For the Intro Module Assignment I selected to work in Moodle. I’ve had limited exposure to the Moodle LMS, and have only previously rearranged blocks and did minor edits. So this was the first time I created a course in Moodle. I dove in and approached it without its workings in detail. I had a vision of what I wanted to create, and found that fitting that vision into the Moodle framework, would require some “tweaking”. I created the HTML pages in Dreamweaver, but I found it cumbersome to load the CSS and script files into Moodle. So I ended up linking to some files located on a shared content collection on a BlackBoard server, and hosting the CSS files in Google Drive. This created a lot extra work for me, just to get the look I wanted. Much of this could have been avoided if I stuck with simpler HTML pages.
However, I found myself comparing Blackboard to Moodle tools quite a bit. And Moodle’s strengths as far as the student’s abilities to track process, and offer and interface which facilitates communication and interaction, really shone through. The user interface really helped to showcase key information and access to communication tools. The inclusion of customized the HTML blocks, such as the glossary, or forums, text, images, videos and external embedded content, like twitter feeds, can help make the course more like a website, with changing, fresh content. This is difficult to do well in Blackboard, especially since the newer versions, have security features which restrict visibility of non-secure i-frame content. The Moodle Grades Reporting area is very intuitive to use and presented in an organized way to students. Overall, I am impressed with Moodle.
I’ve tried to design the Moodle course to enhance teaching presence, by incorporating activities to encourage discourse between and
“among students, between the teacher and the student, and between individual students, groups of students, and content resources” (Anderson, 2003b). Since the course I am working is for adult learners who are learning for professional development in employment or for other reasons, the course needs to focus on some rote knowledge, and active learning.
Communication
Moodle provides the tools to support a social presence, by providing a supportive web 2.0 environment where students feel safe and comfortable enough “to express their ideas in a collaborative context, and to present themselves
as real and functional human beings” (Anderson, 2008b). To re-enforce the safe and respective discussion environment, the introduction included a reminder about respectful communications in the course.
Assessment Strategies
The assessment strategies for the course are designed to reinforce the rote knowledge, and active learning. For example, the course will include “Learning Check-ins” which probe students to think and gauge their learning within the HTML pages. This formative assessment approach , “helping students to develop and increase their competence and knowledge (Bates, 2014), is a way for students to get immediate feedback, and provides some practice questions before they engage in the graded weekly quizzes. As pointed out in the Gibbs and Simpson article, (2005) “students’ final exam marks were closely related to the number (and therefore frequency) of computer marked assignments students had tackled. The frequency and speed of response of such feedback, which is possible to provide reasonably economically, may compensate for its relatively poor quality and lack of individualization”. The course I am working on will likely have a large number of students (30-40) and only one facilitator, so the weekly assessments will be auto-graded.
The active learning will be assessed in the discussions and participation. The final discussion question and final weekly quiz will be summative as the knowledge gained throughout the course will be assessed,
Works Cited
Anderson, T. (2008b). Teaching in an online learning context. In Anderson, T. & Elloumi, F. Theory and practice of online learning. Athabasca University. Retrieved from http://www.aupress.ca/books/120146/ebook/14_Anderson_2008-Theory_and_Practice_of_Online_Learning.pdf
Bates. T. (2014). Teaching in a digital age. Retrieved from http://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/chapter/5-8-assessment-of-learning/ (Appendix 1. A8)
Gibbs, G., & Simpson, C. (2005). Conditions under which assessment supports students’ learning. Learning and Teaching in Higher Education, 1(1), 3-31. Retrieved from http://www.open.ac.uk/fast/pdfs/Gibbs%20and%20Simpson%202004-05.pdf