To enrich and better facilitate the Creativity, Action and Service (CAS) program at the International School of Beijing, a new, online learning platform is being proposed: Moodle (Modular Object Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment). Developed by Martin Dougiamis, Moodle was designed with the social constructionist theory in mind and supports teaching and learning with various online tools and features (Robb, 2004; Moodle, 2013). This proposed elearning environment will complement class time and enable a larger community for student collaboration. As our LMS of choice, Moodle can embed social interactions within the dynamic environment of CAS and help tighten the link between the learner and content (Tselios, 2010).

Why Moodle?

Admittedly, various LMS providers offer many of the same benefits and advantages for teaching and learning. Moodle was chosen based on online survey responses from actual users and following an extensive comparison of LMS systems that utilized the criteria highlighted in the SECTIONS framework by Bates and Poole (2003). Where Moodle stood out against its competition were in the areas of:

   ease of use

Moodle can run on different operating systems, including Mac and Windows. This aligns with our one-to-one MacBook program but also allows flexibility for users off campus. It is customizable in that default elements can be modified, reformatted or deleted. The interface is intuitive, user friendly and there is a large community based support for troubleshooting issues; by 2008, less than ten years after its launch, there were about 83,000 registered sites in more than 200 countries (Moodle, 2013). Moodle has been widely adopted by educational institutions around the globe and has proven to be a reliable and consistent platform.

   cost

Moodle is a free, open source software; there are no licensing fees, copyright or registration costs (OER Africa, n.d.). There is no cost to install the software on to our server. Institutional costs associated with professional development will be low as we can offer in house training by our own experienced Moodle users and can rely on online support through the extensive, global Moodle community. Additionally, costs in the area of printing and copying can be reduced as more program resources can be provided on line.

   interaction and interactivity

Tselios (2010) reported a positive correlation between a student’s online interaction and their overall performance. Moodle facilitates an active learners community through the use of various tools and activities. Its strength is in its support of collaborative learning through group work, synchronous and asynchronous communication, sharing and critical reflection. This directly supports the goals of the CAS program and in time, can be extended to other high school programs and eventually, implemented school wide.

Moodle also scored high in the ‘teaching and learning’ category. Considering Chickering’s (1997) Seven Principles of Good Practice, Moodle supports each of the outlined strategies with key capabilities:

• encourages contact between faculty and students with both synchronous and asynchronous communication features and 24/7 anywhere access
• develops reciprocity and cooperation among students with discussion forums, Wiki modules and the ability to implement group activities
• uses active learning techniques with tools such as chat, blogs, journals and dialogues
• allows for prompt feedback for both students and instructors in a variety of formats including a comprehensive quiz making function, grade reporting and the choice feature
• emphasizes time on task with dedicated resources, monitoring of student participation and scheduling tools
• communicates high expectations as digital literacy is modelled by the instructor and resource features allow for exemplars to be shared
• respects diverse talents and ways of learning in that it supports a variety of media and assignment opportunities with lesson and workshop features

To begin the process of implementing and running the Moodle platform, the program needs to be installed on our server. To then get it up and running, a design team of about 3 – 5 staff will be needed to customize the site with both new and existing resources. It is recommended this team be comprised of at least one CAS instructor and one IT support staff; the remaining members can be allocated based on interest or scheduling availability. With a ten week window, the team should be able to prepare the site for a peer review. An additional three weeks for editing and tweaking should have the site ready to go live in the coming semester. As the installation of the program is free, and the design, implementation and training will be completed in house, there will be no additional, overhead cost to run Moodle. Should the use of Moodle expand to other high school programs, however, it may be necessary to consider purchasing a dedicated server to house the program and best service higher volume use (Robb, 2004).

The integration of Moodle to support our CAS program will provide a unique dimension and critical component that will foster more collaboration and learning within our community. Moodle offers several key components that its counterparts do not – namely a free, customizable platform that supports best practice in collaborative, online teaching and learning.

We welcome the opportunity to discuss this further and share our ideas for a more dynamic and exciting learning environment.

References

Bates, A. W., & Poole, G. (2003).  A framework for selecting and using technology. In Effective teaching with technology: Foundations for success pp. 77-105. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.

Chickering, A. W., & Gamsom, Z. F. (1987). Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 39(7), p. 3-7. Retrieved from http://www.aahea.org/articles/sevenprinciples1987.htm

Moodle. (2013) Pedagogy. Retrieved from http://docs.moodle.org/23/en/Pedagogy

Moodle. (2013). Statistics. Retrieved from https://moodle.org/stats

OER Africa. (n.d). Using Moodle Toolkit. Retrieved from  http://www.oerafrica.org/moodle/UsingMoodle/tabid/1195/Default.aspx

Robb, T. (2004). Moodle: A Virtual Learning Environment for the Rest of Us. The Electronic Journal for English as a Second Language, 8(2). Retrieved from http://www.tesl-ej.org/wordpress/issues/volume8/ej30/ej30m2/

Tselios, N. (2010). Impact of Moodle usage practices on students’ performance in the context of a blended learning environment. Social Applications for Lifelong Learning, 4(5). Retrieved from http://www.academia.edu/425665/Impact_of_Moodle_usage_practices_on_students_   performance_in_the_context_of_a_blended_learning