4,338 research outputs found
Acceptance and Use of Moodle by Students and Academics
Learning management systems such as Moodle have become an integral part of todayâs universities. While commonly used throughout the world, there has been disproportionate attention to peoplesâ acceptance and use of such technologies. What is worth specific attention is how students may perceive learning technologies differently to their professors. Using the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology or UTAUT (Venkatesh, Morris, Davis and Davis, 2003) we examine the attitudes towards and usage behaviours of Moodle for both students and academics. The findings point to key similarities and differences, the latter of which departs from extant literature that suggests no difference between generations. However given the lack of support for the UTAUT model, it is suggested that theoretical models of technology acceptance and use need to evolve to appropriately capture the environment of higher education in which learning management systems such as Moodle are used
Recommended from our members
Going where your users are: embedding library resources into VLE course pages
Developing e-assessment using the quiz activity within Moodle: empowering student learning
Using formative assessment within Moodle has been shown to encourage self-directed learning (Bromham & Oprandi, 2006). Our experience of using formative assessment quizzes as stand alone entities, as well as within Moodle lessons, has been used to introduce Moodle assessment quizzes over the past year in Level 1 and Level 2 Life Sciences courses. This
experience has been distilled to inform the content of this workshop.
Some advantages of incorporating assessments in the form of Moodle quizzes are that they allow for quick, reproducible and flexible assessment with a relatively small initial set-up cost, and substantial long-term staff and administration savings. One significant advantage is that staff and room pressures can be reduced as students can attempt the assessment at a time and location of their choice within a specified time period.
This flexibility can help to reduce student stress associated with completion of a continuous assessment for their course. It is also a relatively simple process
to account for students entitled to extra time during assessments. Providing clear instructions beforehand and at the start of the quiz ensures that students understand their responsibilities for completion of this assessment and
ultimately the course.
There are some disadvantages and limitations to the system as it currently exists, for example there is the perceived ability for students to âcheatâ by completing the assessment as a group, accessing books and the internet.
Strategies to account for these can be put in place and will be discussed in detail during the workshop.
This workshop aims to take the participants through the initial set up of a quiz, highlighting the various question types and how these can be used to create a challenging assessment that can be quickly graded and prove informative
for staff and course development.
Reference
Bromham L. & Oprandi P. (2006) Evolution online: developing active and blended learning by using a virtual learning environment in an introductory biology course. Journal of Biological Education 41 (1): 21-25
Technical and didactic knowledge of the moodle LMS in Higher Education: beyond functional use
Higher education institutions at the international level have seen
the need to adopt and integrate information and communication
technologies to meet the opportunities and challenges of innovation
in teaching and learning processes. This logic has led to the
implementation of virtual learning environments called âLearning
Management Systemsâ, the functionalities of which support
flexible and active learning under a constructivist approach.
This study measured didactic and technological use of Moodle
and its implications in teaching from a quantitative approach
by administering a questionnaire to a sample of 640 higher
education teachers. Some guiding questions were as follows:
Are teachers using the Moodle platform for didactic purposes?
What strategies, resources and tools are teachers using, and
what do they contribute to student-centred teaching? Are teaching
strategies that are focused on collaboration, interaction and
student autonomy promoted? The results coincide with those of
other studies, confirming an instrumental and functional use of the
platform, which is mainly being used as a repository for materials
and information, while its pedagogical use remains limited. This is
becoming a problem in higher education institutions, something
that requires debate and reflection from a systemic perspective on
the adoption and integration of technology in the classroo
Recommended from our members
Digital Scholarship Audit Report
This report will describe the audit of digital scholarship practices that was carried out over the period between 2nd November 2009 and 31st July 2010 as part of the wider Digital Scholarship project. The original proposal for the project included the intention to âconduct [an] exploration of current academic researchersâ practices in digital scholarshipâ and this document is the result of that exploration
Factors affecting blended learning acceptance and utilisation amongst academic staff at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University
Blended learning constitutes a key element of the NMMUâs Vision 2020; therefore, creating the expectation that academics from the NMMU will implement and utilise blended learning as part of their teaching pedagogy. Implementation reports drawn from Moodle (the learning management system utilised by NMMU) indicates that there are still numerous departments that are not fully utilising blended learning. The aim of this study was thus to determine the factors that impact on the acceptance and implementation of blended learning by academics at the NMMU. A modified version of the Technology Acceptance Questionnaire was electronically distributed to academics from the various NMMU campuses in order to collect the empirical data, with purposeful non-probability sampling being employed. The results indicated that factors, such as perceived usefulness, the student-centered nature of blended learning, the appeal of such environments to students, accessibility, as well as administrative- and communication benefits, had a positive influence on blended learning adoption. Lack of time and lack of knowledge with regard to blended learning use and implementation, concerns regarding accessibility, and lack of capacity and technical support were cited as issues that hampered blended learning implementation
- âŠ