Moodle as a central platform for the Virtual Campus

Moodle als zentrale Plattform für den virtuellen CampusThe Moodle technology served as base for the creation and implementation of the eCampus, a simple system, that integrates all digital services of the school and that, at the same time, gives the professors access to some e-learning resources. Pre-existing digital resources were adapted and combined with new functionalities on top of a Moodle base. These resources and the context of their use will be presented, as well as some of the necessary technical efforts to implement a useful e-learning platform, while keeping it as easy-to-use as possible. This is why this paper can also described as a hands-on case study of the implementation of a holistic e-learning strategy, with the help of Moodle

Learning Management Systems in Higher Education

Learning Management Systems (LMSs) are improving learning processes and are widely used in higher education institutions. There are available various types of LMSs used by pedagogues to manage eLearning and to deliver course materials to students. Nowadays, LMSs have become essential tools that affect the quality of learning and teaching in higher education. In this article, we introduce LMSs and we choose Moodle as a tool to presentaninformation system that is used in our university. Moodle is an online learning environment that supports classroom teaching. We will focus on the advantages of LMSs and why we choose Moodle as the best open source LMSs

Enhancing Moodle to meet the needs of 200,000 distance learners

In 2005 The Open University UK selected Moodle as the basis of its institutional virtual learning environment. Since then, the system has been integrated with existing elearning and administrative systems at the University and considerably enhanced during an extensive development programme costing around €8m and taking nearly three years. Many policy issues have emerged which needed to be tackled alongside the software developments in order for the platform to be adopted by the 7,000 tutors and nearly 200,000 students of the University. The Moodle system has proven to be reliable, scalable and customisable and has resulted in a more flexible system for the Open University than the commercial alternatives. This paper examines some of the many enhancements made to Moodle by the Open University, most of which have been fed back into the product for the benefit of other Moodle users. It describes some of the policy and pedagogical issues which have emerged during the roll-out of Moodle across the University

BECTA research project: International Baccalaureate E-Learning Laboratory (iBEL): evaluation report

The International Baccalaureate E-Learning Laboratory (iBEL) investigated the role that design-for-learning (D4L) plays in fostering independent learning on the International Baccalaureate programme using integrated open source platforms, namely Moodle and LAMS. Results from the project indicate these technologies increased independent learning, especially when teachers provided a clear framework by linking to pre-selected, reliable resources, and structured these through appropriate activities. Visual design was highly valued and learners enjoyed using resources containing rich media. In subject disciplines such as Modern Foreign Languages and English they were motivated by the integration of social learning tools, notably forum, glossary tools and chat. Students expected the use of technologies to form a part of their learning. Some teachers found that the use of the technologies assisted with long-term planning and enhanced their relationships with students. Adoption of a D4L system is more likely to succeed if introduced as a repository for existing content to which activities are later added and where it supports flexibility, fits the way that practitioners normally plan for learning, integrates easily with F2F teaching, contains a variety of easy to use tools, and accommodates the integration and updating of existing resources created by staff, such as Word, pdf and PowerPoint

JCCTL Mailer – February 21, 2022

Updates on training and support and useful pedagogical resources compiled and sent by the JCCTL on February 21, 2022. Effective and efficient feedback on Moodle assignments (with Kelli Murphy) Real Talk about OER – JCCTL OER Grantee Experience (Friday Forum) The Who, When, and Why of University Student Well-Being and Mental Health: Dept of Psychology Kenneth L. Smoke Colloquium Series Lecture How to Have Difficult Conversations: Spring Spotlight Series (Professional Development Committee) Helpful Moodle links Spring 2022 JCCTL Grants Mellon Travel Grant 2021-202

Scoping the future: a model for integrating learning environments

The Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) has become synonymous with online learning in HE.However, with the rise of Web 2.0 technologies, social networking tools and cloud computing thearchitecture of the current VLEs is increasingly anachronistic. This paper suggests an alternative tothe traditional VLE: one which allows for flexibility and adaptation to the needs of individual teachers,while remaining resilient and providing students with a seamless experience. We present a prototypeof our vision, combining our new development software and a number of existing tried and tested toolsinto a single flexible interface, and built on established pedagogical and technical standards

Using the feedback activity in Moodle (staff version) - PDF

Using the feedback activity in Moodle (staff version

Module facelift: engaging student technology teachers with maths

In recent years a First Year Mathematics module for student Technology teachers has undergone a significant redesign due to a combination of factors. In 2010 a new tutor took over the module and began to add more content to the existing course in order to encourage students to engage with online resources, but a total redesign was not possible due to the limitations of the existing Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) (Moodle 1.9). In 2012, with support from the Learning Technology Unit, this course was restructured on the new Moodle 2.3 site in order that a new tool for quiz authoring and delivery could be embedded within the course. Previous technologies available were limited in various ways; with the arrival of this new tool sophisticated questions can be delivered and activities can be accessed on and off campus. In addition to this, the new version of the course includes tools for social networking and collaborative learnin

Scaffolding School Pupils’ Scientific Argumentation with Evidence-Based Dialogue Maps

This chapter reports pilot work investigating the potential of Evidence-based Dialogue Mapping to scaffold young teenagers’ scientific argumentation. Our research objective is to better understand pupils’ usage of dialogue maps created in Compendium to write scientific ex-planations. The participants were 20 pupils, 12-13 years old, in a summer science course for “gifted and talented” children in the UK. Through qualitative analysis of three case studies, we investigate the value of dialogue mapping as a mediating tool in the scientific reasoning process during a set of learning activities. These activities were published in an online learning envi-ronment to foster collaborative learning. Pupils mapped their discussions in pairs, shared maps via the online forum and in plenary discussions, and wrote essays based on their dialogue maps. This study draws on these multiple data sources: pupils’ maps in Compendium, writings in science and reflective comments about the uses of mapping for writing. Our analysis highlights the diversity of ways, both successful and unsuccessful, in which dialogue mapping was used by these young teenagers