Moodle Lunch: Assignment Drop Box

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EducationalMedia Development

• Moodle Lunch Assignment Drop Box

Wednesday, March 19, 2008
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A g e n d a

• Welcome and introductions
• Background and context
• Moodle
• EMD learning design services
• Designing online assignments
• Demonstration
• Conversation
• Evaluation

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M o o d l e

• Open source LMS adopted 2006
• Up-to-date details at http//intra.athabascau.ca/s
  ystems/moodle/overview.php
• Workflow, project timeline and conversions 14
  undergraduate, 53 graduate so far
• Now targeting new developments (including 1234),
  large-enrolment courses and interested faculty,
  other potentials

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W h y A s s i g n m e n t D r o p B o x ?

• Necessary part of learning process
• Evidence that it causes difficulties in design,
  development and delivery
• Multiple features
• Not initially well understood

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D e s i g n i n g O n l i n e A s s i g n m e n
t s

• Online Learning
• Moodle design and development was based on
  current learning theories, especially social and
  constructivist
• Learn more at http//docs.moodle.org/en/Philosophy

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D e s i g n i n g O n l i n e A s s i g n m e n
t s

• This means benefits for learners through
  optimizing the learning environment
• Less of using text to transmit knowledge
• More active learning opportunities for AU students

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D e s i g n i n g O n l i n e A s s i g n m e n
t s

• Assignment design for online learning
• Assignments can be different for the Moodle
  environment
• Assignments often differ by discipline

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D e s i g n i n g O n l i n e A s s i g n m e n
t s

• Some General Principles
• Start thinking about assignments early in the
  course-writing process
• Establish clear objectives and context
• Ensure alignment between objectives and
  assignments
• E.g., activities for credit that support
  objectives reading, observation, reporting,
  discussion, practice, analysis, synthesis,
  memorization

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Designing Online Assignments

• Establish value to learner
• Start with learners experiences
• Use an interdisciplinary approach with rich media
  
• Distribute opportunities to practice throughout
  the course
• Provide clear rubrics for students and tutors
• Build in learner support

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D e s i g n i n g O n l i n e A s s i g n m e n
t s

• Plagiarism
• Does more interaction between learners mean more
  plagiarism?
• Design assignments that support responsible
  learning.
• Relevance and specificity are two keys to
  combating plagiarism.

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D e s i g n i n g O n l i n e A s s i g n m e n
t s

• Make the assignment relevant to the students own
  experience and motivations, e.g., research
  leading to interview of coworkers or family
  members.
• A specific comparison or analysis that is not
  likely to be already done by others, e.g., a
  common theme in two authors, comparison of an
  element in a specific book and movie.

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Designing Online Assignments

• Resources
• www.merlot.org
• serc.carleton.edu/sp/index.html

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EducationalMedia Development

• u s i n g t h eA s s i g n m e n t D r o p B
  o x

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A s s i g n m e n t D r o p B o x

• Moodle at AU offers four types of assignment drop
  box
• AU Assignment Type
• Offline Activity
• Online Text (not recommended)
• Upload a Single File
• Each assignment requires its own drop box.

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A s s i g n m e n t D r o p B o x

• AU Assignment Type
• The AU assignment type is the most versatile and
  most used drop box.
• It allows each student to upload one or several
  files of any kind.
• It also allows tutors to upload multiple response
  files of any kind.

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A s s i g n m e n t D r o p B o x

• Note the assignment settings at the bottom of the
  figure.

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A s s i g n m e n t D r o p B o x
Appropriate grade weight is chosen
Dates are not relevant for an un-paced course.
IMAs will work with course coordinators to
arrange group settings according to their needs.
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A s s i g n m e n t D r o p B o x

• These setting options must also be considered

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A s s i g n m e n t D r o p B o x

• Coordinators can choose the maximum file size to
  be uploaded (larger if students are submitting
  PowerPoint or video files).
• Students can be allowed to delete files they have
  not submitted yet.
• The maximum number of files to be uploaded per
  assignment is set to fit the requirementsdefault
  is three.

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A s s i g n m e n t D r o p B o x

• If Notes are enabled, students can include a
  note to the tutor with the assignment.
• Moodle can create a file name automatically, or
  the student can be allowed to name her own file.
• You can choose to have email alerts sent to
  tutors when an assignment is submitted, or not.

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A s s i g n m e n t D r o p B o x

• This is how it looks to the student.

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A s s i g n m e n t D r o p B o x
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A s s i g n m e n t D r o p B o x
The student clicks on the Browse button and is
taken to the files saved on his or her own
computer. S/he chooses the file to upload.
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A s s i g n m e n t D r o p B o x
File is renamed in the format student id,
assignment name, document name.
Click to delete.
Student has added a note by clicking on the
Edit button and composing a message.
Submission must be manually finalized by the
student.
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A s s i g n m e n t D r o p B o x

• The submitted assignment with a date and time
  stamp is stored on the Moodle server, which is
  backed up daily.
• Both student and tutor can review the current
  status of the assignment at any time.

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A s s i g n m e n t D r o p B o x

• This is what the student sees on the course page
  once the assignment is in

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A s s i g n m e n t D r o p B o x

• This is what the tutor sees

Tutor clicks here.
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A s s i g n m e n t D r o p B o x

• This is what you see when you click on 1 new
  submissions

Tutor clicks here.
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A s s i g n m e n t D r o p B o x
This is what you see when you click on
Submitted. Here you can download the students
file, grade it, and return it as a response file.
There is also a text area to send the student a
message.
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A s s i g n m e n t D r o p B o x

• Offline Activity
• The offline assignment type does not require any
  special settings, and all assignment types have
  the same basic grading setup.
• To assign a grade to an offline activity, click
  on the link to it on the course page.

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A s s i g n m e n t D r o p B o x

• This is what you will see

You can also use the Assignments bread crumbs
to get to the grading area.
Click here to go to where you can enter the grade.
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A s s i g n m e n t D r o p B o x

• Online Text
• The online text assignment offers a text area for
  students to enter their work.
• It has fewer and different settings options than
  the AU type.
• This type is useful for online journal
  assignments.

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A s s i g n m e n t D r o p B o x
The Comment inline option is unique to this
assignment type. It creates a copy of the
students submission in the text area to which
the tutor can add comments.
If resubmitting is allowed, the studenttutor
collaboration on a document can continue
indefinitely.
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A s s i g n m e n t D r o p B o x

• Upload a Single File
• The upload-a-single-file assignment type is
  useful for take-home exams or any other situation
  where only one file is uploaded.

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A s s i g n m e n t D r o p B o x
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A s s i g n m e n t D r o p B o x

• Questions?
• If you are a course coordinator, course author,
  or course tutor, and you have questions about
  setting up and using the Assignment drop box,
  contact the instructional designer (IMA) for your
  centre.

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R e f e r e n c e s

• Rice, W.H. IV (2007). Moodle teaching techniques.
  Creative ways to use Moodle for constructing
  online learning solutions. Birmingham Packt
  Publishing.