Moodle Experimentation Scare

I freaked myself out this morning after making a small change which took down all of my sites on the same domain as my experimental moodle. Yesterday I installed Moodle using Fantastico on my hosted web server account and everything went great. I had one notification in Moodle telling me that I needed to change a setting in the .htaccess file. After finally finding the .htaccess file I found that there was not a single line of code visible. I decided to type in the line of code that the Moodle notification told me I needed to change. This line of code took down my portfolio site and a project site I am working on for a friends business along with my brand new experimental moodle installation. Needless to say this scared the crap out of me so I fired off an email to the support team at Everity web hosting who responded within minutes with a resolution to my problem.

Everity had the site back up in minutes and found a solution to the notification Moodle is giving me. Turned out I was not able to change the line of code which was "register_globals=off" on my server so Everity is moving it to a server where this setting is to "off" by default. It's going to take a few hours before I can be sure that the problem is solved but it sounds like a good solution. Everity provided great customer service with a quick response and resolution to my problem.

Once my experimental Moodle installation is back online I will be forging ahead by customizing the theme and setting up a course for an instructional design class I am taking in the Ed Tech program at SDSU. Hopefully I won't have any more scares but even if I do I am sure I will learn from it.

Moodle: Email Notfication Problems

A very common theme in the Moodle forums is problems with email notifications for things like submitted assignments, forum posts, graded assignments, etc. It's good to know that I am not the only one having these kinds of LMS problems. I was having issues with email notifications only working every once in a while and I finally had time to dive into the Moodle community and research the issue.

In my research I found that there are two common problems Moodle admins have with email notifications. Turns out I was having both of these problems. The first and more complicated issue is not having a Cron job set up on the web server hosting moodle and the second issue had to do with using SMTP to send email from Moodle.

The first issue was the tough one to figure out. Before researching this issue I didn't even know what Cron Jobs are which made it difficult for me to troubleshoot the issue. After trolling through Moodle forums I learned that a Cron Job is something that tells the server to run processes such as sending emails and running backup routines. I think I may have missed something in the moodle installation that automatically creates the Cron Job because I didn't have one created on my hosted server. Once I figured this out I jumped into creating a Cron Job using instructions from the Moodle Documentation Wiki. At first the instructions seemed easy but as usual the Cron Job I created using the instructions gave me errors. The error I was getting was a result of a UNIX command line that the server did not agree with. The Moodle instructions gave other command line options so I tried another option and it solved the problem. The Cron job started working but the email notifications still weren't working.

At this point the Cron job was working but the emails still weren't coming which lead me to the second common issue of using SMTP settings to send the email. In Moodle you have the option of sending email through SMTP or PHP. If you use SMTP you need to enter your servers information into Moodle which I did and I think I did correctly but it wasn't working. I came across several posts regarding this in the Moodle Forums and one post suggested simply not using SMTP and deleting the SMTP information you entered in Moodle. I did this and bang the emails started arriving. Moodle obviously didn't like what I entered for the SMTP information and wanted to send emails using PHP.

Now I have the email notifications working but they are working a little too well. Submitted assignment email notifications are going to people other than the "Teacher" of the class. I still need to do some fine tuning with this but I have a feeling it is something simple I overlooked.

I hope this post finds other rookie Moodle implementers and helps solve similar issues. Please leave a comment if you have any suggestions for the persisting email notification problems I am having.

Rapid Performance Analysis

Rapid performance analysis, is there such a thing? In a discussion with a LinkedIn connection, the topic of a quicker way to complete an effective performance analysis came up. His company frowns on spending time up front completing an analysis and wants him to dive into course development to "Save Time." I understand the importance of producing a tangible instructional product quickly but I believe with a mindset like this you will spend more time creating solutions that are not effective or you end up wasting time doing re work after you come up with a great idea halfway through the project. After reading "Job Aids & Performance Support" by Allison Rosset, and "Analyzing Performance Problems" by Robert Mager and Peter Pipe, I am sold on the notion that a "course" is not always the answer and if a "course" is the answer it is crucial to conduct an analysis to produce an effective instructional product.

