Moodle, a course management system that is a free, open source software package, was designed to help educators create effective online learning communities. It was recently implemented system-wide in Newton County, and representatives from that school district shared their experiences (both good and bad) at the 2007 Georgia Educational Technology Conference. Moodle is a resource that might prove useful for almost any school system, and its cost-effectiveness makes it a worthwhile consideration.
What can Moodle do for teachers?
Using Moodle, teachers can create online lessons that can be used by students who are absent for a single day or homebound for an extended period of time. These lessons can also prove useful for substitute teachers if the regular teacher is absent. In addition, teachers who teach the same lessons more than once per day may find this online presentation to be helpful as a structural framework for presenting the same lesson multiple times. Teachers can post homework assignments, guidelines for projects, rubrics, and other helpful items within the forums that are available via the site. Using email and blogging, teachers may even be able to provide homework help for their students in real time. Moodle can also be used in the classroom to grade assignments, grades, and quizzes, providing immediate feedback to the teacher. It also allows for easy communication with parents.
How can I get Moodle?
Moodle is available as a free download from http://download.moodle.org/. Although it was developed in Linux, it has been tested and works well with other platforms, including Windows XP. It can be housed on the school system’s own server, or can be hosted by other service providers for a fee. It integrates with Active Directory, so user accounts may not have to be created but simply imported. Upon login, all users receive student rights. After training is complete, teachers may then be given additional rights that will allow them to create and manage their own courses.
How should Moodle be implemented?
Newton County Schools recommends a three-day training regimen for teachers who will be using Moodle. (The training can award 2 PLU credits, if desired.) For day one, suggested activities include:
- An introduction by the technology director
- Instruction on how to create a first course
- Instruction on how to design the layout, add blocks, pictures, and work with the calendar
- Instruction on how to communicate with parents and enroll students
- Instruction on how to link to United Streaming videos
- Hands-on time to create the course and ask questions of the instructors.
On day two, teachers would:
- Learn to convert documents to .pdf format
- Learn to upload resources they have found
- Learn to link to resources and/or other websites
- Learn how to compose text and web pages
- Learn to insert labels and glossaries
- Learn to post assignments
- Learn to use the forum
- Have hands-on time to create and ask questions of the instructors.
Recommended training for day three (a few weeks after the initial sessions) includes:
- A review and question/answer period
- Creating video tutorials using Screencorder (or other software)
- Creating RSS feed blocks
- Embedding videos
- Creating quizzes
Application
Since Troup County Schools is in the process of creating a 21st Century Classroom in each of the schools in our system, this product would be a great asset for those teachers who will be teaching in those classrooms. It will provide them a way to break out of the everyday mold and give their students a truly 21st century experience that they can use both at home and in the classroom. The very specific guidelines for teacher training should make the process go smoothly, and teachers will also welcome the opportunity to earn PLU credits. In addition, all the teachers at our Science and Technology Magnet School should be using this product to set themselves apart from other elementary schools in the system. Moodle could also be a useful tool for creating other professional development courses for teachers.
Synopsis
Moodle is an excellent tool that is virtually free and can be used by teachers to create online courses that can be used in the classroom as well as at home by students. This article provides specific instructions for obtaining the software and training teachers to use it.
