1. Moodling in Ontario: A Professional Learning Approach Anita Drossis Nathalie Rudner ABEL Professional Learning Lead ABEL School Lead Science and Math Teacher Assistant Head of Science Vaughan Secondary School Thornhill Secondary School YRDSB YRDSB

2. ABEL and Moodle Professional Learning Community ABEL Partners York Region District School Board

3. What is ABEL? Advanced Broadband Enabled Learning Founded in 2002 Led and funded by York University (Toronto) and the York Region District School Board (YRDSB) Provides educators with innovative approaches to teaching and learning based on research Provides a Professional Learning Program in the quest to integrate technology in the classroom

4. ABEL Values “The ABEL program values INNOVATION, advancing new ways of learning that impact student achievement; COLLABORATION, connecting people effectively and efficiently through networks and partnerships, where they share their knowledge and expertise; TRANSFORMATION, creating values and opportunities for people and organizations.”

5. ABEL’s 5 Core Activities 1. Delivering professional learning 2. Providing access to learning tools and services 3. Providing access to learning resources 4. Building effective and beneficial partnerships 5. Driving innovation through research

6. ABEL Website and Members Portal Online Professional Learning Community for members at www.abelearn.cawww.abelearn.ca In the ABEL community, members can:  Access resources for ABEL tools  Register for professional learning  Request access to tools

7. ABEL Moodle Data ABEL Moodle courses as of March 2009: 329  Professional Learning: 32  Durham District School Board: 4  Simcoe County District School Board: 30  Toronto District School Board: 147  York Region District School Board: 116 ABEL Moodle users as of Feb 2009: 5822 ABEL Moodle teachers as of Feb 2009: 303

8. Implementation of Moodle has been facilitated through the ABEL Professional Learning Program

9. ABEL Professional Learning Program Offers a variety of professional learning opportunities through:  Training days at York U  Job-embedded professional learning  ABEL Summer Institute  Digital Literacy Leadership Seminar  ABEL streaming

10. Training Days at York U Half day training sessions for Moodle Hands-on Moodle workshops Release time is provided to YRDSB teachers Easy registration through ABEL portal or YRDSB Connect2Learn

11. Job-embedded Professional Learning Occurs in the schools ABEL staff and ABEL school teams work on Moodle with teachers at the schools “Moodle Month” initiative focused on provided training for several schools in two districts

12. ABEL Summer Institute (ASI) Annual conference hosted by ABEL  http://asi.abelearn.ca/ http://asi.abelearn.ca/ Moodle Highlights include:  Presentations on using Moodle in the classroom  ½ day Moodle Hands-on Workshop  Modeling Moodle using ASI Moodle

13. ASI Moodle used during conference

14. Digital Literacy Leadership Seminar Moodle is used as platform for DLLS Participants are teachers and leaders in their school Structured as a series of 5 Moodle modules linked together with a Meta course of resources for the modules Offered throughout the year

15. ABEL Streaming ABEL Webcasts are used to share best practices among the ABEL community Two separate Moodle webcasts were produced this year  Moodle in the Classroom: Designing your Course Homepage  Moodle in the Classroom: Assessment for Learning Link to Moodle Webcast

16. ABEL provides easy access to Moodle and supporting resources through: Tools request page for ABEL members Access to the ABEL training Moodle ABEL Moodle Pages Technical support through ABELhelp@yorkU

17. Tools Page for ABEL Members The tools page in the ABEL community provides a direct link to request access to Moodle and to elevate to course creator status ABEL receives ~ 20 requests per month. September is the busiest!