In the corporate world it is important to walk the fine line of producing a quality product and producing it quickly. So, how do we in the corporate training and development field balance conducting an effective performance analysis with the business need of producing it quickly? We hear so much about "Rapid Development" in the world of eLearning but we don't hear much about "Rapid Analysis." My favorite resource for helping work my way through a performance analysis quickly is Mager and Pipes "Quick Reference Checklist." I find the questions in the checklist help keep me focused on the important aspects of the analysis and make it easy to conduct an effective analysis quickly.

Below I listed out some of the key questions I ask myself when attempting to conduct an effective but rapid performance analysis. The questions I have listed out below is what I have boiled Mager and Pipes quick reference checklist down to after a few years of applying it in my instructional design work.

1. What is the problem and is it worth pursuing? In many cases it may be more expensive or anti productive to address the problem then it would be to leave well enough alone. You always want to be sure that you are going to get a justifiable return on your investment.
   
2. Is the performance problem a result of a skill deficiency, consequences, or the process? You would think this is such an obvious question to ask your self but all too often we assume that some kind of a course is the answer to the problem. I have found that in many situations that simplifying the process or providing consequences can have a much larger impact than any kind of instructional product. Is the workflow efficient? Is desired performance rewarding? Do they know when they are doing a good job? Are there any obstacles? Many of us are paid to turn out courses but you will prove greater value to the business by recommending the solution with the highest return on investment.
3. If your answer to the above question is skill deficiency, then how often do they need to perform the task? Is it just something that they need to do every once in a while? If so, maybe a job aid would be more effective then a course. Sometimes all that is needed is a simple set of instructions that are accessible just in time. A simple job aid can sometimes produce better results at a fraction of the cost.
4. Which solution yields the most value? By the time you answer the questions above you will have a good idea of what needs to be done to close the skill gap. At this point you need to decide which solution or blend of solutions is going to yield the most value to the organization. Not the solution with the most bells and whistles but the solution that is going to provide the most bang for the buck

Although not an exhaustive analysis I find the questions listed above get me off to a rapid start on instructional design projects. Please help me and my LinkedIn connection out by posting your rapid analysis tips in the comments section.

Moodle 1.9 eLearning Course Development by William Rice

As I have been working my way through a Moodle implementation I have used several different resources to find answers for my Moodle questions. While the moodle community is fantastic for finding quick answers to random issues, I have found that Moodle 1.9 by William Rice is a great resource for support from installation to setting up class pages.

Other Moodle books I have used in the past are either directed to the LMS admin installing and maintaining the database or the Trainer/Teacher creating class pages. William Rice does a great job of covering all aspects for those of you out there who are doing it all which I am sure is more and more in the current economy.

Something I like about this book is the plain language it is written in. Often times when I am reading forum posts in the Moodle Community I get lost in the "Techno Speak" and it seems like some of the Moodle gurus out there are trying to show off how much they know by explaining in a way that few people will understand. The downside to this plain language is that in many cases you don't get the whole story from the instructions in the book and will need to refer to the Moodle community to fill in the blanks.

Overall it's a good book to get you started with Moodle but it's also important to know that not all of the issues you will come across are covered in this book. It's a great reference to have on your desk while working your way through a Moodle implementation but you will also want to have the Moodle community bookmarked for the unique situations that are not covered in detail in the book.

Exploring Second Life

This week in an Instructional Design class I am taking in the Ed Tech program at SDSU we will be discussing Second Life. I've been hearing so much about using it as an instructional design tool and now that it has come up on the class schedule my curiosity has reached it's tipping point. I decided to sign on and see what it's all about.

I was hoping to get set up with my avatar and figure out how to "teleport" around in about an hour because that is all the time I had to play around. Well, I ended up spending that whole hour trying to perfect the look of my avatar. I left frustrated trying to use the options available in the default inventory. I decided to give up on my Avatar and try and explore all the great islands I have heard about it and could not get off of "Avatar Island" when my play around time expired.

