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For me, the work of the M-Ubuntu project seemed to be a worthy cause to invest my energies into. I took to heart the stance of the UMF staff that true learning happens best when a student’s belief system is harnessed and they are working from a system of personal beliefs-that they are working to make the world a better place somehow. At the time I was working at the International School of Stuttgart, Germany as a Technology Integration Coordinator, and the thought of assisting the M-UBUNTU organization was really appealing to me. I appreciated the cross- cultural connection to South Africa and their mission to improve both literacy and numeracy for South African youth. Additionally, after learning about how teachers updated mobile devices and disseminated and collected assignments and curricular materials (via Bluetooth, one device at a time), thought that the challenge of using Ruby on Rails to design a simple Learning Management System (LMS) to aid in the facilitation of the important mobile learning happening in these rural classrooms was a valuable one. Additionally, it was empowering to believe that I could, through my efforts in the UMF Global Program, have a positive impact on the learning of these students. When we gathered in Zurich, we were told to find a problem we wished to solve, then create a solution-this formed the basis of our learning. Formation: The Seeds of the M-Ubuntu LMS Ruby Learning Management System for the M-Ubuntu Project By Matthew Baughman Fall, 2013 Formation The seeds of the LMS idea and the initial partnership with M- Ubuntu. Pages 1 Creation The tools and technologies used to create the “M- Ubuntu” LMS. Page 3 Reflection How can this project still benefit the M- Ubuntu project and technology-assisted learning in the classroom? Page 5 Ruby on Rails, or “Rails,” is a programming framework that can be used to code web applications or database driven websites. It uses a “model-view- controller pattern to organize application programming” and was the focus of instruction for much of the time my cohort spent in Geneva, Switzerland during the summer of 2011. To program my LMS, I followed Mike Hartl’s 499 page Rails tutorial to complete my LMS. Ruby on Rails Application & Adaptation What happened when the LMS was used in a 4 th grade classroom to discuss global issues? Page 4

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Page 1: UMF Final Write Up

For me, the work of the M-Ubuntu project seemed to be a worthy cause to invest my energies into. I took to heart the stance of the UMF staff that true learning happens best when a student’s belief system is harnessed and they are working from a system of personal beliefs-that they are working to make the world a better place somehow. At the time I was working at the International School of Stuttgart, Germany as a Technology Integration Coordinator, and the thought of assisting the M-UBUNTU organization was really appealing to me. I appreciated the cross-cultural connection to South Africa and their mission to improve both literacy and numeracy for South African youth. Additionally, after learning about how teachers updated mobile devices and disseminated and collected assignments and curricular materials (via Bluetooth, one device at a time), thought that the challenge of using Ruby on Rails to design a simple Learning Management System (LMS) to aid in the facilitation of the important mobile learning happening in these rural classrooms was a valuable one. Additionally, it was empowering to believe that I could, through my efforts in the UMF Global Program, have a positive impact on the learning of these students.

When we gathered in Zurich, we were told to find a problem we wished to solve, then create a solution-this formed the basis of our learning.

Formation: The Seeds of the M-Ubuntu LMS

Ruby Learning Management System for the M-Ubuntu Project

By Matthew Baughman Fall, 2013

Formation

The seeds of the LMS idea and the initial partnership with M-Ubuntu.

Pages 1

Creation

The tools and technologies used to create the “M-Ubuntu” LMS.

Page 3

Reflection

How can this project still benefit the M-Ubuntu project and technology-assisted learning in the classroom?

Page 5

Ruby on Rails, or “Rails,” is a programming framework that can be used to code web applications or database driven websites. It uses a “model-view-controller pattern to organize application programming” and was the focus of instruction for much of the time my cohort spent in Geneva, Switzerland during the summer of 2011. To program my LMS, I followed Mike Hartl’s 499 page Rails tutorial to complete my LMS.

Ruby on Rails

Application & Adaptation

What happened when the LMS was used in a 4th grade classroom to discuss global issues?

Page 4

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Originally I formed a group with three other students, called Learning Links, in order to create a multi-tiered support system for some of M-Ubuntu’s initiatives, however we quickly realized that we all had such disparate interests we would work alongside one another as opposed to teaming up to tackle similar tasks. You can follow this link to see an early promotional video my group created explaining our ideas: http://three.umfglobal.org/main/show_thing/2630

Later, as I researched mobile technologies in the classroom, I learned that 50% of 20-39 year olds have phones in Africa and “mobile technologies…offer[ed] two advantages…effectively bring[ing] community instructional resources and activities from the outside into the classroom, [and]…because of their portable and connective nature, [could] also easily provide learners with resources and new types of instructional activities out of the classroom and in the community.” (Koszalka & Ntloedibe-Kuswani, 2010). This was good, because it suggested that my efforts might not go wasted, but additionally, as a technology integration coordinator, I was interested in the “hypes and realities” (Muyinda) of mobile learning-did it truly offer some beneficial element to today’s classrooms or was it just the next educational buzzword that candidates