18. The ABEL Training Moodle The ABEL Training Moodle allows teachers to experience the different Moodle tools

19. Different tools modeled in the training Moodle

20. ABEL Moodle Pages A step by step instruction guide on how to create a Moodle For teachers, by teachers

21. ABELhelp@yorkU Help desk staffed by York University IT personnel and a computer resource teacher from YRDSB Approximately 110 emails per month for Moodle support Peak times for support are the beginning of the school year and February (start of second semester)

22. YRDSB and Moodle Professional Learning Community ABEL Partners York Region District School Board

23. York Region District School Board YRDSB has a long history of innovation and expertise in information technology and curriculum. The district's mission is to inspire and prepare learners for life in our changing world community. YRDSB and ABEL work together closely to help teacher effectively integrate technology in the classroom

24. YRDSB Moodle Data Piloted in 2006-2007 school year (mostly elementary) Launched November 2007 As of February 2009:  34 000 + moodle user accounts (27 000 in use since Jan. 1 st )  ~3200 individuals with course creator status  3200+ courses ~1900 secondary level ~1200 elementary ~ 100 other (Leadership, curriculum, etc.)

25. YRDSB provides easy access to Moodle and supporting resources by: Providing all teachers and students with Moodle accounts in order to support student learning and student achievement  Teachers  seamless with Board email  Students  uses school network logins

26. YRDSB Moodle Closed Moodle  Only YRDSB Staff and Students Messaging and Blogs disabled Minimal plug-ins  currently spellcheck, math symbol editor, Turnitin

27. Professional learning opportunities through YRDSB include:  Consultation with Computer Resource Teachers  Digital Literacy and Moodle Training Sessions  Professional Development days  Job-embedded Learning  Support for participation in ABEL training

28. Consultation with YRDSB Computer Resource Teachers 4 regional Secondary CRTs 4 regional Elementary CRTs Provide formal and informal training and support to staff using technology in the classroom  Topics range from “Overviews of Moodle” to the use of specific tools such as Databases Respond daily to Moodle inquiries in person or online

29. Training Sessions Group sessions All levels: beginner  advanced Teachers register through “Connect2learn”  professional learning tracking system

30. Professional Development Days Moodle presentations and workshops at subject specific PD days, for example:  Moodle in Science : Engaging Students online In-school PD day Moodle sessions facilitated by CRT’s and/or ABEL program

31. Job-embedded Learning Teachers at schools coordinate with ABEL and CRTs to provide in-school professional development such as hands-on workshops Teachers share best practices at staff meetings Experienced “Moodlers” mentor teachers new to Moodle

32. Support for participation in ABEL training Teachers are: Encouraged to participate in ABEL programs Encouraged to use ABEL release time

33. Moodle Resources Moodle All teachers are enrolled in “Moodle Resources” Contains training videos, “Moodle Pages”, Moodle Links

34. Partners Professional Learning Community ABEL Partners York Region District School Board

35. The ABEL program engages in and maintains successful and beneficial collaborations that have allowed the program to transform practice and to improve results. Some partnerships include:  York University  York Region District School Board  Orion  Learning Connections

36. York University York University is a lead partner in the ABEL program York University helps provide support for ABEL members through ABELhelp York University server hosts ABEL Moodle pages at: http://moodle.abel.yorku.ca http://moodle.abel.yorku.ca

37. Orion Orion partners with ABEL to provide PL webcasts to teachers across Ontario Orion webcast series goes live in February 2009 with Moodle in the Classroom as one of the first webcasts

38. View webcast at: http://abeldb.abel.yorku.ca/webcasts/http://abeldb.abel.yorku.ca/webcasts/

39. Learning Connections The Ontario Ministry of Education's Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat-sponsored Learning Connections project is a networked learning community and professional development program open to K-8 educators across Ontario. ABEL provides LC members with access to their tools including Moodle ABEL provides LC members with Professional Learning opportunities for ABEL tools

40. Moodle in Ontario Professional Learning Community ABEL Partners York Region District School Board

41. Network of teachers who share best practices through the ABEL community Differentiated Professional Learning Resources and support Partnerships Opportunities for leadership within the community Promotes dynamic and innovative uses of technology in the classroom Keys to the ABEL Professional Learning Community