When I start a project, I tend to go full out with it and designing a Moodle module was no different. I put a great deal of time into developing what I currently have on my Moodle site.  Part of this is because it initially took a lot of trial and error to figure out how to create content and edit pages. And it’s also because I dove into working on the project before fully understanding what was due and when. At this point, I have created both an intro module and a content module, when I really just needed to have the intro module completed. After spending several very long days focusing on Moodle, I re-examined the course schedule and discovered that I was freaking out unnecessarily as I’m actually ahead of where I need to be at this time in the course. This was a good lesson for me in the importance of carefully reading guidelines and schedules! So after discovering this, I feel much calmer about using Moodle than when I first gave it a try. Initially, Moodle was not very intuitive and a bit of a pain to figure out how to use. I didn’t know how I should lay out my home page, and then I had no idea if my content should be on content pages, questionnaires, or lesson pages. I grew incredibly frustrated as I kept editing a page, only to see no changes take place. It turns out that I wasn’t actually editing the homepage but instead I was in the “Edit course settings” section, editing the Course summary. When I finally figured this out, I felt like a huge idiot but I also had a surge of pride when I succeeded creating a homepage and adding content. I managed to get some help by referring to the e-learning toolkit, watching John’s collaborate session, and by searching online, however for the most part I learned by trial and error. I have gained a lot of confidence though and I feel like I would be competent at using Moodle in the future.

Although I experienced several challenges with Moodle initially, I do see the potential that it has as an LMS. Moodle will allow me to create an online learning environment that is learner, knowledge, community, and assessment-centred (Anderson, 2008). To create an environment that is learner-centered, the virtual icebreaker provides each student with the opportunity to introduce themself and share some information about their background, interests, and what they wish to learn in the course. My Moodle site is also anchored within a constructivist approach, which “assumes that knowledge is individually constructed and socially co-constructed by learners based on their interpretations of experiences in the world” (Jonassen, 1999, p. 217). Students will build their knowledge as they participate in activities that are relevant, collaborative, and engaging.

I really like the affordances of Moodle that make it community-centered. Currently, I have a class website that is not interactive, and I would like to improve it by having an online space for students to engage with content and with each other. Students who use computer technology that enables them to share knowledge with one another “greatly surpass students in ordinary classrooms on measures of depth of learning and reflection, awareness of what they have learned or need to learn and understanding of learning itself” (Scardamalia & Bereiter, 1994, p. 281). Thus the integration of collaboration between students in the discussion forums is an important pedagogical feature of my design.

The purpose of assessment should be to “motivate, inform, and provide feedback to both learners and teachers” (Anderson, 2008, p. 49). I am looking forward to experiencing the online testing features of Moodle as I think that technology has great potential for providing feedback to students in a timely, personalized manner.

Moodle provides a steep learning curve but I feel like I am over the hump now and would actually be proficient using it as a supplement to my face-to-face teaching. The topic of my module is Plate Tectonics for Science 10 and the hands-on activities with local examples will engage students and inspire them to question what they already know about the causes of earthquakes, volcanoes, and other geological structures. Any feedback on how to improve my Moodle site is greatly appreciated!

 

References

Anderson, T. (2008). Towards a theory of online learning.  In: Anderson, T. & Elloumi, F. Theory and practice of online learning. Athabasca University.

Jonassen, D. (1999). Designing constructivist learning environments. In C. Reigeluth (Ed.), Instructional design theories and models: Volume II. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Scardamalia, M., & Bereiter, C. (1994). Computer support for knowledge-building communities. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 3(3), 265-283.