Moodle

This page is all about the Moodle Learning Management System and its application for High Schools using a Blended Learning (face-to-face and online) Environment.

Why Choose Moodle

At a recent presentation I was asked by a Secondary School Senior Manager: “How do I decide what Learning Management System to use?” I have come across this question many times and my answer is to at least NOT let your school technicians influence the decision. The decision should be made on the basis of an investigation of Management Systems and whether or not they provide the tools that the users require. The next question is “who are the users?”

An LMS should first and foremost be considered a Learning tool rather than a management tool and thus it should meet the pedagogical requirements of the users who are the Teachers rather than the Senior Management or Technicians. I have listed below a set of requirements that I looked as a teacher when evaluating different LMS’s:

  1. Content can be organised in the way that I want
  2. It is highly interactive for students
  3. There are many features available from which I can choose from
  4. It is highly intuitive for the users – both the student and the teacher
  5. It is robust enough for anyone to use without breaking
  6. It is reliable and can handle many users
You will note that I did not include cost. As a teacher this is not a concern for me – it is management’s job to make sure that the best LMS is used and to then consider how to cover the cost of implementation.
I chose to use the Moodle LMS because it met the requirements set out above. I will be making additional posts about Moodle and its many features and advantages regularly. Below is a snapshot of one of the courses that I have taught using Moodle with a Year 11 History class. I have also included some labels to highlight some of the features of the course homepage:

How to get started with Moodle

If you or your school have decided to start using the Moodle LMS then this post may be of some use to you.

Self Hosting or Managed Hosting?

Although Moodle is a free open source Learning Management System downloadable from Moodle.org, it does require some ongoing technical support if you are wanting to go down the Self Hosting track. Even hosting it on a cheap overseas site such as GoDaddy.com or Bluehost.com can incur problems down the track, particularly if your site attracts a lot of traffic such as multiple users logging on and multiple daily emails. Even if your school hosts the site then you will need to be have some good technical assistance.

One option for self hosting is to contract a Moodle specialist such as Catalyst who can set up the site to your specifications. They can then monitor and manage from off-site. This could initially be the safest self-hosting track

Managed hosting is easier but more expensive. Companies such as Catalyst or HRDNZ are both Moodle specialists and would be the way to go. Just be aware that with managed hosting there may be limitations on the number of add-ons that you can install. I chose the managed hosting solution with my classes as my school chose to use Microsoft SharePoint (Ughhh!) and I wanted something more interactive etc (see my earlier post “Why Choose Moodle” for more on this). Managed hosting initially allowed me to gain confidence with Moodle as a learning tool without worrying about technical issues.

Training

  1. HRDNZ earlier this year started a 12 week MoodleBites Course. One important aspect of this is that you take on the role of a student – it is important to see Moodle from the users point of view as you are constructing your course. MoodleBites also gives you training and tips on the many tools that you can incorporate into your online course. You can also interact with other “students” and ask questions in the discussion forums.
  2. Northtec has been running a course called CeLDD (Certificate in Elearning Design & Development) for the last 2 years.
    This course is approximately 12 months but is more comprehensive than MoodleBites. It discusses wider eLearning issues and pedagogy and there are some tasks to complete – it is well worth looking at.
  3. Moodle School is a great website to become more familiar with Moodle. They have free short courses and links to a great range of resources.
  4. Julian Ridden of NSW Australia runs Moodle Playpen which showcases latest moodle developments within a Moodle site. He also has a great Moodle Blog.
  5. Finally, there is an annual conference in New Zealand called Moodle Moot. This year it is in Napier in the second week of these October holidays.
Well hopefully that gives you a few pointers from someone who has been moodling along for 2 years now…

Moodle Overview Diagram

This diagram which I accessed somewhere along the line in my Moodle training breaks Moodle down into its components (or objects).

 

Moodle Explained

This video explains Moodle as a set of course building blocks – illustrated with Lego.

It was made last month by Tomaz Lasic who is also the author of videos in one of my previous posts showing how Moodle changed his High School in Perth, Western Australia.

[Note: This video is high quality and you will need to go to full screen mode to view fully]

Implementing Moodle in a High School

It is my belief that the implementation of an interactive Learning Management System such as Moodle is best accomplished using a ground up rather than top down model.

The following two videos show what Belmont City College in Perth, Western Australia accomplished within a short space of time. After 10 months over 50% of teaching staff were using Moodle. The videos (part 1 & 2) step through the process of the schools implementation of Moodle and also demonstrate what is possible for teachers, students and administrators with the Moodle LMS.

This is a great presentation which I thoroughly recommend: