Inside Moodle

Inside

Like many teachers in the late nineties, I created my own web site for use in the classroom. Unfortunately, it was a great deal of work to add new content and maintain the site on a daily basis!

Even though the web site was very useful, it still lacked some important features…

Easy creation of content from my existing resources such as handouts and tests

Built-in tools for quick and easy content creation and management

Truly interactive learner involvement

Enrolment and learner authentication and tracking that was simple yet secure – I had no idea who was doing what at any given time

An intuitive interface to manage online learner information such as email addresses, phone numbers, and grades

A robust application proven to be secure, trustable, and affordable

An active support community to help me solve problems and generate new ideas

Then, one night at a party, someone told me about…

Moodle is an alternative to proprietary commercial online learning solutions, and is distributed for free under the GNU General Public License. M odular O bject- O riented D ynamic L earning E nvironment

Moodle Architecture Moodle was originally designed by an educator with a "social constructionist pedagogy" in mind. Social constructionists assert that learning is particularly effective when students are constructing something for others to experience. Moodle is a Course Management System (CMS) or Learner Management System (LMS). Martin Dougiamas Creator & Lead Developer

An individual or organization has complete access to the source code and can make changes if needed. Moodle’s modular design makes it easy to create new courses, adding content that engages learners on many levels.

Moodle is essentially an administrative platform that provides course pages that can be populated with… Forums Glossaries Wikis Assignments Assessments Choices (polls) Scorm/AICC packages Interactive databases Interactive Lessons Text pages Labels Web pages Links to Resources IMS Content Surveys Journal/Blog space Workshops and much more!

Depending on how you set up Moodle, all of your course materials are password-protected. This is an invaluable feature for those concerned with copyright law compliance!

First… Create an account at Moodle.org

A Number of Ways to Get Started…

Have your school set up a Moodle server

Obtain course space from one of the many companies now offering Moodle sites to teachers on the Internet

Set up your own Moodle site on a commonly available web-hosting account costing just a few dollars per month!

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Adding the Activities that form a course is a simple process:

Have you site admin create a course for you

Log in to your course

Click the “ Turn editing on ” button on your course page

Start adding course content!

Icons and links that make sense!

Description

Summary ? Index of All Help Files

It’s hard to make a mistake! Moodle Docs on each page

Click Save Changes, and you have your link!

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Easy point-and-click access to set-up screens and other administrative tools.

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Admin Bookmarks Blog Menu Blog Tags Calendar Course/Site Description HTML Block ( WYSIWYG ) Loan Calculator Mentees Network Servers Online Users Quiz Results Random Glossary Entry Recent Activity Remote RSS Feeds Section Links Upcoming Events

Link to any Internet Resource, and it becomes part of your course! Web 2.0

You and your students can create your own content!

Design interactive lessons with whatever structure you prefer… C Q Q End Intro Q Q Q Q Q Q End Branch End Branch End Branch End

Create Quizzes, Tests, and Review Tools

Use the Wiki module for collaborative projects of all kinds structured in just about any way you can imagine!

Create assignments requiring students to upload a written product.

Create peer assessment activities with a huge array of options using the Workshop module. Participants can assess each other's projects, as well as exemplar projects, in different ways.

LINK TO HOT POTATOES QUIZZES, TESTS, AND OTHER TOOLS  CREATE INTERACTIVE WEB QUESTS  HAVE STUDENTS CREATE WEB QUESTS FOR OTHER STUDENTS  PROVIDE MAKE-UP FOR VIDEOS  QUIZ STUDENTS ON VIDEO SHOWN IN CLASS  CREATE REVIEW TOOLS THAT CAN BE USED REPEATEDLY BY STUDENTS  HAVE STUDENTS CREATE A GLOSSARY FOR THE COURSE  CREATE A KEYWORD SEARCHABLE DATABASE OF YOUR STATE’S STANDARDS AND ANCHORS  PROVIDE LINKS TO REINFORCEMENT ACTIVITIES FOR PRIOR KNOWLEDGE  PROVIDE AREAS FOR THOUGHTFUL BLOGGING OF PROCESS OBSERVATIONS BY STUDENTS  DELIVER CONTENT THROUGH BRANCHED LESSONS  PROVIDE DIFFERIENTIATED LESSONS PRESENTING CERTAIN CONTENT ONLY TO THOSE WHO APPEAR TO NEED IT BASED ON THEIR PERFORMANCE  PROVIDE DIFFERIENTIATED VISUAL CONTENT BY PROVIDING DIFFERENT VIDEOS ON THE SAME SUBJECT FOR DIFFERENT LEARNERS  PROVIDE AUDIO AND VISUAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR ACTIVITIES  HAVE STUDNTS POST VISUAL AND AUDIO PROJECTS AND OBSERVATIONS FROM THE COMMUNITY  POLL STUDENTS ON ANYTHING AS IF YOU REALLY CARE WHAT THEY THINK  HAVE STUDENTS CREATE THEIR OWN ASSESSMENTS BY CREATING QUESTIONS THAT WILL BECOME PART OF THE ASSESSMENT ON GIVEN MATERIAL  DELIVER CONTENT IN PORTABLE DOCUMENT FORMAT  CREATE FORMULAS FOR MATH  ENGAGE STUDENTS IN PEER EVAULATION THROUGH THE USE OF WORKSHOPS  POST YOUR PRESENTATIONS AND NOTES FOR THOSE WHO MISS CLASS  ENGAGE STUDENTS IN THE USE OF A MULTITUDE OF WEB 2.0 TOOLS LINKED DIRECTLY FROM YOUR COURSE WEB PAGE  MIX THE USE OF MOODLE PRESENTATION AND ASSESSMENT TOOLS WITH THE USE OF WEB 2.0 TOOLS IN ORDER TO ASSESS COMPREHENSION  POST DAILY ACTIVITY RECORDS  POST ALL IMPORTANT CLASS DOCUMENTS SUCH AS SYLLABI, WORKSHEETS, AND RUBRICS  PROVIDE ON LINE ASSESSMENT  ENABLE DIFFERIENTIATED INSTRUCTION BY PROVIDING MULTIPLE ASSESSMENT PREPARATION TOOLS OF DIFFERING TYPE  KEEP STUDENTS ENGAGED BY PROVIDING THEM IMMEDIATE FEED BACK ON THEIR PROGRESS IN LESSONS AND ON ASSESSMENTS  FREE YOURSELF FROM EXLAINING OVER AND OVER WHAT YOU DID IN CLASS YESTERDAY BY SAYING IT’S ALL ON THE CLASS WEBSITE  CREATE LINKS TO OFFICIAL DOCUMENT FORMATTING SITES, ANTI-PLAGIARISM SITES, SCHOOL RULES SITES, AND OTHER RULES AND REGULATIONS SITES THAT APPLY TO YOUR CLASSROOM  PROVIDE A DIRECT LINK TO DISCOVERY EDUCATION STREAMING AND ALL OF THE FANTASTIC THINGS THEY HAVE TO OFFER  REALLY GET EDGY AND USE THE CHAT MODULE TO PROVIDE A BACK CHANNEL FOR YOUR STUDENTS TO ENTER INTO LECTURES AND PRESENTATIONS AS ACTIVE PARTICIPANTS  INVITE THE WORLD INTO YOUR CLASSROOM WITH RSS FEEDS FROM ANYWHERE  NETWORK WITH OTHER MOODLE SERVERS

You will get the most out of Moodle if each student has his or her own email.