I'll be spending more time learning the ropes of Second Life because I would like to use it for eLearning projects. Tom from the Rapid eLearning Blog sparked my interest with his post "Create eLearning scenarios by bringing the virtual word into the real world." The post covers how to use virtual worlds like second life to build realistic scenarios. Just create a few avatars and set them up in different environments to create snapshots for your eLearning scenario. So far I am not finding this as easy as it sounds considering it took me an hour to play around with the look of one avatar and I am stuck on avatar island.

I am sure there are some very basic elements that I haven't caught on to yet that will make my second life much more fulfilling. The key seems to be adding landmarks and avatars to my inventory but I haven't figured out how to do that. As time was running out I found the second life showcase tutorials which got me headed in the right direction but I'll need to spend more time with the tutorials to figure how to add to my inventory. I am sure with a little more research I'll be able to whip together those scenarios that Tom makes look so easy.

Train the Trainer

I am responsible for an upcoming software rollout for a retail organization and I am looking for ideas for structuring a train the trainer course. The training plan involves the learners completing a series of eLearning courses which will be followed by a one day instructor led course. I have finished developing the eLearning courses and the instructor led course so now I need to prepare SME’s to facilitate the instructor led classes on their own.

The ILT course is largely based on completing a workbook filled with exercises that build on what they learned in the eLearning courses. I have also developed a facilitator guide to go along with this workbook. It should be relatively easy to facilitate the class by just using the facilitators guide but I would like to develop some activities that will help build their confidence in facilitating the course.

I have scheduled a 2 day meeting with the SME’s where I will introduce them to the course and prepare them to facilitate it on their own. At this point I am planning on having them participate in the ILT course as a participant on day 1 then going into the train the trainer content on day 2. I have designed similar train the trainer courses before but I am looking for some new ideas to make it more effective.

One of the challenges I am faced with is that there will be 12 SME’s to train and only me as the facilitator. The ideal situation for me would to be able to break them into groups so that they can practice facilitating the course with each other but I’m not sure how feasible or effective that will be with just me as the facilitator.

All this leads to the question of “How can I maximize the time I have on day 2 to prepare them to teach the course on their own?”

Software Implementation Training Plan

I've been working on what I consider a large project and I am hoping to use this post as a sounding board for my plan. The project involves training approximately 180 users on a ERP software program in a chain of retail stores. Please leave a comment if you have any suggestions that can contribute to the success of this software implementation.

The overall plan consists of a blend of training solutions including eLearning, Instructor Led Training, and Job Aids. Each phase of this blended solution is designed to further the learners understanding of the software and ensure transference after the training has taken place.

One month before the software is implemented, users will begin completing a series of weekly eLearning assignments covering the basics of the system. eLearning is an ideal solution due to the fact that it is a geographically distributed workforce and we do not have the resources for a multi day instructor led course. The eLearning tutorials developed in Adobe Captivate and delivered through Moodle provide the learner with the skills required to complete common everyday tasks.

Instructor led classes will begin 2 weeks prior to the implementation. The ILT classes pick up from where the eLearning courses left off by covering more advanced topics and providing the opportunity to discuss unique situations. The eLearning classes will help the learners to gain pre requisite knowledge while the ILT course will help them achieve fluency in the program. A major benefit of the ILT class is that it will provide what the eLearning was missing by covering the "what if" situations.

The ILT classes will conclude by introducing the learners to a job aid in the form of a Wiki. Rather than developing a standard technical manual with detailed instructions I have created a Wiki using MediaWiki. The Wiki is packed with step by step instructions covering everything in the system. In previous software implementations this has been a big help in reducing tech support calls post implementation. That first couple of weeks after the implementation is always hectic but the Wiki helps the users with quick and easy access to step by step instructions just in case they don't remember everything from the eLearning and ILT courses.

There's the plan now I just need to execute. After a lot of hard work I am seeing the light at the end of the tunnel and can't wait to finish off this project.