VLE used as a file share - other good looking options?

[craynerd]

Our moodle based VLE is up to renewal and we have always struggled to get the uptake in departments and staff using it. We use Progresso by Advanced Learning and therefore we can`t link anything to it correctly from our MIS. Ultimately, we use it for 2 essential functions/features:

 

 

1. Staff landing page of IE for all useful websites and links

2. File sharing between students and teachers - i.e teachers putting up documents for download.

 

We literally don`t use any of the other functionality, no online marking, assessment assignment, quizzes...

 

The whole thing looks OK but staff say it is too difficult to use. It isn't the most user friendly and the way the courses and topics are layed out is quite tricky to get looking nice across department areas and the whole thing looks a little unwieldy. The principle of it works, but as I say, staff seem to find it tricky to use.

 

Question is, what are our options. I`ve heard a lot about google classroom but we are not using the rest of the google apps so we are not willing to go down that road. Any other options or suggestions?

Edited April 25, 2016 by craynerd

[unixman_again]

You probably need to SMT to wield the big stick and make staff use your VLE - it probably doesn't matter which one.

 

We use Moodle and SMT have wielded the big stick and used bribery to get staff to use it. We're not using it in the best way (that is the next project).

[craynerd]

That can be done... ;-) However, in reflection I think I could do with seeing some examples of good practice in terms of organisation, looks and administration of a moodle VLE. Anyone within 100 miles of Manchester willing to give me a brief demo? I`d very much appreciate it!

[3s-gtech]

What version of Moodle? We've found that accessibility and ease of use has improved by going to version 3, using a Bootstrap based theme. It's a lot prettier too.

[enjay]

I would ask why staff aren't using Moodle and see if you can find something which they would use, rather than wield a big pro-Moodle stick. Ultimately, the tech should work for the teachers, not the other way around.

 

What about Google Classroom? Functionality would be slightly limited/impaired if you don't have the rest of Google Apps, but I don't see why you couldn't use it.

 

How about a school Dropbox or OneDrive? Or if you would prefer to retain more ownership/control of your files, there's Home Access Plus (an Edugeek project).

[foofighterjim]

Have a look at: Home | Transforming and enhancing Moodle

[jmak]

Our moodle based VLE is up to renewal and we have always struggled to get the uptake in departments and staff using it. We use Progresso by Advanced Learning and therefore we can`t link anything to it correctly from our MIS. Ultimately, we use it for 2 essential functions/features:

 

 

1. Staff landing page of IE for all useful websites and links

2. File sharing between students and teachers - i.e teachers putting up documents for download.

 

We literally don`t use any of the other functionality, no online marking, assessment assignment, quizzes...

 

The whole thing looks OK but staff say it is too difficult to use. It isn't the most user friendly and the way the courses and topics are layed out is quite tricky to get looking nice across department areas and the whole thing looks a little unwieldy. The principle of it works, but as I say, staff seem to find it tricky to use.

 

Question is, what are our options. I`ve heard a lot about google classroom but we are not using the rest of the google apps so we are not willing to go down that road. Any other options or suggestions?

This is pretty much where we were. We have moved away from having a vle per se and use Airhead. We originally looked at it as a single sign on platform, but it offers quite a bit more than that - it's a great way to curate web resources.

 

You have "launchpads" which give you tiles with optional saved passwords to sign into other services and "flight decks", which are collections of widgets. When you're logged in you can add anything you browse to to either a launchpad or flightdeck. It also integrates with either Google apps or O365/Onedrive.

 

Give it a try here: http://www.Airhead.io

 

Alternatively, set up an intranet on Google sites and create your own landing page - even I managed that, so it's quite straightforward[emoji14]

I'm not convinced that many places get great value from full blown vles.

[Overnetdata_Tim]

Hi Craynerd, can I suggest asking the users what they would like to use Moodle for? You mentioned that it's not being used for online marking, assignments, quizzes, etc - are these all functions staff would like to use? I've just recently joined Overnet and have already seen that Moodle can be a powerful tool, but this could be daunting and potentially put users off if their needs are not being catered for.

 

The good news is that I recommend several sites in your local area that are doing some really interesting things with Moodle. If you PM me I'll be happy to share this with you. Another good way to encourage user uptake is to deploy a theme to make it more personal. I'd be happy to arrange a web demo for you and show you some ideas around this, and also show you functionality that will meet the user needs.

[CHM-ITServices]

Has anyone ditched their VLE in favour of Office 365 / Google? IMO, if the VLE isn't ingrained in everything staff and students do everyday then it will always be a bit-part, used by some but not all.

[witch]

Has anyone ditched their VLE in favour of Office 365 / Google? IMO, if the VLE isn't ingrained in everything staff and students do everyday then it will always be a bit-part, used by some but not all.

