Moodle is a fantastic Learner Management System of that there is no doubt. Learning organisations can often struggle with Moodle implementation in determining how best it can compliment their operations and opportunities. Getting beyond a simple resource repository to an active teaching strategy with Moodle as the core takes time, resouces and creative thinking.
So to help break this down into a series of potential progressions in the use of Moodle, I’ve created a “3 Ages of Moodle” table to describe possible Moodle futures. The stages are envisaged as a continuum reflecting growing confidence and dare with use of learning technologies.
Your organisation’s Moodle implementation goals within the stages rests purely on your internal capacity, time, opportunity and pedagogical big picture.
Here are the Stages:
Stage 1
Repository |
Stage 2
Active Teaching |
Stage 3
Social Learning |
- Learners access simple FAQ discussion forums.
- Repository of course content and resources to support face to face learning (PDFs, Lecture PPTs, YouTube and other files).
- Distribution and retrieval of written assessment from learners.
- Simple Quizzes for formative and summative assessment.
- Inconsistent course style, formatting, use of topics and application of style guide.
- Text heavy, few images or embedded multimedia, long page of information or “scroll of death” and use of standard Moodle navigation.
- Few if any opportunities for learners to interact with each other in the context of learning or information sharing activities.
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- Assessed and student rated discussions forums promote problem solving, research and student interaction.
- Comprehensive topic, resource and activity labels explain each course step.
- Repository resources are individually labeled for course context and are searchable.
- A variety of assessment methods are offered including discussions, projects, skills demonstration using smartphones, group work, information gathering and task upload.
- Quizzes are supplemented with Lessons containing Decision making trees and problem solving within case studies.
- Consistent course header titles and navigation icons lighten course feel.
- Use of in-house or 3rd Party SCORM material integrating content and interactive scored activities.
- Course styled according to defined Moodle style guide for consistent look and feel of course headers, icons and images that reflects the brand.
- RSS feeds from Industry leader blogs
- Parallel student social and informal learning spaces encouraged and integrated(e.g.: Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Dropbox, Yammer).
- Students build industry profile as course progresses on appropriate portal (e.g. LinkedIn)
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- Students actively construct knowledge through building glossaries and databases of information for assessment
- Group projects drafted in wikis enabling analysis of learner contribution.
- Individual class experiences such as placements and work trials provide fodder for industry knowledge information sharing.
- Courses “gamified” through conditional release of content and resources. Issuing of open source badges for completing various competencies.
- Peer review and collaborative rubric development for specific assessments.
- Moodle used in conjunction with face-to-face sessions and/or live online (webinar) modes are part of a true Blended learning strategy.
- Students build assessments progressively over series of dialogues with trainers to hone their response.
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If you are new to Moodle, our presentation from a recent webinar we conducted for ACPET called “Moodle from Scratch” may help you get started.
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