Guerra Scale and Moodle

Guerra Scale and Moodle

M Rollins

E-TeachUK

Guerra Scale and Moodle

Mark J. Rollins

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Guerra Scale and Moodle

First Published in Great Britain by Lulu Enterprise 2010 Copyright ŠMark J Rollins 2010

Mark Rollins assets the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

All rights reserved; No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not, by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or otherwise circulated without the publisher’s prior consent in any form or binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition including this condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.

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Table of Contents Guerra Scale and Moodle..................................................................................2 Mark J. Rollins ...................................................................................................2 Guerra Scale and Moodle.................................................................................3 Table of Contents...............................................................................................4 Guerra Scale and Moodle..................................................................................5 Guerra Scale Characteristics.............................................................................5 Application to Moodle.........................................................................................6 Mapping your course on Guerra Scale.............................................................7 Tally Chart..........................................................................................................8 Conclusion ........................................................................................................9 Question for thought........................................................................................10 References and Bibliography...........................................................................10

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Guerra Scale and Moodle The Guerra scale outlines the range of content that can be found and used online. It is a scale of one to ten with an increase in interactivity, in which one involves the common experience of simply reading notes/text on screen and ten which denotes total virtual reality.

Figure 1 http://learningworkshop.mindedge.com/2009/12/05/the-guerra-scale-reflections/

Each step up the scale “represents an increase in complexity, functionality, development time, demands for programming skill, demands for instructions design versatility, and demands for more patience and attention from subject matter experts. http://www.astd.org/LC/2004/0304_guerra.htm

Guerra Scale Characteristics • • • • • • • • • •

GS1 is a simple PDF file document.

GS2 is what many folks in the industry deem a page turner.

GS3 adds what we refer to as dynamic feedback to tests.

GS4 integrates movement to the text and graphics.

GS5 adds elements of multimedia, including audio and static or moving graphics.

GS6 enables users to input information, which results in a printable workbook after completion of the module.

GS7 provides users with a knowledge repository in a number of possible ways.

GS8 adds realistic simulations that use a branching methodology GS9 adds real life coaching from top performers and managers.(Role Playing) GS10 virtual reality simulations.

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Guerra and Hefferman refer to a zone between GS4 (Guerra’s Scale) and GS7 as the “MTV Culture”; studies indicate that to maintain learners level of engagement it was advisable to place activities and sub activities within this zone ie:• • • •

Motion Multimedia user input workbook and knowledge repository

(in text, powerpoint etc) (Video, static photos, audio) (printable at end) (communities (Wiki, Blog, Twitter)

Application to Moodle The table below indicates how a typical Moodle course could be designed to maintain student engagement based on Guerra Scale Activity Lectures

Tutorials and Lessons

Discussion Questions Writing Assignments Defintion Group work Contacting students

Moodle Application Word document, PDF, Powerpoint, Author Stream presentation, with audio.

Issuu flash animation notes.

Lesson (without media) Lesson (with media) Video screen capture (Screenr, JING,) Video demonstration.

Moodle lesson.

Handouts (Moodle resources weblink, files, flash animations Chat Forum Moodle quiz, Q & A Forum Wiki(Graded) Offline or upload assignment.

Moodle glossary, wiki Forum, wiki, Google document link Forum, chat, messaging system, News block.

Guerra Scale GS1 GS2 GS4 GS5 GS2 GS5 GS5 GS5 GS5 GS2 GS1 GS1 GS5 GS7 GS7 GS3 GS7 GS7 GS6 GS2 GS7 GS7 GS7 GS1 GS7 GS7 GS7 GS7

Figure 2 6

Mapping your course on Guerra Scale Using Wordle to assess this, it shows a tendency towards GS5 to G7 mainly falling between interactive and knowledge repository and a higher level of student engagement.

Figure 3 An alternative to Wordle and its visual representation would be to create a table and tally chart, Figure 4.

Place your activities in the first column and then using the key in Figure 1 and the list, tick which category the task or activity falls into and then tallying up the number of GS1 to GS10. The most abundant category/categories will give an indication of which part of the Guerra Scale your course or topic falls into.

Taking it a step further with reference to Guerra and Hefferman, you can subgroup the scale in to the following:Grade 1-4

Simple “The first four levels of the Guerra Scale illustrate the most basic types of online learning.

Grade 5-6

Interactive “levels 5 through to 9 show increasing levels of interaction.

Grade 7

“Knowledge repository”

Grade 8

Simulation “realistic simulations”

Grade 9

Coaching “provides real time feedback and suggestions”

Grade 10

Virtual Reality (VR)

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Tally Chart Example of tally chart for a simple short lesson on Acid Rain Figure 4 Activity Student to refer to online text notes and complete the online quiz.

Refer to class notes on Acid Rain Watch the video on Acid rain; complete the assignment by uploading your answers.

Create a blog using blogger, suggesting causes and solution to Acid Rain.

Guerra Scale Tally (GS x n)

GS1 x

GS2

GS3

GS4

GS5

GS6

GS7

GS8

GS9

GS10

x x x x x 2

1 Simple

1

1

1

Interaction/Knowledge (MTV Zone)

Simulation/Coaching/ Virtual Reality

Using these three divisions, add up the totals manually or place them in a spreadsheet to visually indicate the overall boundary your topic/course falls into.

So using the example above:- Simple would have a tally of 3, Interaction/knowledge (MTV zone) 3 and the final zone 0 So this seems to indicate a even balance between Simple and MTV Zone, but lacks total interaction/engagement.

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Referring to Figure 2 and tallying overall scale then grouping scales you can get a visual feel to how this particular example falls into Guerras Scales and therefore the increasing interaction, engagement and consequently a more successful course.

Chart 1

Chart 2

Conclusion So in conclusion you can see that this particular course would be considered to be of moderate to high interactivity but fails to reach the highest levels.

Most courses will have simple material but as long as this is outweighed by the more interactive element it can be deem to be on the right tracks for being a successful, interactive course with complexity and engagement elements.

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Question for thought Guerra Scale was first published in 2004, with computer technology and the advent of mobile learning maybe we should be considering how and where the following aspects could be integrated into Guerra Scale. • •

Where does Augmented really fit?

Where does social networking fit in?

References and Bibliography The Guerra Scale Tim Guerra & Dan Heffernan http://www.astd.org/LC/2004/0304_guerra.htm

Applying Pedagogical Concepts in Online Course Development: Experiences from the Mediterranean Virtual University

http://www.bolton.ac.uk/AME/eLearning/eResources/Applying %20Pedagogical%20Concepts%20in%20Online%20.pdf

http://www.wordle.net/show/wrdl/2060188/Guerra_Scale

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