Moodle course design – moving beyond dump and pump

1. Moodle Course Design –
moving beyond 'dump and pump'
Mark Bailye
Senior Consultant, NetSpot
MoodleMoot , Melbourne 2013

2. Overview
Key points
■ More than just ‘dump and pump’
■ Focus must be on
□ Pedagogy
□ Generating ‘active learners’
■ Pointers – what works

3. Take time to reflect!
Things to consider
■ Why did I use Moodle?
■ Was I ready for Moodle?
■ Was Moodle ready for me?
■ Was my pedagogy sound?
Support, enhance or extend learning?

4. Common problem!
■ Teachers are
□ time poor
□ not confident
□ lack Moodle experience – don’t know which tools to
use when
What can I do to get the most out of Moodle?
Where to …

5. Things to note …
What can I do that is better?
■ Appearance
■ Layout and navigation
■ Building resources into your course
■ More interactivity & activity sequencing

6. Things to note …
What can I do that is better?
■ Appearance
Questions
■ What will a student see when they first land into the
topic?
■ Am I making good use of ‘Module Zero’?
■ Is my design clear and consistent?
■ Is the appearance consistent with other topics students
may be undertaking?

7. Things to note …
What can I do that is better?
■ Navigation
Questions
■ Does my course layout take on the ‘toilet roll’ effect?
■ Will a student find everything easily?
■ Am I making good use of module headings and
modules?
■ Have I made good use of icons, colour or white space?

8. Things to note …
What can I do that is better?
■ Building resources into your course
Questions
■ Am I just uploading files into your course?
■ Are the files I am adding too big?
■ How much text does a student see?
■ Have I just embedded links?
■ Am I making good use of ‘Add a resource’?

9. Things to note …
What can I do that is better?
■ More interactivity & activity sequencing
Questions
■ What am I getting a student to do in my topic?
■ Am I getting students to engage, collaborate,
communicate or reflect in my topic?
■ Am I making good use of ‘Add an activity’?
■ Have I sequenced any activities?

10. Example …
Boats for beginners
Does it
■ Support, enhance or extend learning?
■ Contain good pedagogy?
■ Encourage active learning?
■ Engage students?
If so, how?

11. To take home …
What can I do that is better?
■ Appearance
■ Layout and navigation
■ Building resources into your course
■ More interactivity & activity sequencing
Key Question!
■ What am I using Moodle for?
Pedagogy? To support, enhance or extend learning?