Wildcard

I instantly new what to write about! I should tell some of my classmates about this assignment, because they would definitely have something to write about! Okay, so I’m not going to do that, but seriously, this assignments topic is absolutely perfect when discussing the troubles my schools website “Moodle” has been going through this term. Moodle is a service like Blackboard. It serves as an online community for college students in which instructors can post forum questions for education purpose (which was a favorite of my nursing instructors), as well as other functions such as submitting papers and viewing grades. Moodle is described as an internet package that offers online based classes and websites. To the student, I see Moodle as an online service used for communicating. This situation wasn’t about misinterpretations of communication via Internet; it was more about a malfunction in technology that led to a pretty big communication problem.

This experience has basically been ongoing this whole term. At first, Moodle was hacked and all files were erased. As a class, we were able to bounce back from this incident, but let’s just say that was the least of our worries compared to what happened in the coming weeks. By about the third week into this term, things started getting ugly with Moodle. The system started shutting down periodically, which began with a little annoyance on my part. I would go the website and it would not load up. I thought, “Okay, it is just down for a little while, I will try later to turn in my paper.” So I would come back to the site, it would be running and all would be fine. Within the next two weeks, the situation was exacerbated to the point that Moodle was determined “shut down” due to technical difficulties and that as students, we must send our papers in through school e-mail accounts and find alternative ways to receive the educational information found on Moodle. But this point, the problems with Moodle went from an occasional annoyance, to complete unfairness when it was brought to our attention (myself and 50 other nursing students) that our school was not supporting Moodle and that we would have to convert to Angel (another program like Blackboard).

The claimed “temporarily shut down” Moodle turned out to be a farewell to Moodle. From the sources I have heard bouncing around campus, the main problem with Moodle was the Internet server. I’m not very good with technological terms or all the small parts to computers, but from what I hear, it is a problem that evidently is not going to be resolved by the school.

After using Moodle for the past two years and seeing how it makes communicating with instructors and peers very convenient and helpful for studying, the importance of technology becomes even clearer. The importance for every small thing such as the server and connection to be working in top condition becomes more evident. It makes me appreciate the Internets ability more and helps me realize how much I depend on the Internet’s functioning.

How would the situation have been different had it happened outside of cyberspace? If this had happened outside of cyberspace, there would be many changes. For example, there would be no reason to convert to another program, nor would my ways of communicating with instructors be hindered. Actually, if my school did not use Moodle, we would have other ways to communicate study tips, resources, etc such as using study groups and printed resources.

Regarding a cultural aspect, America’s culture seems to be becoming more familiar with online programs such as Blackboard, Moodle, Angel and such. Even for my nursing classes, which are not online, classes seem to use these online programs for additional communication services. During this whole exacerbation, communication has been resorted to e-mail instructors our papers via a different route and has eliminated all of our online forums, quizzes, and resources usually provided. This really did put a damper on learning because I felt that having Moodle helped me prepare for midterms and finals. Although I have not become extremely upset over this situation, I know many classmates that have shown very much anger toward our school board! This situation has even escalated to the fact that a classmate has started a petition to get a refund for our technology fees! Overall, I think that this situation is a prime example of how once again; our culture is turning to the Internet for many reasons. When Internet programs and such malfunction, it seems to interrupt our daily lives because many of us have seemly incorporated the Internet into our schedules. I view this story as an example of this. I don’t view it as a terrible, end-of-life situation, because it’s not. There are worse things that can happen. Like Moodle, every once in awhile, things break down. Hope you enjoyed reading about my experience.