This document discusses the benefits of using Moodle, a free and open-source course management system, based on three articles. Moodle allows teachers to manage course content, assignments, grades, and communication more easily. It saves teachers time by facilitating tasks like creating collaborative syllabi. Moodle also improves communication between teachers, students, and parents by providing access to course materials and grades from any location. Teachers interviewed found Moodle enhanced their classrooms by streamlining workflows and increasing student motivation.

1. Elainna Kish
EDUC-W 200
Summer 2009

2.  What is Moodle? & What is Moodle?
 “Got Moodle?” by Susan Brooks-Young
 Summary Slide 1
 Summary Slide 2
 Personal Reflection
 “Creating a Collaborative Syllabus Using Moodle” by Emmett
Dulaney
 Summary Slide 1
 Summary Slide 2
 Summary Slide 3
 Personal Reflection
 “Teachers and Technology: Eric Brewer” by Neal Starkman
 Summary Slide 1
 Summary Slide 2
 Summary Side 3
 Personal Reflection
 Conclusion Slide
 Works Cited

5.  Moodle is a free and open source course
management system.
 It “enables educators to manage all aspects
of course content and delivery using one
integrated system” (Brooks-Young, 2008).
 Moodle can be used for quizzes, tests,
attendence, grading, assigning and collecting
work, and collaboration among other things
 Moodle itself is free, however the people
required for training and maintenance are
not

6.  Useful in all settings, including
homeschooling because students can work at
their own pace from any location with
internet
 Allows students to share their input about
the class; one teacher allows his students to
create a database of questions he uses to
make exams
 Moodle is constantly being upgraded, adding
more modules to make its effectiveness in
the classroom even better.
Got Moodle? Article

7.  Moodle is incredibly useful. It was interesting to see how much you can
do for free to improve your classroom.
 Even though Moodle itself is free, you have to have a server that can
support it and someone to provide training and maintenance. Even if
there is some expense, the benefits outweigh the cost.
 Moodle can make teachers’ lives easier and it can also make students’
lives easier. I think it provides a vast improvement in the way
assignments and grades are delivered.
 One teacher lets “his students create and update a database of questions
he uses to build class exams through the system’s Quiz module” (Brooks-
Young , 2008) I think more teachers need to start implementing the input
students give them into lessons & assessment.

8.  This article shows that Moodle is not only for K-
12, it can also be used in the college setting
 Having only 15 or 16 weeks in a semester does
not leave much class time to spare – Moodle
helped one professor save class time, that would
otherwise be spent discussing the syllabus, by
letting him collect input from his students
outside of class.
 He used a survey and then a quiz through Moodle
that future students could access to find out
their opinions about what the class should cover,
how he should cover it, and what weights the
grades should have.

9. One of the surveys the professor used (directly from article)

10.  The image on the previous slide shows one of
Moodle’s many capabilites –creating surveys
that can be answered by “strongly disagree,
disagree, neutral, agree, strongly agree”
 This survey and the following quiz helped
him to create the syllabus quickly and easily
 “After only 20 minutes, the discussion ended
with the syllabus being left as it was prior to
the start of class” (Dulaney, 2008)
 Only 20 minutes were spent reviewing the
syllabus as opposed to several sessions!
Creating A Syllabus Article

11.  This article proves that Moodle can be used at every level of education- I
think it is great that Moodle is so versatile.
 Even if you can’t find an exact way to do something on Moodle, there are
ways to work around it to get what you want – a great feature.
 Moodle provides opportunities to save class time for things that actually
matter in class. Instead of spending class sessions debating over the
syllabus, it can be taken care of outside of class. More time for learning
is always an improvement to education!
 “The more input students could have in the process outside of class, the more
class time could be saved for covering the material” (Dulaney, 2008)

12.  Eric Brewer teaches grades 9-12 at a high
school in New York
 He uses the Moodle course management
system in his classroom, and is very pleased
with the results that it has brought.
 “It enhances communication, it gives quicker
feedback, and it even motivates students to
finish assignments quicker!”
(Starkman, 2008).

13.  Teachers have the ability to work on grades
and assignments anywhere with internet
access
 Students and parents can see grades and
assignments using Moodle.
 A positive result is increased communication:
students can no longer say they don’t know
their standing in the class & it “eliminates
complaints of not knowing when students’
assignments are due…” (Starkman,2008).

14.  Ifteachers are able to use technology, it
creates another connection between them
and their students.
 Many students today are avid users of
technology – teachers should take advantage
of this opportunity to connect with their
students! Moodle is a great way to do that.
Teachers & Technology Article

15.  I like that this article included a testimony from a real teacher. I have never used
Moodle, and hearing a person talk about their experience made it seem more real to
me.
 Giving parents the ability to see assignments and also their children’s grades would
reduce the amount of time spent on the phone discussing these matters. It also
could help reduce confusion when students play the middle man from parents to
teacher. I think this is one of the most helpful features Moodle provides.
 Being able to work on assignments anywhere in the world would greatly benefit
teachers who are sick, on vacation, or absent for any other reason
 Brewer said, “Embrace the new communication tools – once you get past the
learning curve, it makes your job easier!” (Starkman,2008) Moodle provides great
opportunities for teachers to improve communication and their classrooms in
general!

16.  Moodle provides great
opportunties to improve many
aspects of classroom
management, including
communication, grading, and
time-saving.
 Moodle is free, and many school
districts are choosing to
incorporate it into their systems.
 Moodle is becoming more and
more popular, and anyone going
into the field of education
should at least be familiar with
what Moodle is.
 Many teachers that use Moodle
have found many improvements
in their classroom once the
system was introduced.

17.  Brooks-Young, S. (April 1, 2008). Got Moodle? THE Journal. Retrieved
August 2, 2009 from http://thejournal.com/Articles/2008/04/01/Got-
Moodle.aspx?sc_lang=en&Page=2
 Dulaney, E. (March 24,2008). Creating a Collaborative Syllabus Using
Moodle. THE Journal. Retrieved August 2, 2009 from
http://thejournal.com/Articles/2008/03/24/Creating-a-Collaborative-
Syllabus-Using-Moodle.aspx?sc_lang=en&Page=2
 Starkman, N. (July 10, 2008). Teachers & Technology: Eric Brewer. THE
Journal. Retrieved August 2, 2009 from
http://thejournal.com/articles/2008/07/10/teachers--technology-eric-
brewer.aspx?sc_lang=en