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threw around during interviews and reforming educators pinned hopes and tax dollars upon? So I began to find some focus. Ultimately, I wanted to serve the M-Ubuntu organization, but I also wanted to know if mobile technologies (and computer technologies as a general category of educational tools) offered much in the way of increasing student learning. I knew already that students needed technology-specific skills in order to compete for jobs in the 21st century, however this knowledge alone is not enough for many educators to begin making the shift toward opening their classroom doors to a shift in their practice, from analogue to digital. Eventually, when I lost the opportunity to bring my Learning Management System to Africa, I was only able to research the second goal of mine.

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Because there was support for the use of Ruby on Rails to create a LMS, I decided to move forward with Make Hartl’s Rails Tutorial to learn the requisite skills I would need to complete my Master’s project. The first challenge was gaining an understanding of the “Model-View-Controller” structure, then moving on to version control, building static and dynamic pages, strings, methods, data structures and classes, building layouts with routes, modeling users, validations, sign ups, posting, and responding to other users. The second challenge was generalizing the information I gained completing the tutorial toward the creation of a unique Learning Management System M-Ubuntu volunteers could use to do the following: a. allow teachers to deliver new curricular materials to all mobile devices simultaneously, via the wireless network b. allow students to submit text documents, videos, images and assignments to M-Ubuntu volunteers and their own teachers via the wireless network through the LMS c. allow discussions to happen through micro-posts and digital “walls”—these walls are dedicated to specific classes comprised of assigned teachers and students

In the end, I accomplished the building of the static pages, login, session control, and database set up on my own, then used the help of Jeff Kupperman and a friend, Andy Weir, to fine tune the rest. The design is quite simple, and was meant to be so that it didn’t require much processing and network speed to access through mobile devices. To the student user, the M-Ubuntu LMS has only a “Class,” “Resource,” and “Profile” page, while the admins and teachers can control settings and sign up users. Class pages allow an administrator to post a prompt at the top of the page and attach files—students can respond to the post to engage in discussion around a topic. The Resource page is meant to allow M-Ubuntu facilitators to easily deliver new curriculum. For example, there they might post reviews to upcoming language tests. One of the great and authentic components of the UMF Global Program is that there is room and support to “fail fast, succeed faster.” Originally, I had thought that the LMS could be hosted on a Linux server or small Mac-mini in a South African school connected to an ad-hoc

An image of the homepage below illustrates the simplicity of the mobile design.

“What happens to engagem

ent and motivation w

hen using a LMS?

This was one of the research questions that I asked as I im

plemented the LM

S in Germ

any.

Creation: Using Ruby and Mike Hartl’s Rails Tutorial to build an LMS

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wireless network (as there was spotty internet coverage), then the teachers and students could use it to give and collect assignments and create discussion forums that would support the literacy activities that are a focus for M-Ubuntu; time, distance, and funding however became barriers to this implementation. Because I was working in Germany and M-Ubuntu’s director was traveling back and forth between Italy, South Africa, and the United States, coordinating the installation and training of South African staff didn’t/couldn’t happen. Instead, I determined to utilize the LMS as a micro blogging site within two fourth grade classes at the International School of Stuttgart, Germany. Instead of installing the M-Ubuntu LMS on a local server and setting it up to be access through a local network, I installed it on a cloud application platform called Heroku, which allowed me to host a working version of the LMS that students could use. This option offered some simplicity in that I did not have to set up a server onsite and could update versions and push them directly to Heroku. Though it did require the creation of student accounts for approximately forty nine year olds, I was able to test the LMS with live students in a live classroom setting. Allow me to give you an explanation of what happened when it was used to facilitate dialogue amongst students.

Originally I was trying to determine whether or not the LMS could be used to facilitate discussions and information transfer, however, when I decided to pilot the application in my classroom in Germany as opposed to in South Africa, I had to change my focus as we were able to use personal computers (not mobile devices) and had access to the internet. Therefore, I became curious about the impact using the LMS would have on engagement and participation during discussions.

Continued…

Discussions are a major component of most teachers’ classrooms, however often only a small handful of students take part in them—I wondered if giving students this alternative way of voicing their opinion—a mode that allowed them control over time and choice over whether they used their voice—would impact engagement and participation at all. What I found was that there was a 100% participation rate during the discussion. Additionally, many students also “replied” to other students’ posts. The students in two 4th grade classrooms had been studying the rainforest, its importance to the world’s ecosystems and biodiversity, and threats to its continued survival (deforestation). The instructors were teaching to multiple International Baccalaureate transdisciplinary themes—“How the world works,” “How we express ourselves,” and “Sharing the planet.” The last one, particularly, was a focus as this theme really dives into “an inquiry into rights and responsibilities in the struggle to share infinite resources with other people and other living things…” They were looking to create a way for students to engage in the question of how we share the planet and they agreed to use the M-Ubuntu Learning Management System to facilitate this discussion amongst their students. They asked students to answer the question, “Should the rainforest be saved?” Implicit in this question is another layer-“why should the rainforest be saved?” After the discussion I interviewed the students about their experience having this discussion using the Learning Management System, what they said led me to determine that there was a benefit to using this kind of technology to have students interact.

