Experimenting with MyOpenMath

MyOpenMath is a truly amazing OER (open educational resource). It is a platform that nearly functions as an LMS (learning management system) with links to electronic textbooks, interactive instructional materials such as videos, algorithmically generated math problems for student homework, grade book, forums, and the ability to adapt all or most of these features as an instructor. It essentially functions like MyMathLab or other commercial products, but it is free! What's especially cool is that it is possible to integrate it into Moodle via LTI (learning tools interoperability), which sounds complicated, but it's not impossible.

I used MyOpenMath for student homework in an online Math 10 class. Nearly all the types of problems that students must master in Math 10 are found in MyOpenMath; however, it required a great deal of modification to align the content with our course objectives. I also offered extra credit for students who moved on to practice Math 20 concepts, and a few did so.

When surveyed, 100% of respondents recommended using the same materials. In addition, 71% were very satisfied; 14% were somewhat satisfied, and 14% were neutral when asked about the MyOpenMath homework exercises. None reported dissatisfaction! (It should be noted that seven students completed the survey.)

Overall, I think it was a successful experiment.

And a big thank you goes out to David Lippman for developing and sharing this invaluable tool!

By the Numbers

Inventory of the First Four Months of Collaboration

1.5 terms
10 faculty members
3 departments
61 blog posts
107 learning objects, videos, quizzes and other digital resources shared
3 faculty member awards thus far

subtotal: innovation abounds!
total: an impressive group of Co-Laborateurs!

(inspired by "The First Four Months of My Journey," a poem by Guillermo Gomez-Peña from his Warrior for Gringostroika)

Digital Badges... coming soon to Moodle near you

Will digital badges be the next big thing? They are taking center stage at UC Davis as students in a new major in sustainable agriculture develop digital portfolios and earn badges while schools such as Harvard and Indiana University experiment with them. Purdue has even developed its own platform for badges, one that integrates with the Mozilla Open Badges project. Read about these and other schools dabbling in badges here.

The concept is a fairly simple one. Individuals earn digital badges by demonstrating skills just like a scout might earn a traditional badge for volunteering; however, with digital badges comes the ability to embed data including the issuer and criteria for earning the badge, making it more meaningful. In addition, digital badges are portable -- put them in your digital "backpack" and display them on any platform that supports them (e.g. Twitter, WordPress, a growing number of personal and professional social media sites, and even learning management systems).

Moodle 2.5, which should be coming to LCC in December 2013, will support digital badges and will be compatible with Mozilla Open Badges -- exciting news for those who are already experimenting with badges in teaching or who wish to start.

Will your students earn a badge for "summary writing," "fractions mastery," "creative writing," "online learning skills" or "information literacy?" The implications for pedagogy are multifarious!

Photo by looseends

Digital Co-Laboration Continues!

Barbi McLain taught two hybrid WR090 classes in Spring and provides insights on her pedagogical choices in her capstone video. Julie Pfaff  highlights digital badges and experiments with SoftChalk, sharing some innovative ideas for using its HotSpot activities while Jenn Kepka ponders a new approach to peer editing.

Image by Steve Johnson

New DIG Co-Lab Creations!

DIG Co-Lab participants are a vibrant and innovative group! Check out Vicky Kirkpatrick's video outlining her participation in this faculty fellowship and Julie Pfaff's review of her experience uploading curricular materials to the OER repository, Merlot.

Image by Barbara Dieu

Students decide if they are college ready...

According to a recent Inside Higher Education article, students in Florida will be able to decide if they need developmental classes or not. In addition, placement tests will not be required for recent high school graduates. This new state law is polemical, to say the least. As noted in the article, critics suggest that the policy will effectively limit student access to college by setting needy students up for failure. Further, the law is contrary to the ubiquitous student success adage, "Students don't do optional," which is supported by student success research such as studies outlined in this article from The Chronicle.

If the quintessential purpose of our community college system is access, and access is a fundamental cornerstone for equity and social justice, how do we ensure that access does indeed lead to success -- and that we continue to strive toward equity, which is inherent in the mission of community colleges?

Photo by Andres Musta

Making Popcorn!

Our local faculty technology specialist and dear colleague, Ian Coronado, recently presented a webinar on Mozilla Popcorn Maker -- the same free app Barbi McLain used to develop a guided pre-writting activity for her Writing 090 students. Popcorn maker is fairly flexible and easy to use. It allows for the creative combination of video, images, text, pop-ups, Google maps, Wikipedia sourced information, and even Twitter feed in a time-based media project that can be shared via URL or embedded in Moodle.

Check out what Ian has to say in his demonstration!