Overview
Moodle LMS allows administrators and instructors great control in the design of blended learning or distance courses. There are a wealth of functions available to the administrator or instructor when designing a course. The administrator or instructor can: assign roles to users and set up groups; control who enters the course; keep track of student activity in the course; track students' performance in a grade book; and communicate synchronously and asynchronously with tools like the Forum.
The Course Setting function controls how things appear to the course participants. It's the first thing participants see. It can be edited through the Settings menu. Course Settings control who comes into the course, how the course is laid out, and other functions.
There are nine main categories within the course settings. Each category has a different function. Under the General Settings an administrator can assign a category to the course to make it easy for participants to find, for example Math Course or Social Studies course.
Most course-home pages are broken into Course Sections or blocks. Resources and activities are then added to each section, such as PDF files, audio and video files, and links to website resources. There are different formats for creating Course Sections–block format, topic, week-to-week, social, and the LAMS and SCORM for standardized content. Once the format is select the instructor can control how the content appears on the page by switching the to "edit" mode. Content within each section or block can be easily added and moved. Files, links, and other resources appear at the bottom of a block for ease of student access.
The quiz function allows the instructor to create kinds of assessments including multiple choice, matching, description, true/false, numerical, and cloze. Several options allow the instructor to control aspects of the quiz such the time, randomization, and the feedback students receive on their performance.
Beneficial Characteristics of Moodle
Several characteristics stand out as beneficial in the creation of the course, Structures of Life. This is a blended course that combines the classroom setting with independent practice at school and at home. The Moodle course provides a central location where students can communicate about the course content and collaborate to construct knowledge. Students work independent of the teacher in inquiry based learning activities. The course contains three main activities. All of the activities within the course provide students with an opportunity to work both individually and collectively.
The course Forum fosters communication and allows even the shy students to participate in a dialogue about the course content. Students also use the Forum to ask questions about the course activities. These questions can be answered by classmates or the instructors. Students use the Forum prior to watching a video. This activity is designed to tap prior knowledge about the content in the video about adaptations. Students visit the Forum again after allowing them to revise any preconceived ideas, simulating the new knowledge into the old knowledge. They also reflect on what other students prior knowledge and provide feedback to them. The students also use the Forum to report their findings in a Home-School Connection. In this assignment they compare and contrast the structures and features of a crayfish and an insect.
During the first two activities students create wiki pages. The first wiki is an independent project and the second a collaborative group project.
Links to the science notebook sheets were uploaded as PDF files. This makes it easy for students to access them at their convenience. Students can also link to multi-media resources on the publisher's website called FOSSWeb.
VDILS
The following elements of VDILS were incorporated into the course design:
1. Define the sessions goals.
Each of the three learning activities in this course lists the objectives up front. Students know exactly what it is they will be able to do once the activity is completed.
2. Explain the learning strategy.
Students receive step-by-step instructions for each activity:
* Describe the learning activity. Each activity is described in detail. These directions explain to the students what types of things they will be doing in the activity, such as completing a web-based multimedia activity or listening to an audio recording on the FOSSWeb website.
* Specify deliverables. Learning activities are linked to the deliverables. For example, students post the course Forum before and after watching a video about adaptations. Some activities are project-based, such as the group wiki that follows the Habitat Gallery multi-media exploration. The wiki incorporates knowledge acquired during the exploration.
* Explain the use of media. Students are told they will watch a video in class. There is also an additional video available as a link. Students are told they will watch this video in class.
* Explain how to present deliverables. The deliverables are explained in the course syllabus and students know that these deliverables (i.e. wiki and forum posts) exist as part of the Moodle since they are an integral part of the platform.
* Establish a personal communication protocol. The course syllabus explains how to communicate with the instructor.
My Contribution
I acted as the subject matter expert in the design of this course. I am a third grade teacher and I have taught the Structures of Life module for the last five years. I provided the content for this course.
My contribution to the Moodle site included:
* Studying several online tutorial on http://lynda.com to learn about the various functions of Moodle and using this knowledge to implement these functions on the course Moodle
* Adding detailed content to the Moodle after Diane entered an outline
* Locating and loading PDFs, web links, and other resources
* Creating artwork (collage of images)
* Coauthoring the syllabus, rubrics, and design document
* Editing, revising, and testing the site for accessibility
Group Member's Contribution
My partner was Diane Main. Diane and I have worked together on several projects and we complement each other very well. Diane was instrumental in organizing the various tasks for this project and kept us on schedule. She set-up several documents in Google Docs, such as the syllabus and design document, and then coauthored these documents with me. Diane initially outlined the course content in Moodle. She also located and loaded PDFs, web links, and other resources. She also created the quiz, writing the questions, locating and adding images. Diane also helped to edit, revise, and test the site for accessibility. During the testing phase Diane fixed broken or incorrect links.
Evaluation using the Course Rubric
Four third grade teachers reviewed the Structures of Life Moodle course. Overall the participants rated the course as exemplary. The images added an initial attraction to course's overall appeal. They feel the course provides extensive course-specific information, and a range of resources to support the course content. Teachers responded well to the activities linked to FOSSweb, such as the Habitat Gallery. The commented that the Course Syllabus was thorougher and helps the students understand what is expected of them, and helps students to find resources and other information. The teachers reported no difficulties finding course materials or following directions, but did mention that it would have been nice if the video was embedded in the site. Students could then watch the video independently, replay and/or pause if necessary, to perhaps improve acquisition of knowledge. Teachers commented that the mix of activities give students lots of opportunity to interact with their peers, combining visual, auditory, and textual activities that promote content knowledge.
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