This opportunity to create a course on Moodle was my first experience approaching it from an administrative/instructor’s perspective. Several courses throughout my time in the COMET program have used Moodle as the course platform. I have found it to be a beneficial tool from a learner’s perspective, and can now say the same from an instructor’s.
The administrative tools that are found in Moodle include setting up course enrollment, assigning roles, and setting up the course format. Because we did not do more than set up a hypothetical course, we did not deal with any actual enrollment. Some other administrative tools include grading, file sharing/uploading, and the ability to create reports.
There are several course creation tools that enable the instructor/designer to move smoothly through the course design process. We utilized the discussion forum tool, setting up a news forum and two discussion forums. It was easy to upload course materials and resources, placing them in the appropriate section of the course, whether it be in the course introduction or the individual course modules. Another tool we used was to create a quiz. There are various question types that are available, including multiple choice, matching, and short answer. For a couple of the deliverables, we utilized the assignment drop box feature that allows students to upload their assignment to turn it in. There are many more course creation features that you find on Moodle that we did not incorporate into our course design. Some of these include Wiki’s and blogs.
When it came to editing the course once it was set up, it was straightforward. In the administrative role, once the editing was turned on, the user could then edit each section of the course. This was the tool that allowed for the course design to actually occur.
Each of the tools was useful and user-friendly. One problem I encountered was when it came to creating the course syllabus within the Moodle itself. Even after several attempts at editing the text, it still did not show up the way it was intended. The main problem was with tabs and font size. Another con could be the quiz creating tool. It was pretty confusing and I think that I novice user like myself could benefit from a little more structure or possibly templates for various types of assessments.
The course that I created along with my partner, Grace Reyes, titled ‘Cells’, was designed to be a three week course for middle school students in a life science course. The course takes them through learning the various structures found in both plant an animal cells and their corresponding functions. Students then get some practice locating and recognizing what those structures look like by coloring and labeling plant an animal cell diagrams. The second module takes the students through a virtual cell lab done with a partner via Skype. The third and final module allows the students to take their knowledge of cell structures and their functions a step further by coming up with analogies to city structures. There is a quiz in this third module. In the second and third modules students will utilize the discussion forums to answer questions about the virtual lab and to post descriptions of their analogies.
Due to this course being taken in the summer, we did not have access to many subjects to test out our Moodle course. I was able to have my niece and nephew who will be in the 7th grade this fall taking life science test out the site. Their response was really positive. Most of their comments focused on how what was expected of them was made clear and that the activities were fun. I believe this was the first time either of them have ever encountered an online course.
As the course stands right now, I feel pretty good about it. If I were to actually run the course, I would go back and redesign the quiz. I think that if a little more time was spent on that it would be more beneficial to the students’ learning. Also, because there was a big response about the visuals, I would like to include some more.
The model for designing VDILS was a useful resource when it came to creating our course. In particular I found the section on implementing the principles the most useful. It helped me to develop the parts of the course I was assigned to because it made it more clear how I should present what I wanted the learners to have, whether it be the description of the module or the deliverable.
Overall I found this to be a great experience creating this course. Grace and I were able to work well together, dividing up the work equally and keeping communication open during the process. I would love to be able to use an LMS such as Moodle in my own classroom. Hopefully that opportunity will not be too far off in the future!
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