-4th Grade Student

“When you write it, no one is

right or wrong.”

Application of the Application!

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This can be seen as both positive and perhaps negative. Positive in the sense that there isn’t as much wasted time forcing everyone in a class to listen to one person at a time speak, but for the same reason, it could be a draw back. When we are not made to go outside of our comfort zones, we will often choose not to left to our own devices—perhaps some students only chose to read and respond to posts of their friends. Though the experience was not without its challenges, I walked away from it feeling confident that utilizing this kind of technology in the classroom could be valuable for several reasons-that it encouraged all students to participate, that it created space for everyone to be engaged at once in speaking and listening, and that there would later be artifacts of individual comments and posts from the class that could be used for reflection and study.

Reflection

One question I asked from the beginning was, “what does my Learning Management System do that another one that currently exists doesn’t do?” The answer ultimately was, “not much.” In the beginning, the reason I chose to program something myself was due to the need of the M-Ubuntu project—the South African schools within which they worked lacked reliable internet, therefore, they required something that was light, required little bandwidth, and was designed for a mobile browser (lacking a lot of graphics and dynamic portions of web applications that are a part of many Learning Management Systems today). They also needed something that could be installed easily on a local browser—hence my Ruby on Rails based web app that could run from a simple PC or Mac and an Ad-Hoc network. Ultimately though, my application didn’t make it to South Africa-instead it was used to facilitate discussions between wealthy students in two fourth grade classes in Germany. The question of what specifically my LMS could do and how it could impact literacy development in South Africa dissolved, but it was still a positive project because it answered other questions I had about technology in education, specifically

When asked what was challenging about the experience, some students said they didn’t like that everyone else could see their post, or that people

could write things anonymously and wrote

mean or critical things. There was also a technical error during the discussion, and this came up as a challenge. The comment that people could write “mean” things as a reply to anyone’s posts seemed to be an important opportunity for this class to begin discussing questions of digital citizenship and how one should behave when a part of a digital learning community. The classroom teachers were quick to identify this as a learning opportunity (when they saw that some students wrote mean things) and led a discussion about what acceptable posting meant. Many schools view issues such as online bullying as a threat and decide to block access to social bookmarking sites because they don’t want to deal with the liability of allowing students to post and interact there. However, unless schools take some responsibility in educating students about being responsible digital citizens, where will they learn this lesson?

When asked what was exciting or good about using the M-Ubuntu LMS to hold a conversation, students seemed to note that the format for discussion was positive due to the fact that it didn’t restrict them in the same way a traditional conversation would. “When you write it, no one is right or wrong” one student said. Another said that they could state their opinion “without having a fight.” Others said that they could “write a lot.” And still other students liked that they could pick and choose whom they responded to. Unlike many classrooms in the United States, this classroom was composed of almost 100% English Language Learners. I wondered to what degree this mode of communication was appealing to them due to the fact that English was not their native tongues. Another interesting take away for me was that students noted the discussion could take place “all at once”—I took this to mean that all students could talk at once if they liked, then they could take as much or as little time as they wanted to read others’ thoughts.

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questions such as What impact does technology-facilitated discussions have on motivation and engagement when used in the classroom? What is different about discussions that happen online as opposed to face to face? What are some challenges to having a discussion using an online learning tool such as this one? These were questions I was interested in exploring for two reasons-the first is that all teachers in the 21st century should be exploring the technology tools out there they can use to create engaging learning experiences for students-experiences that differentiate for learning styles. The second reason is that at the time, I was working as a Technology Integration coordinator and questions such as how best to integrate technology thoughtfully and in such a way that it had a positive impact on learning were forefront in my mind as I helped coordinate curriculum and co-teach in classrooms. Regarding next steps for the M-Ubuntu Learning Management System, my hope is that another group of students who enroll in the University of Michigan’s Global Program may take the code or the concept and work more closely with the M-Ubuntu project in order to positively benefit literacy learning and curriculum development in South Africa. I have spoken to Mr. Lindzter who has expressed interest in the source code-presumably to see that this kind of initiative takes place in the future. Personally, I enjoyed the learning experience that the UMF Global Program provided me. There was a distinct commitment to authenticity and harnessing the ethics of students to create energy and motivation toward personal growth.