Designing an LMS module in just a few weeks has given me an appreciation for the incredible amount of time and effort that go into putting a course online. To successfully design a course in an LMS requires a great deal of thought, research, and design skills. It also helps to have a framework to evaluate learning technologies, so my design process was influenced by The National Educational Technology Standards and Performance Indicators for Teachers (NETS, 2008), Chickering and Gamson’s (1987) Seven Principles for Good Practice in Undergraduate Education, Bates & Pools’ (2003) SECTIONS framework and Anderson’s (2008) Toward a Theory of Online Learning. I also relied on advice from my ETEC 565A peers in regards to Moodle tips, and helpful suggestions in the e-learning toolkit. While I certainly wouldn’t call myself a Moodle master, I am now much more confident working with Moodle and I feel as though I could apply my new skills to working with other Learning Management Systems.
My Moodle Module is a digital learning experience that will facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity while allowing me to model digital-age work and engage in professional growth (NETS, 2008). My LMS encourages reciprocity and cooperation among students, both in the discussion forums and in the wiki, because “good learning, like good work, is collaborative and social not competitive and isolated” (Chickering & Gamson, 1987). The module uses active learning techniques and gives prompt feedback, both in lessons and in the quiz (Chickering & Gamson, 1987). Bates & Poole’s (2003) SECTIONS model has guided my overall design especially the ”Students” component. I believe the applications I’ve selected to enhance my LMS environment are appropriate for grade 10 students with a wide range of reading abilities, working in a collaborative environment. Finally, I have made every effort to increase Anderson’s (2008) student-student, student-teacher, and student-content interactions in my LMS by including collaborative activities, resource links, and a variety of communication tools.
Despite the level of success that I feel now with Moodle, I did experience some challenges along the way. For example, I struggled with the GUI on the splash page because once I created four navigational components, I found that I couldn’t add to the table. Instead, I had to create a whole new table and paste the old components into it before adding new ones.
Another challenge was with the wiki. I hope that my instructions are clear enough for students to create new entries. I expected the wiki creation to be more intuitive than it was, but it’s all a learning process. I just want to ensure that I am proficient enough to troubleshoot students’ concerns with the wiki before I roll it out to my class to use.
By having to include certain components to successfully complete this assignment, I was forced to utilize features that I might not have otherwise been exposed to. For example, I don’t think that I would have figured out how to program a module for selective release without that being a course requirement. I am glad I figured out how to use this feature because I see how useful and necessary it is now. For example, my students must complete the module’s readings and activities before having access to the quiz. This will prevent any overzealous students from skipping through the activities and going straight for the portion that they see being “worth marks” while missing the valuable lessons along the way. I have had this experience with students in the past when using online activities, so I value the opportunity to make students slow down and take it all in.
In the future, I look forward to exploring Moodle’s other capabilities. For instance, I would like to reward students with badges as they complete modules. I think that a badge could provide a little extra motivation and encouragement to help students be proud of their own progress and continue striving for improvement.
On reflection, I am happy with my experience completing this assignment. It has given me the opportunity to become more comfortable working with Moodle, and I believe this will translate to working with other LMS’s as well. I feel inspired to continue improving my design skills and encourage other teaching professionals to practice LMS design.
References
Anderson, T. (2008). Towards a theory of online learning. In: Anderson, T. & Ellioumi, F. Theory and Practice of Online Learning. Athabasca University. Retrieved from http://cde.athabascau.ca/online_book/ch2.html
Bates, A.W. & Poole, G. (2003). Chapter 4: a Framework for selecting and using technology. In Effective teaching with technology in higher education: Foundations for success. (pp. 77-105). San Francisco: Jossey Bass Publishers.
Chickering, A.W. & Gamson, Z.F. (1987). Seven principles for good practice in undergraduate education. American Association for Higher Education Bulletin, 39(7), 3-7.
National Educational Technology Standards for Teachers. (2008). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_for_Teachers_2008.htm