in a downloadable format that allowed the learner to access the information while they were working on their assignments.

I had to consider many different ways of communicating the information before adding them to my website (6.3). The recommendations came to me from multiple sources, some who had successfully completed the course and others that were taking it with me. The appropriate technology for organization purposes needed to be easy to use and free. The cost of many programs like this range from Free trials that only last 7 days to $60 for a year subscription. With a very tight budget the cost was a large determining factor in my choice of programs to use (6.4).

The first one that was recommended to me was to use “Quicktime Player”, I knew this was installed on my work computer. Unfortunately, I was on maternity leave and did not have access to this free application. I tried to install it on my tablet and was unsuccessful after many attempts. The second application that was recommended to me was Open Broadcaster (OBS). I was able to download it fairly easily and I found some great video tutorials, on YouTube, that allowed me to successfully screen capture the instructions I wanted to use in my Moodle course (3.2).

Recommendations

At the school level QuickTime would be the one to choose as it is already downloaded onto the student laptops and the board of education already has licensing agreements to have the program on multiple devices. To use OBS the school would have to get the software approved by the board before it could be downloaded, and then all the computers would need to have their own program which could mean individual licensing for all computers (3.4).

If I were to recommend one of the above software’s for my students to use, I would now choose to use OBS player. It was faster and more efficient and was easily saved in a format that could be added to movie maker softwares such as iMovie. Having used both now through multiple courses I feel that the easiest software for teaching and learning purposes is OBS. (6.3)

Before this course I was ignorant to the applications installed on the student computers that would allow them to create their own instructional videos in order to better explain their thought processes when working on an assignment (5.3). Being more aware of these application would have allowed them to better reflect on their learning because they would be able to revisit their steps through video.  Now I am asking for the applications to be added to their devices in hopes that I will be able to help them with their reflective learning processes (6.1). 

By analyzing the current need for video and written instructions, in distance education, my project has better prepared me to formulate strategies to respond to the diverse needs of learners in my courses (1.7). For example, students who are hard of hearing would require written instructions, those who may have sight deficiencies would benefit from instructions they can hear.  Having practice with making screen capture videos has influenced my teaching with in both distance and Face-to-face classrooms. Since returning from leave I have experimented with iMovie and the screen capture functions it allows for. I found that it was comparable to Windows Movie Maker, however, it allowed for a slightly easier time with editing the final video as it was automatically added to a new project within the application. I will be better able to support my students who are away on extended leaves by posting screen captures of the lessons we cover on the smart boards. These videos will allow them to continue learning along with their classmates and not feel lost or confused when they return from their leave (6.1)