Introduction
The advent of new technologies has greatly influenced education. As such, educational institutions must design curricula that infuse lessons with technology in a bid to cater to the needs of today’s learners who are increasingly digitally-literate, techno-savvy and demand excellent, inspired, interactive teaching (Ashraf, 2009). Jonassen (2000) purports that technologies are cognitive tools that assist learners to elaborate on what they are thinking and to engage in meaningful learning.
This proposal is in support of implementing a Moodle (Modular Object Oriented Dynamic Learning Environment) learning management system (LMS) at Moneague College to complement face to face delivery methods. Using Moodle would provide great opportunity for effective classroom and subject management, enhancing learning experience and improving the quality of education by using current technology.
The driving pedagogical forces for implementing Moodle includes better information access; improved communication, cooperation and collaboration; synchronous and asynchronous learning and cost-effectiveness.
The move to implement Moodle LMS is consistent with the ISTE/NETS (2008) which advocate the use of technology in education and suggest students should be provided opportunities to engage in technology supported activities that enhance their learning experiences.
Why Moodle?
Moodle is a learning management system for facilitating Internet-based courses. It has been designed to support modern pedagogies based on social constructivist theories which are appropriate for today’s digital age learners. Moodle provides a wide range of teaching resources that allows the delivery of a cohesive, web-based learning environment such as discussion forums, chats, resources, quizzes, glossaries, lessons, and assignments which are relevant for any course designed to be delivered with technology.
Moodle was selected because of its fast growing presence in the education arena since a growing number of major educational institutions globally are adopting it (Martinez and Jagannathan, 2008). Additionally, Moodle is a cost-effective solution that promises to increase value and learning output at very minimal cost mainly because it is an open source solution.
In an attempt to provide a comprehensive analysis of the Moodle LMS, the Bates and Poole (2003) SECTIONS framework for selecting and analyzing the appropriateness of technology was used.
Students
Students are exposed to technology since Information Technology is a core course in the secondary school curriculum. Furthermore, many lessons were delivered using e-learning methods as a result of the extensive integration of e-learning in secondary schools in Jamaica.
Ease of Use and Reliability
Moodle is relatively easy to use and manipulate; it is well documented and help resources can be easily accessed from the Internet. Berggren et. al., 2005 cites one of the most striking features of Moodle as the ease with which course materials can be developed and refined in an iterative fashion.
Statistics show that there are currently over 43 million users of moodle in 212 countries (http://moodle.org/stats, 2011). A learning management system of this degree could not be possible without high levels of usability and reliability.
Cost
Moodle is an open source software that requires no fees compared to commercial LMS options such as Blackboard and WebCT. There would be no additional cost to install Moodle since it will be hosted on the college’s server because it has adequate space. Additionally, the college’s systems administrator is capable of setting up and managing the platform which eliminates the cost of hiring additional staff to maintain the server.
Teaching and Learning
Moodle was chosen because it will accommodate many methods of teaching and learning, such as group work, discussion and so on, which require learners to actively engage in the construction of knowledge. When learners are actively engaged in the learning process, they not only develop a deeper understanding of the subject area, but also their enthusiasm and motivation will be highly intensified (Jonassen, 2000).
Interactivity
Moodle has many interactive features which makes it an ideal teaching tool. It provides the opportunity for learners to actively engage in their learning by integrating synchronous and asynchronous web 2.0 tools such as blogs, discussion forums and chats. The software also facilitates formative and summative assessments and provides immediate and accurate feedback which helps students and teacher to monitor learning.
Organizational Issues
The College has a strong organisational structure in place that will ensure that any attempts to implement Moodle will be successful.
Novelty
Moodle has been around since 1999 and currently has more than 43,000,000 users in over 200 countries. Moodle has illustrated steady growth in both registered users and sites since its inception (http://moodle.org/stats, 2011).
Speed
Moodle is easy to install. Courses can be created very quickly and easily, and requires no web programming skills.
I hope this proposal will be considered as Moodle is a cost-effective and reliable learning management system which has the potential to engage learners in digital age learning experiences and thus deepen learning.
References
Ashraf, B. (2009). Teaching the Google-eyed YouTube generation. Education and Training. Vol. 51 No. 5/6, 2009, pp. 343-352, doi 10.1108/00400910910987165. Emerald Group Publishing Limited 0040-0912
Bates, A.W. & Poole, G. (2003). A Framework for Selecting and Using Technology. In Effective Teaching with Technology in Higher Education: Foundations for Success. San Francisco: Jossey Bass Publishers.
Berggren, A., Burgos, D. , Fontana, J.M. , Hinkelmanm,D., Hung, V. and Hursh A. (2005) Practical and pedagogical issues for teacher adoption of IMS learning design standards in Moodle LMS, Journal of Interactive Media in Education.
Jonassen, D.H. (2000). Transforming learning with technology: Beyond modernism and postmodernism or whoever controls the technology creates the reality. Educational Technology 40 2, pp. 21–25.
Martinez, M. & Jagannathan, S. (2008). Moodle: A Low-Cost Solution for Successful e-Learning. Retrieved from http://www.learningsolutionsmag.com/articles/71/moodle-a-low-cost-solution-for-successful-e-learning
National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers. Retrieved from
http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-teachers/nets-for-teachers-2008.aspx