 

Yes, we have. Office 365 is far more used than the VLE ever was and I am working hard at getting more usage out of it

[jmak]

Has anyone ditched their VLE in favour of Office 365 / Google? IMO, if the VLE isn't ingrained in everything staff and students do everyday then it will always be a bit-part, used by some but not all.

Yes - we're doing this with Google Apps. Also set up single sign on to other online services we use.

[enjay]

Has anyone ditched their VLE in favour of Office 365 / Google? IMO, if the VLE isn't ingrained in everything staff and students do everyday then it will always be a bit-part, used by some but not all.

 

Yes, we have. The staff and student shared areas are in Google Drive, and staff are making very effective use of Google Classroom to share resources with specific classes, set homework, etc. Add in a bit of Google Forms for end-of-unit tests, plus things like Quizlet, Kahoot and Socrative for tests and revision activities, then the VLE becomes a thing of the past for us. The financial saving is significant, with no apparent loss of functionality for staff, if anything they're working better in this way than they were under Moodle.

[enjay]

Yes - we're doing this with Google Apps. Also set up single sign on to other online services we use.

 

We use single sign on too where we can, either via our Google accounts or AD logged on user. This certainly makes things easier in school but does create problems for some people at home, because they are suddenly faced with a username/password prompt they're not familiar with and may therefore decide they don't know their details. Not a fault, per se, but something to be mindful of.

[jmak]

We use single sign on too where we can, either via our Google accounts or AD logged on user. This certainly makes things easier in school but does create problems for some people at home, because they are suddenly faced with a username/password prompt they're not familiar with and may therefore decide they don't know their details. Not a fault, per se, but something to be mindful of.

Our SSO is web based (although synched with AD), so accessible at home too. The only issue is where some of the services like Mathletics are used on iPads at home which means they use an App rather than web interface, so SSO doesn't work. The SSO platform does allow them to look up their "true" password, so that they can copy it into the App.

[AJWhite1970]

We've never used a VLE!! For file sharing, staff have a direct drive mapping to a departmental share on our IIS webserver and we use the index.php script from Encode Explorer to display the files.

 

Encode Explorer :: A simple PHP file browser

 

If anyone wants to see some live examples, PM me for a link

Andrew

[Lonix]

Never considered our Office 365 to replace our Moodle. Not a bad idea...

 

What's it like creating a large folder structure and sharing it to groups of Students? I know SIMs.net can be linked with Office 365 which is something I have sitting in my tray as a possible future idea. I know in OneDrive you can share a file but never thought of a folder. Would allow Staff to organise their files easier while keeping everything they needed in their own areas...

 

I'm liking this idea

[edmokeski]

Our VLE is going in the bin. Like yours, it was never really taken to by staff, and is essentially a useful homepage of links, plus a way to access network shares from off site. We'll solve the former with a wordpress page and the latter with Foldr. We've gone GAfE and use Classroom for assigning/collecting digital work, etc. We've not gone whole hog for Google, as we do our e-mail via 365 and still have lots of MS Office around the shop, but we've not really suffered for it. The only consequence has been some of the e-mail alerts in Classroom or Drive not working b/c the groups don't reflect our actual e-mail conventions, so alerts get sent to non-existent group addresses (presumably they would exist if we went GMail). We'd have seriously considered 365 instead, if Microsoft had an answer for Classroom, but they just don't. (There's some 3rd party stuff out there, but it's still too tech-driven and clunky to compete.)

Can't recommend the Drive/Classroom duo enough. It's much easier than a VLE, much easier to use ad hoc, and can do most of the things your advanced users want from a VLE anyway when you add in Sites and Forms. Foldr also has been brilliant as a way of accessing files both off site and from mobile devices (we've gone 1:1 iPad).

I'm not going to miss the VLE, even though my title's still VLE Manager (got to get that fixed before VLE actually goes in the bin)!

[enjay]

I'm not going to miss the VLE, even though my title's still VLE Manager!

Another benefit of Drive/Classroom - you don't need a VLE Manager, teachers can do everything themselves, which makes their lives easier, frees up IT support time (which also makes teachers' lives easier) and gives the teachers a sense of ownership of the resource (possibly why most VLEs of the past have failed...)

[jmak]

I'm not going to miss the VLE, even though my title's still VLE Manager (got to get that fixed before VLE actually goes in the bin)!

 

Define a VLE.

 

Can you put learning resources on it?

Is it virtual? As you've found GAfE is much more than cloud file storage.

 

I didn't notice the part where the definition included "must be a pain in the @rse to manage, is widely hated by users and costs many £s".

 

I'd ask for a pay rise, as you've improved the usability, so having a positive impact on teaching and learning whilst achieving a cost saving