Category Archives: Moodle
All things Moodle
Interested in Collaborating on Moodle 2
Everybody connected in some way or another with Moodle is aware that the system has undergone significant changes when it moved from Moodle 1.9 to Moodle 2. Some institutions are lucky to have significant resources at their disposal to cope with these changes – other institutions are not so lucky. Most of us have built up our training and support resources over a number of years. But the advent of Moodle 2 has put everybody onto the same starting point. To that end I have a suggestion for a collaboration. I suggest we sharing resources for Moodle 2. A logical suggestion considering the open source nature of Moodle.
We can potential share training resources i.e. training manuals and screencasts. In theory this level of collaboration is great, in practice though, there can be a great deal of difference between two different Moodle instances so my instructions on how to do x,y, or z is not applicable to your institution. That said, I do feel sharing instructional resources is a very useful idea and potentially a great starting point for collaboration between two or more institutions. However I have a specific suggestion on how to collaborate through Moodle.
I would like to collaborate on Moodle 2 orientated around an initiative led by Napier University in Scotland. This initiative is referred to as the 3E framework. The framework is based on an Enhance-Extend-Empower continuum. This was developed, with illustrative simple-but-effective examples that might be incorporated as a minimum (Enhance), through to uses of technology that give students more responsibility for key aspects of their learning (Extend), and to underpin more sophisticated, authentic activities that reflect the professional environments for which they are preparing (Empower).
The framework is best explained through examples. The link below provides such examples
http://staff.napier.ac.uk/services/academicdevelopment/TechBenchmark/Pages/examples.aspx
I would like to support this framework by crowd-sourcing screencast examples/instructions on the various features of Moodle relevant to the example on the framework e.g. if the example under groupwork at the enhance level
- “Make the group working more manageable and ‘visible’ by having each group post a weekly update of progress to a private discussion board visible to the group and tutor” -
The relevant moodle screencasts would be how to create groups and how to post a discussion forum.
If you are interested in either of these initiatives please contact me via the comment box below or via twitter through @glynnmark
Related articles
- Moodle feb 2013 (slideshare.net)
- 23 Moodle videos from Lynda.com (for free) (moodlenews.com)
A poster outlining some of the great changes in Moodle 2
The poster below can be accessed in powerpoint format by clicking on the image below. Please feel free to download and adapt this poster to suit your needs – remembering creative commons. I would also welcome any feedback on the poster through the comments section of this blog post.
Related articles
- What is Moodle? (enhancingteaching.com)
- Moodle thoughts (somerandomthoughts.com)
What is Moodle?
Moodle
Moodle (abbreviation for Modular Object-Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment) is a free source e-learning software platform, also known as a Course Management System, Learning Management System, or Virtual Learning Environment (VLE).
Moodle is a software package for producing Internet-based courses and web sites. It is a global development project designed to support a social constructionist framework of education.
Moodle is provided freely as Open Source software (under the GNU General Public License). Basically this means Moodle is copyrighted, but that you have additional freedoms. You are allowed to copy, use and modify Moodle provided that you agree to: provide the source to others; not modify or remove the original license and copyrights, and apply this same license to any derivative work.
This presentation sums it up it up nicely
Student generated content as an assessment
There are a variety of tools that can be used in moodle allowing students to generate reusable learning objects. Click on each of the each on the links below to find out more and how they can be used to get students to generate content to help themselves and their peers learn a particular topic :
Related articles
- Getting your students to find Youtube videos for their assignment (enhancingteaching.com)
- Assessing Collaborative Work (lynnmunoz.me)
Moodle Glossary
The glossary activity module allows participants to create and maintain a list of definitions, like a dictionary.
Glossary can be used in many ways. The entries can be searched or browsed in different formats. A glossary can be a collaborative activity or be restricted to entries made by the teacher. Entries can be put in categories. The auto-linking feature will highlight any word in the course which is located in the glossary.
For information on how to set up a glossary please look at the video below
The wonderful Michelle Moore from Remote Learner gave a presentation at MoodleMoot 2012 in Ireland where she highlighted the huge potential behind Glossaries
For more information on Glossaries please visit: http://docs.moodle.org/22/en/Glossary_module
Moodle 2 Databases
Databases
The database activity module allows the teacher and/or students to build, display and search a bank of record entries about any conceivable topic. The format and structure of these entries can be almost unlimited, including images, files, URLs, numbers and text amongst other things. Similar to the glossary option the database module is a great activity that can be utilised as a student assessment, allowing students to generate content for the rest of the class (and future classes) to learn from. Three main features distinguish databases from glossaries
Databases allow the teacher to provide specific fields for students to populate with information
You have a variety of template options
You can format the how the final product looks very easily.
The screencast below illustrates how to set up databases
For more information go to: http://docs.moodle.org/22/en/Database_activity_module
Moodle Discussion forums to collect new class material
Discussion forums are extremely powerful tool help bring learning outside the classroom. However they also can be used to bring learning back into the classroom from the teachers point of view. This short youtube clip illustrates the different type of discussion forums available into moodle and also how to set them up.
Later clips will show you how to use this as an assignment that gets the students to assessment the contribution of their classmates
One page Guide for teachers using Moodle
Compliments of @catspyjamasnz
An excellent resource mapping potential tasks that teachers may have to the various tools within Moodle
Making online quizzes using Moodle
Frequent in-class quizzes have been associated with positive learning outcomes including increased student achievement, attendance, and confidence (Ruscio, 2001; Wilder, Flood, & Stomsnes, 2001). Frequent quizzing reportedly maintains student study effort and promotes course engagement (Smith et al., 2000; Sporer, 2001). In general students rate the quizzes favorably and believe they are helpful in preparing for in-class examinations. Practice tests help students evaluate their learning and focus study effort accordingly (Maki, 1998).
