Learning Spiral

Welcome to the Thinking Centered Classrooms at Learning Spiral.

"There is, I think, no point in the philosophy of progressive education which is sounder than its emphasis upon the importance of participation of the learner in the formation of the purposes which direct his activities in the learning process, just as there is no defect in traditional education greater than its failure to secure the active cooperation of the pupil in construction of the purposes involved in his studying" (67). -John Dewey Experience and Education

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I have finished the first of what I expect will be a series of online tutorials designed to show interested viewers how to use Moodle. I plan on providing many more videos in the future as the technology is tweaked. Please enjoy the first. The end is cut off a bit, but the most important information remains intact. Don't forget to turn your speakers on--yeah that is my wonderful voice. Thanks! Check out more videos in the Moodle Online Video group I have created.

What could be better than having time over the summer to read a great book?

How about reading a great book while getting to know the people you work with and also learning about a neat new technology that you may want to add to your classroom bag-o-tricks?

What neat new technology you ask? Well, have you ever wondered what a blog, wiki, or forum does? Have you wanted to know more about this web 2.0 stuff? This summer I hope to play around with these technologies, and see what I might do with them in the classroom this fall. If you are interested, why not get your feet wet, and join the reading group? You can go on vacation or be on the move and it does not matter. As long as you have internet access and time somewhere in a 24 hour day you can participate as we will be meeting mostly online using forums and anything else that comes to mind.

Bob Scaramella and I have decided on the book: Lay of the Land by Richard Ford. I have asked Bob to give this reading group online a try and I hope you will join us.

If you are interested, please sign up by following this link. Make sure you sign up with an email to which you will have regular access since it will be used to keep you updated regarding new forum posts you subscribe to.

Once you are registered and logged in join the Reading Group under the Category "Faculty Activities".

Any problems, let me know and I will answer your questions. I can also set you up with a username and password if you aren't sure what to do.

I believe that there are many possibilities open with the use of Moodle in our classrooms. The following are some ideas I would like to see develop using Moodle as a learning management tool:

Teaching lessons that are relevant to how students gather information and learn outside of the classroom. Students use forums, blogs, and webpages everyday to gather information about things that interest them. Want to play around with tools that can bring these same methods to your classroom?
Management of classroom information that is much more robust than TeacherWeb
Co-teaching Interdisciplinary classes like Humanities.
Resources room access, allowing students multiple ways to access and reinforce information.
Writing Center
Study Skills Center
Alumni Center
Senior Project Portal
Community video, podcasts, etc.
Ease ESL students transition with language packs that translate course content.
Video tutorials on how to use technology in the school.
Clubs and Organization each having their own space to post information, but interconnected through the same system.
Integration to distribute work for programs such as ISS and Home Bound Tutoring

All of this behind a password protected portal, and best of all, Moodle is open source, so the software is free. We can't say the same for TeacherWeb.

If you are also interested in these possibilities, please help me make them a reality.
Also, please reply to this post and let me know what you would like to see with this technology.
Only through experimenting with the technology will we actually be able to see what we can do with it! Sign up and lets start working together!

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