Using Open-Sourced Platform to Facilitate Students’ Learning:

An Implementation of Drupal as a Learning Management System

I-Pang FuNaifen Su

Dr. Wesley Donahue

Sep 29, 2011 @ Columbus, GA

Today’s Agenda

• Background• Problem(s)• Pilot Study• Demonstration• Evaluation• Discussion

Background

• Angel is the official LMS at Penn State• The University started to search for

new LMS or keep using Angel within 2 years

• Demand of hybrid/online courses increases at Penn State

• Faculty members’ expectation about LMS

• Students’ expectation about LMS

Problem(s)

• Where to find pilot group without trouble?

• Who should be included in pilot group?• What should be moved into new

platform?• What is the time frame?

Will it work?

Pilot Study

• Engineering students with leadership minor

• Traditional course is provided in tri-semester

• 20 to 30 students per semester• Most of them are junior, senior, or super

senior students• Discussion, team work, and presentation

are the main tasks in this course

Pilot Study (Conti.)

• In the past, students used Angel to access everything about the class.

• But it is not easy to manage everything for students or for faculty members.

Pilot Study (Conti.)

• Since Summer 2011, we used Drupal to serve as a LMS for the students.

• Integrated with Social Media (Facebook & LinkEdin)

• Continuing improvement anytime and anywhere.

• Cross browsers and devices.• Getting feedback from students every

day.

Pilot Study (Conti.)

Demonstration

• What we will demonstrate?FrontpageSyllabusPeopleModulesAssignmentsForumsCalendar

Demonstration (Cont.)

• Frontpage

• Syllabus

Demonstration (Cont.)

• People

Demonstration (Cont.)

• Modules

Demonstration (Cont.)

• Assignments

Demonstration (Cont.)

• Forums

Demonstration (Cont.)

• Calendar

Demonstration (Cont.)

• Social Media

Demonstration (Cont.)

• The real demonstration coming up !• Explore the site.• Explore the social media.• Discussion and feedback.

Demonstration (Cont.)

Evaluation

• The transition from Angel to Drupal• Designer’s reflection• Students’ reflection• Pro / Con of using Drupal

Discussion

• Next step and future plan• Question and feedback

Thank you for your participation.Please feel free to contact with us

@izf5008@psu.edu